thymer docs
Documentation/Start here/Getting started

Getting started

A new workspace comes with some example pages to explore. You can get started creating your first note right away, or click around to explore. Here are some things to try to get familiar with the basics.

Create and edit

Just start typing. Your changes are synced (saved) automatically in the background.

  • Create an account, if you haven’t yet.
  • Pick a banner: click the … at the top right of the page and choose Change Banner…. Some of them move.
  • Type @ to format, link, mention or insert rich content like blocks or pictures.
  • Click the handle in front of a line for its options.
  • Create a page for anything you need, from a short note to a long doc. Click the + next to a collection in the sidebar, or press ⌃NAlt+N.

Structure

  • Use outlining for structure: press Tab to indent a line under the one above it, and ⇧TabShift+Tab to move it back out.
  • Zoom into a line with ⌥↓Alt+Down, and back out with ⌥↑Alt+Up. ⌘/Ctrl+/ collapses the lines under it and opens them again. See Outlines and folding.
  • Type ## Next steps on a new line to make a heading, or type @heading. Headings own the lines beneath them, so you can fold, move or zoom into a whole section at once.
  • Grab the handle in front of a line to drag it somewhere else. Hold Shift as you drop it to copy, link or transclude (embed) it there instead of moving it.

Tasks and the Journal

  • Type * at the start of a line to make a task, like * Draft the announcement. Or type ⌘LCtrl+L to turn a line into a task or mark it completed.
  • Add some notes to your Journal for today. ⌘JCtrl+J opens it.
  • Plan a task for today: drag it onto your Journal, or put the cursor on it and press ⌘⇧JCtrl+Shift+J. It stays on its page and shows on your Journal too, and ticking it off in one place ticks it off in both.
  • Give a task a due date when there’s a real deadline: use the task’s menu, or type @ and pick a date. Tasks explains how that differs from planning it.

Look and feel

  • Change the theme: press ⌘PCtrl+P, type theme and pick Set Theme.
  • Try Focus Mode with your favorite vibe: open Panel Options at the top right of a panel and pick one under Focus with Vibe Shift. ⌘⇧↵Ctrl+Shift+Enter turns Focus Mode on and off.

Explore an example collection

Organize pages into collections with shared properties, and view them as a table, board, calendar or gallery. Like a folder with database powers, where every item is a page.

  • Open the Examples collection in the sidebar.
  • The example pages have a Status property. Open the board and drag a page to another column to change its Status.
  • Switch to the table, or create another view. See Views.

Make your own collection

  • Click the + next to Collections in the sidebar and call the new collection Projects.
  • Open Collection Settings… and add three properties: a Choice called Status with Planned, In progress and Done, a User called Owner, and a Date & Time called Due date. See Properties.
  • Add a Board view grouped by Status.
  • Create a few pages in the collection (click the + in the sidebar next to the collection). Each page becomes a card on the board.
  • Set the card’s Status, drag it between columns, and open it to keep writing.

The Roadmap example goes through these steps in more detail.

A collection as a board, grouped by Status.

Work with others

Working in a team? Collaborate in real time.

  • Invite others with the Invite People button at the bottom right of the window, or with Invite users in the command palette. Inviting is up to the workspace’s admins. See Inviting people.
  • Everyone in a workspace can view and edit all of its content. Make others admins so they can invite and manage people and change the workspace’s settings. For a different group of people, add another workspace. See Roles and access.
  • Assign a task by @-mentioning someone in it. To leave a note or a task on someone’s Journal, open their Journal (press ⌘KCtrl+K and type their name) and write it there.

Go further

Explore more, if you like.

  • Press ⌘KCtrl+K for Jump To, and jump to any page, date or team member. Try 3 days from now or wednesday, or pick a team member to open their Journal.
  • Press ⌘PCtrl+P for the command palette, with every command in Thymer.
  • Press ⌘⇧FCtrl+Shift+F to search everything, including inside pages. Try @todo @me for your open tasks.
  • Open pages side by side: ⌘-clickCtrl-click a link, or choose Split this panel under Panel Options. See Panels and Focus Mode.
  • See every page and line that links to a page in its Backlinks section. See Links and backlinks.
  • Learn the keyboard shortcuts, and change them in Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts.
  • Keep your workspace as a folder of Markdown files with Markdown Mirror.
  • Take Thymer with you on the mobile apps.
  • Set up AI agents to work with your notes.
  • Add custom code to your collections, or build your own plugins.

More resources

Questions or feedback? Click the Thymer logo at the bottom right of the window and choose Send us feedback, or email [email protected].

Next: How Thymer is organized.