Creating Links from Text

The “link” code action allows you to quickly convert text under your cursor or selected text into a link to a new note. This feature streamlines the process of creating new notes while maintaining connections in your knowledge graph.

How It Works

When you place your cursor on a word or select text and trigger a code action, IWE can:

Create a new note based on the text at your cursor or selection
Replace the text with a link to the newly created note
Use templates to control where the new note is created and how it’s named

The link action works on a single line - you can either place your cursor on a word (and IWE will detect the word boundaries) or select a specific range of text.

Configuration

Configure link actions in your .iwe/config.toml:

[actions.link]
type = "link"
title = "Link word"
key_template = "{{id}}"           # Template for the new note's key
link_type = "Markdown"            # Optional: "Markdown" or "WikiLink"

Configuration Options

title: The name displayed in your editor’s code action menu
key_template: Template for generating the new note’s key (supports template variables)
link_type: Optional link format
- "Markdown": Creates [text](key) style links (default)
- "WikiLink": Creates [[key]] style links

Common Use Cases

Simple ID-Based Links

Create notes with auto-generated numeric IDs:

[actions.link]
type = "link"
title = "Link word"
key_template = "{{id}}"

Workflow:

Place cursor on “important” or select “important concept”
Trigger code action and select “Link word”
Text becomes [important](2) and a new note 2.md is created with # important
Or if you selected “important concept”, it becomes [important concept](2) with # important concept

Slug-Based Links

Use slugified versions of the text as the note key:

[actions.link]
type = "link"
title = "Link word"
key_template = "{{slug}}"

Example:

Cursor on “Important Concept” → [Important Concept](important-concept) → important-concept.md
Selected “My Idea” → [My Idea](my-idea) → my-idea.md

Title-Based Links

Use the exact text (sanitized for filenames) as the key:

[actions.link]
type = "link"
title = "Link word"
key_template = "{{title}}"

Example:

Cursor on “MyWord” → [MyWord](MyWord) → MyWord.md
Selected “Project Ideas” → [Project Ideas](Project Ideas) → Project Ideas.md

WikiLink Format

Use WikiLink style instead of Markdown:

[actions.wiki_link]
type = "link"
title = "Link word (wiki)"
key_template = "{{id}}"
link_type = "WikiLink"

Example:

Cursor on “concept” → [[2]] → 2.md
Selected “important idea” → [[2]] → 2.md with # important idea

Text Selection vs Cursor

The link action supports two modes:

Cursor Mode (Word Detection)

Place your cursor anywhere within a word
IWE automatically detects word boundaries
Words can include alphanumeric characters, underscores, hyphens, and Unicode characters
Examples:
- Cursor on “wo|rd” → detects “word”
- Cursor on “multi-w|ord” → detects “multi-word”
- Cursor on “some_|function” → detects “some_function”

Selection Mode

Select any text range on a single line
IWE uses exactly what you selected
Perfect for phrases with spaces or partial words
Examples:
- Select “important concept” → creates link for “important concept”
- Select “very important” → creates link for “very important”
- Select part of a sentence → creates link for that specific text

Template Variables

Link actions support several template variables:

{{id}}: Auto-generated unique numeric ID
{{slug}}: Slugified version of the text (lowercase, hyphens instead of spaces)
{{title}}: Sanitized version of the text (safe for filenames)
{{today}}: Current date formatted using your configured date format from library.date_format (default: "%Y-%m-%d")

Key Collision Handling

If a note with the generated key already exists, IWE automatically appends a numeric suffix:

Example:

First link: concept → concept.md
Second link: concept → concept-1.md
Third link: concept → concept-2.md

Use Multiple Link Actions

Configure different link actions for different purposes:

[actions.link]
type = "link"
title = "Quick Link"
key_template = "{{id}}"

[actions.concept_link]
type = "link"
title = "Link Concept"
key_template = "concepts/{{slug}}"

[actions.daily_link]
type = "link"
title = "Link to Today"
key_template = "daily/{{today}}"

Linking and Note Templates Delete Action