org.nvim hands-on tour

• <Tab> on a headline cycles it: FOLDED → CHILDREN → SUBTREE.
• <S-Tab> cycles the whole buffer: OVERVIEW → CONTENTS → SHOW ALL.
• 3<S-Tab> shows every headline up to level 3.
• <Tab> on a :PROPERTIES: drawer or a #+begin_ line folds just that.
• :Org overview, :Org content and :Org show_all set it directly.
• 16<Tab> goes back to the startup visibility, 64<Tab> shows everything, drawers included.
• Subtrees tagged :ARCHIVE: stay folded; <C-c><C-Tab> opens one anyway.

Try: fold and unfold the tree below.

#+STARTUP: at the top of the file sets how it opens: overview, content, show2levels to show5levels, showall, showeverything or nofold. Without it, the startup_folded option decides. Add hideblocks to fold every block, or nohidedrawers to keep drawers open. A :VISIBILITY: property (folded, children, content, all) overrides it for one subtree.

Try: change the #+STARTUP: line of this file to content, press <C-c><C-c> on it, then reopen the file with :e.

Try: on "Sibling one" below, press dar to delete the whole subtree, then u. Press yih to yank just its body.

• <M-CR> on a headline inserts a sibling after its subtree; on a list item it inserts a new item; in a table, a new row.
• <M-S-CR> does the same but inserts a TODO heading or a checkbox item.
• <prefix>ih / <prefix>it / <prefix>is insert a heading, a TODO heading and a subheading.

Try: press <M-CR> on "Fruit" below and type "Vegetables". Then press <M-CR> again and, still in Insert mode, <Tab>: the new empty headline becomes a child. Keep pressing <Tab> to cycle its level.

In Visual mode, <M-h> / <M-l> promote or demote every selected headline.

Try: sort these into order with <M-j> / <M-k>, then demote "Step 2b" under "Step 2" with >>.

• <prefix>hy copies a subtree, <prefix>hd cuts it, <prefix>hp pastes it after the current subtree, adjusting its level.
• <prefix>hc clones a subtree N times and shifts its timestamps.

Try: on "Team sync" press <prefix>hc, answer 3 copies with a shift of +1w. You get the next three weekly meetings.

<prefix>hs sorts the children of the current headline (or the list under the cursor). Menu keys: a alphabetical, n numeric, t time, s scheduled, d deadline, p priority, o TODO order, r by property. Uppercase reverses.

Try: on "Books to read" press <prefix>hs then a, then <prefix>hs and p to sort by priority.

<prefix>hn opens the current subtree in its own buffer. :w writes the changes back, <C-c>' saves and closes.

• <prefix>* turns a line into a headline (and back). On a list item, the item becomes a headline.
• <prefix>- turns a line into a list item (and back).
• <prefix>hC toggles the COMMENT keyword. Commented subtrees are left out of the agenda and the export.

Try: turn this line into a headline and back with <prefix>*.

Unordered bullets are -, + or an indented *. Ordered bullets are 1. and 1).

• dash
• plus
  • star (only when indented)
• first
• second
• third
• with a paren
• also works

Try: put the cursor on "dash" and press <S-Right> a few times to cycle the bullet style of the whole list. On the ordered list, move "third" up with <M-k>: the list is renumbered.

3. [@3] starts the list at three
4. and the next item continues
5. a plain-text outliner
6. a hyperextensible Vim-based text editor
7. both of the above

<C-Space> (or <C-c><C-c>) toggles a checkbox. A parent shows [-] while only some of its children are done. Statistics cookies ([1/3] or [33%]) update automatically; <prefix># updates them by hand.

Try: check the children of "Pack for the trip" and watch both cookies. Select all three children with V and press <C-Space> to toggle them together. <S-Down> / <S-Up> jump between items of the same level.

• [-] Pack for the trip [1/3] [33%]
  • [X] Passport
  • [ ] Charger
  • [ ] Toothbrush
• [ ] <M-S-CR> on this item adds a new checkbox item

A cookie on a headline counts the checkboxes in its body.

• [X] Draft the outline
• [ ] Write the introduction
• [ ] Add examples
• [ ] Proofread

• cit / ciT (or <S-Right> / <S-Left> on the headline) cycles through the states.
• <prefix>S opens fast selection: press d for DONE, w for WAITING…

Try: mark this entry DONE. A CLOSED: timestamp is added and the state change is logged in a :LOGBOOK: drawer. Set it to WAITING and you are asked for a note.

This is what a logged state change with a note looks like.

The LOGGING property changes logging for a whole subtree: nil turns it off, lognotedone asks for a note when done, and specs like WAITING(@) replace the flags of the keywords. LOG_INTO_DRAWER picks another drawer.

Timestamps with a repeater move forward when the task is marked DONE, and the task goes back to the first keyword of its sequence (TODO). A REPEAT_TO_STATE property picks another state.

A cookie on a headline without checkboxes counts its child TODO entries.

With :ORDERED: t and enforce_todo_dependencies = true in your config, a child can't be marked DONE before its earlier siblings are. <C-c><C-x>o toggles the ORDERED property.

Try: give the last entry priority A, then lower it to C.

Children inherit the tags of their parents, and every entry in this file has tutorial from #+FILETAGS:. The agenda match +work finds "Book a room" and "Send the agenda" even though only their parent has :work:. Disable it with use_tag_inheritance = false, or exclude single tags with tags_exclude_from_inheritance.

Properties live in a :PROPERTIES: drawer under the headline.

• <prefix>p sets a property (names are completed), <prefix>P deletes one.
• <prefix>xe sets the Effort property. The choices come from #+PROPERTY: Effort_ALL at the top of the file.
• <prefix>lI creates an ID property.

Try: set a CLIENT property on "Prepare the slides" below. Set its effort with <prefix>xe. On the :Effort: line of "Gather the numbers", press <S-Right> to step through the allowed values, and <C-c><C-c> for a menu to set or delete it.

• Special properties can be used in matches and column view: ITEM, TODO, PRIORITY, TAGS, ALLTAGS, CATEGORY, LEVEL, SCHEDULED, DEADLINE, CLOSED, TIMESTAMP, FILE.
• #+PROPERTY: NAME value sets a property for the whole file.
• use_property_inheritance makes children inherit property values.

<prefix>C opens column view: every headline as a row of a table, with the columns from #+COLUMNS: at the top of this file. %Effort{:} sums the efforts of the children. In the view, e edits a value, n / p switch to the next / previous allowed value (from Effort_ALL, the TODO keywords, the priorities…), a edits the allowed values, <CR> jumps to the entry, r refreshes and q quits.

The layout can be changed from the view too, and is saved back to the #+COLUMNS: line: < / > narrow / widen a column, <M-h> / <M-l> move it, <M-L> adds a column, <M-H> deletes one and s edits one.

Try: put the cursor on "Write the quarterly report" and press <prefix>C. Move to the Effort column of "Prepare the slides" and press n.

Summary operators: {+} sum, {$} money, {:} time sum, {X} checkbox, {X/} and {X%} checkbox statistics, {min} {max} {mean}, {:min} {:max} {:mean} for times, {@min} {@max} {@mean} for ages and {est+} for low-high estimates.

<2026-11-02 Mon>                     active: shows in the agenda
[2026-11-02 Mon]                     inactive: just a note
<2026-11-02 Mon 10:00-11:30>         with a time range
<2026-11-09 Mon>--<2026-11-11 Wed>   a date range
<2026-11-02 Mon +1w>                 with a repeater
<2026-11-19 Thu -5d>                 with a warning period

• <prefix>i. inserts an active timestamp, <prefix>i! an inactive one. With a count (4<prefix>i.) the time is included. Right after another timestamp, it makes a range.
• <C-a> / <C-x> change the part under the cursor: year, month, day, hour, minute, repeater or warning. <S-Right> / <S-Left> move one day. On the minutes, <S-Up> / <S-Down> step by five minutes.
• :Org toggle_timestamp_type turns <...> into [...] and back.
• <CR> on a timestamp opens the agenda for that day.

Try: type <prefix>i. here and pick a date. Then put the cursor on the month and press <C-a>: the weekday is updated for you.

Meeting with the designers <2026-09-30 Wed 15:00>

Date prompts open a floating calendar. Move with h j k l (day, week), H L (month), J K (year), . for today, T to set a time, <CR> to select. Press i to type a date instead:

• <prefix>xi clocks in on this entry, <prefix>xo clocks out.
• <prefix>xq cancels the clock, <prefix>xj jumps to the clocked entry from anywhere. :Org clock_in_last restarts the last clock.
• The running clock survives a restart of Neovim.
• <prefix>xd shows the clocked time of every headline as virtual text.
• <C-c><C-c> on a CLOCK: line recomputes its duration, and <C-S-Up> / <C-S-Down> move both of its timestamps.
• 2<prefix>xi picks a task from the recently clocked ones.
• <prefix>xm changes the effort of the clocked task (+0:15 adds a quarter), <prefix>xE steps through Effort_ALL. You are notified when the clocked time reaches the effort.
• <prefix>xz finds clocks that were never closed and lets you keep or cancel them.

Try: clock in here, wait a minute, clock out and look at the :LOGBOOK:. With require("org").statusline() in your statusline you see ⏱ [0:01/1:30] (Write the blog post) while it runs.

A clock table is a dynamic block. Put the cursor on the #+BEGIN: line and press <C-c><C-c> to (re)generate it. <prefix>xr inserts a new one.

Try: change :maxlevel 2 to :maxlevel 3, or add :block thisweek, :tags t, :formula % or :properties ("Effort"), and update it again. :step day with a :block makes one table per day.

The = key filters by regexp, ^ keeps the entries under the same top headline and | removes all filters.

Try: in the week agenda press E to see the body text of the entries, then _ and type <0:30 to keep only the short tasks.

The m and M views, custom commands, sparse trees and clock tables use the same match syntax as Emacs:

Use | for "or": work|home finds entries tagged work or home.

Try: <prefix>a then M and type +work/!.

Combine several views in one buffer with agenda.custom_commands:

agenda = {
  custom_commands = {
    w = {
      description = "Work overview",
      types = {
        { type = "agenda", span = "day", header = "Today" },
        { type = "tags_todo", match = "+work/!", header = "Open work tasks" },
        { type = "todo", match = "WAITING", header = "Waiting for" },
      },
    },
    u = { description = "Urgent", type = "tags", match = 'PRIORITY="A"|+urgent' },
  },
}

examples/minimal_init.lua defines both, so <prefix>a then w works right away.

A project is "stuck" when it has no NEXT or TODO child. <prefix>a then # lists them. agenda.stuck_projects says what a project is; the example config uses { match = "+project/-DONE" } and keeps the project tag from being inherited (tags_exclude_from_inheritance), so "Learn Rust" is stuck and "Repaint the kitchen" is not.

<prefix>r moves the subtree under another headline in any agenda file. Targets look like tutorial.org/Refile and archive/Projects.

Try: refile "A stray idea" under "Projects".

<prefix>R copies the subtree instead, leaving the original in place, and :Org refile_goto_last jumps to wherever the last refile or capture went. refile.targets picks the targets like Emacs' org-refile-targets, e.g. { { files = "agenda", tag = "project" } }.

• <prefix>$ moves the subtree to the archive (tutorial.org_archive here). It keeps where it came from in ARCHIVE_* properties.
• <prefix>hA toggles the ARCHIVE tag instead: the subtree stays in place, folded, and is hidden from the agenda.
• <C-c><C-x>A moves the subtree under an Archive sibling (created with the ARCHIVE tag when missing).
• :Org archive_all_done on a headline offers to archive each child that has no open TODO.
• The location comes from the ARCHIVE property, #+ARCHIVE: or archive_location.

• A web page: the Org manual, or a bare URL: https://neovim.io
• A heading in this file: the Tables section
• A custom ID: the footnotes section
• A dedicated target: jump to <<my target>>
• A file: the example config
• A line in a file: [BROKEN LINK: 1]
• A heading in a file: Capture
• A regexp in a file: agenda_files
• Vim help: :h org-links
• A shell command (asks first): say hello
• An abbreviation from #+LINK:: org.nvim on GitHub
• Another one: search the web

This is the dedicated target from the list above.

Try: <prefix>ls on the "Tables" heading below, come back here and press <prefix>li. The stored link is offered first. <prefix>lL inserts the last stored link without asking, and <prefix>lA inserts every stored link as a list.

<prefix>ls on a <<target>> or on a named table or block stores a link to that target or name instead of the heading.

A radio link is a target with three brackets: every other "radio link" in the file becomes a link to it, also in export. Press <CR> on the words radio link at the end of this sentence to jump back: radio link.

<C-c><C-o> on a headline without a link under the cursor offers the links of the entry. <C-c>& (or <C-o>) jumps back.

An ID property gives a heading a link that survives moving it to another file. <prefix>lI creates one; <prefix>ls uses it automatically. <prefix>lg goes to an entry by ID and <prefix>ly copies the ID of the entry under the cursor. :Org id_update_locations rebuilds the index from the agenda files.

<prefix>A opens the attachment menu: a attach a file, u download a URL, b attach a buffer, n create a new one, o open one, f open the attachment directory, z sync the tag, d delete. Files go into attach.dir (default data/) and the heading gets an ATTACH tag. [[attachment:notes.txt]] links to an attached file.

Type |Name|Age, press <Esc>o, type |- and press <Tab> in Insert mode: the table is aligned and a separator appears.

• Insert mode: <Tab> / <S-Tab> next / previous field (a new row is added at the end), <CR> the same column in the next row.
• <C-c><C-c> aligns the table. Leaving Insert mode also aligns it.
• <M-h> <M-l> move a column, <M-k> <M-j> move a row.
• <M-H> / <M-L> delete / insert a column; <M-K> / <M-J> delete / insert a row; <M-CR> adds a row below.
• <prefix>Ts sorts the rows by the column under the cursor.
• <prefix>Tc creates a table, or converts selected CSV/TSV lines.
• <S-Up> <S-Down> <S-Left> <S-Right> swap a single field with its neighbour. <prefix>Tt transposes the whole table.
• <S-CR> copies the field one row down and moves with it. Numbers, text ending in a number and dates count up, so pressing it again fills a series.
• :Org table_import reads a CSV/TSV file into a table, :Org table_export writes the table to one.

Try: put the cursor on 3 below and press <S-CR> a few times.

Then do the same on the last date: it moves on by a week each time.

Try: this table is a mess. Put the cursor in it and press <C-c><C-c>.

Try: select the lines below in Visual mode and press <prefix>Tc.

name,role,city Ada,engineer,London Linus,maintainer,Portland

Formulas go on a #+TBLFM: line under the table. <C-c><C-c> on that line (or <prefix>Tf in the table) recalculates. <prefix>' edits the formulas in their own buffer.

Try: change a quantity, then press <C-c><C-c> on the #+TBLFM: line.

• $4 is column 4, @> the last row, @I..@II the rows between the first and the second separator.
• $4…= is a column formula; @>$4…= a field formula.
• ;%.2f formats the result.
• You can also type a formula straight into a field: =$1*2 makes a column formula, :=vsum(@I..@II) a field formula. <Tab>, <CR> or <C-c><C-c> moves it to the #+TBLFM: line and recalculates.

Try: in Insert mode, type =$1*2 in the first empty field below and press <Tab>.

Available functions: vsum vmean vmin vmax vcount vmedian vsdev abs sqrt round floor ceil mod min max if and more. Anything else in '( ... ) is evaluated as Lua (or as Emacs Lisp, for the common functions like +, concat and format).

Name columns with a ! row, and define parameters with a $ row. Constants come from #+CONSTANTS:.

The T flag reads and writes H:MM:SS; U writes H:MM.

remote(name, ref) reads a field of a table with a #+NAME:.

Lua runs inside Neovim, so it can use the whole vim API:

return string.format("Neovim %s, %d buffers open", tostring(vim.version()), #vim.api.nvim_list_bufs())

Other languages run their interpreter:

echo "Hello from $(basename "$SHELL")"
uname -s

import platform
print(f"Python {platform.python_version()}")

console.log(["a", "b", "c"].map((s) => s.toUpperCase()).join(" "))

Add or change languages with babel.languages, for example { deno = { cmd = "deno run", ext = "ts" } }.

:results output captures what the program prints. :results value (the default) captures the return value. Lists of lists become tables.

return [[n, n * n, n ** 3] for n in range(1, 5)]

printf "apples\nbananas\ncherries\n"

print("Exported with its result")

Other :results options: raw, org, drawer, html, code, file, and append / prepend / silent.

:wrap puts the result in a block, and :cache yes only runs the block again when it changed (the hash is kept in #+RESULTS[…]:):

import json
return json.dumps({"answer": 42})

:file writes the result to a file and links to it:

echo "Written by babel"

Inline blocks work too: put the cursor on return 6 * 7 and press <C-c><C-c>.

:var passes values into a block. A named table becomes a list of rows. Its header row (above the first hline) is passed separately and put back on a table result (:colnames). rows=expenses[0:1] would pass the first two rows only.

total = sum(amount for _, amount in rows)
for name, amount in rows:
    print(f"{name:8} {amount / total:6.1%}")

return string.rep("hello " .. name .. "! ", times)

A named block can be called with other arguments. Put the cursor on the #+CALL: line and press <C-c><C-c>.

return x * x

:noweb yes expands <<name>> with the body of another block.

greet() { echo "Hello, $1!"; }

<<greet-function>>
greet "noweb"

<prefix>bt writes blocks with :tangle to files (1<prefix>bt only the block under the cursor). This one becomes hello.sh next to this file:

echo "I was tangled from tutorial.org"

Header arguments can also be set for the whole file (#+PROPERTY: header-args:python :results output), for a subtree (a header-args property), or on #+HEADER: lines above a block.

pwd

org.nvim replaces the macro with its text.

Inline math: \(\sum_{i=1}^{n} i = \frac{n(n+1)}{2}\).

Export options go in #+OPTIONS: at the top of a file, for example #+OPTIONS: toc:2 num:nil ^:{} todo:nil. #+TITLE:, #+AUTHOR: and #+DATE: fill in the title page. Code runs only with :exports results or both, and export uses the existing #+RESULTS: instead of running it again. # in the export dispatcher inserts all the settings with their current values.

#+INCLUDE: "other.org::*A heading" :only-contents t includes one subtree of another file, and tasks:nil, arch:nil, prop:t or d:("NOTES") in #+OPTIONS: choose which tasks, archived trees, properties and drawers are exported.

• :Org timer_start starts a relative timer (<C-c><C-x>0).
• :Org timer_insert inserts its value. In a list it starts an item like =- 0:01:23 :: =, which makes meeting notes easy.
• :Org timer_countdown 25 starts a 25-minute countdown (a pomodoro). On an entry with an Effort, <C-c><C-x>; counts down from the effort. <C-c><C-x>, pauses either timer, <C-c><C-x>_ stops it.
• introductions
• roadmap discussion

With notifications = { enabled = true } (or :Org notifications_start), entries with a time in the agenda files trigger a notification reminder_time minutes before they start.