buff docs › People, projects and topics

Tags tie a note to the people, projects and subjects it’s about. Later you can see everything about one of them in date order, ask about them, or get a brief.

The three kinds of tag

Kind How to write it Example
Person @firstname-lastname, lower case, hyphens @jane-doe
Project #project- and a short name #project-atlas
Topic #knowledge: and a subject #knowledge:rate-filing

A note can have any number of tags, anywhere in the text. buff fixes a few near misses itself: #projects-atlas becomes #project-atlas, and a bare #atlas becomes #project-atlas if that’s the only project it could mean.

How tagged notes read

On screen, notes read as plain words. Tags at the end of a note move to a small, quiet line underneath:

coffee about the launch @maya-chen #project-orion

reads as coffee about the launch, with Maya Chen · Orion · + tag below it. Tap a name to see everything about that person or project.

A tag inside a sentence reads as the name: met @jane-doe about the budget reads met Jane Doe about the budget.

Only the screen changes. Your notes files keep every tag exactly as you typed it. To see tags inline instead, turn off Options → Reading comfort → Tags under notes.

Tag a note later

Tap + tag under any note, from today or any earlier day. buff lists:

  • suggested: names it found in the note that you haven’t tagged yet (say “call Maya” when it knows @maya-chen);
  • then your people and projects.

One tap tags the note. Nothing is ever tagged without that tap. For someone new, tap someone or something new? and type the tag.

You can also type it: /tag @jane-doe tags today’s last note, /tag #project-atlas 09:30 the note saved at 09:30, and /tag Jane 2026-10-05 14:10 a note on another day (a name buff knows works without the @).

Notes on hold

If a tag doesn’t follow the pattern (say @Jane or #project_atlas), buff still saves the note exactly as written but doesn’t file it under anyone. It tells you, with a suggested fix. /lint lists every note on hold.

Names buff learns

  • Aliases: /alias @jane-doe Jane, JD teaches buff that “Jane” and “JD” mean @jane-doe. From then on, writing “Jane” in a note links it to her too.
  • You: /self Jane Smith, Jane tells buff your own name. Your name then means @me (you), not a mention of someone else, and /todos mine knows which todos are yours.
  • Tag hints: after you save a note, buff may offer tag @jane-doe? when it spots a name you’ve used before. Tap it to add the tag. (Turn this off in Options → Input.)

See everything about one

  • /show #project-atlas shows the last 30 days of notes about Atlas. Typing just the tag, #project-atlas, does the same.
  • Add a range: /show @jane-doe week, /show @jane-doe month, /show Atlas all.
  • /projects, /people and /topics list them by recent activity. Tap one to show it.

Tag a run of notes

In a meeting about one project? /use #project-atlas adds that tag to every note you save until you type /use off (or until the day ends).

Tidy up

  • /merge @bob-smyth @bob-smith folds a misspelt tag into the right one. The old tag keeps working and points to the new one.
  • /archive #project-old hides a finished project from lists. Its notes are still searchable.
  • /restrict @jane-doe marks a person as sensitive. AI features leave out what you wrote about them (see AI features). /unrestrict @jane-doe undoes it.
  • /index prints the full list of people, projects and topics buff knows, with their aliases.

All of this is kept in one readable file, _index.md, in your notes folder.