TextTree

Why TextTree Works for Journaling

• Files are just text — Your journal survives any app. The files stay on your PC forever.
• Folders become your timeline — A year/month/file structure is a natural bookshelf for diary entries.
• Focus on writing — A minimal editor with no distractions keeps your thoughts flowing.
• Auto-save — You never need to press Ctrl+S (Mac: ⌘S). Everything you type is saved automatically.

Recommended Folder Structure

Journal/
  2025/
    01/
      2025-01-05.txt
      2025-01-12.txt
    02/
      2025-02-01.txt
  2026/
    01/
      2026-01-03.txt

One file per day lets you see the accumulated entries at a glance in the tree. Some people prefer a single file per month — choose whatever fits your habit.

Inserting Timestamps

Inside the editor, right-click (Mac: Control+click) to open a context menu where you can insert the current time, the session start time, or today’s date.

The keyboard shortcut Alt+S (Mac: ⌥S) opens the same insert menu without touching the mouse.

“Time” inserts the current moment; “Start” inserts the time you opened the file. Combining both is handy for recording when you started and finished writing.

Writing Tips

• Start with one line about your mood — Even a single word like “tired” or “energized” makes entries far more interesting to read later.
• Bullet points are fine — You do not need to write full sentences. A list of what happened today is a perfectly valid journal.
• Read yesterday before writing today — Opening the previous file for 30 seconds before starting today’s entry creates a natural continuity of thought.
• Search with the OS — Because entries are plain text files, you can search across all of them with the OS search tool (Windows: Win+S or Explorer search; Mac: Spotlight ⌘Space).

Side-by-Side With Multi-Pane

In the tree, Ctrl+click (Mac: ⌘+click) yesterday’s file, then click today’s file normally to view both at once. This lets you read what you wrote yesterday while writing today.