bwrb new

Create a new note with interactive prompts based on your schema.

Synopsis

bwrb new [options] [type]

Options

Option	Description
-t, --type <type>	Type of note to create (alternative to positional argument)
--open	Open the note after creation
--json <frontmatter>	Create note non-interactively with JSON frontmatter
--template <name>	Use a specific template (use “default” for default.md)
--no-template	Skip template selection, use schema only
--no-instances	Skip instance scaffolding (when template has instances)
--owner <wikilink>	Owner note for owned types (e.g., "[[My Novel]]")
--standalone	Create as standalone (skip owner selection for ownable types)

Examples

Basic Creation

# Interactive type selection
bwrb new

# Direct creation by type
bwrb new idea
bwrb new objective/task

# Create and open immediately
bwrb new draft --open

Templates

# Use specific template
bwrb new task --template bug-report

# Use default.md template explicitly
bwrb new task --template default

# Skip templates, use schema only
bwrb new task --no-template

Ownership

Some types support ownership relationships. When creating an owned type:

# Prompted: standalone or owned?
bwrb new research

# Create in shared location (standalone)
bwrb new research --standalone

# Create owned by specific note
bwrb new research --owner "[[My Novel]]"

Instance Scaffolding

Some templates define child instances that are automatically created with the parent note:

# Create project with scaffolded research notes
bwrb new project --template with-research

# Skip instance creation
bwrb new project --template with-research --no-instances

When a template defines instances, the CLI displays what files were created:

✓ Created: Projects/My Project.md

Instances created:
  ✓ Projects/Background Research.md
  ✓ Projects/Competitor Analysis.md

✓ Created 3 files (1 parent + 2 instances)

Non-interactive (JSON) Mode

For scripting and automation:

# Basic JSON creation
bwrb new idea --json '{"name": "My Idea", "status": "raw"}'

# With template
bwrb new task --json '{"name": "Bug"}' --template bug-report

# With body sections
bwrb new task --json '{"name": "Fix bug", "_body": {"Steps": ["Step 1", "Step 2"]}}'

# With instance scaffolding (JSON output includes instances)
bwrb new project --json '{"name": "My Project"}' --template with-research

The _body field accepts section names as keys, with string or string array values.

JSON output for templates with instances includes an instances object:

{
  "success": true,
  "path": "Projects/My Project.md",
  "instances": {
    "created": ["Projects/Background Research.md", "Projects/Competitor Analysis.md"],
    "skipped": [],
    "errors": []
  }
}

Behavior

1. Type resolution: Prompts for type if not specified (with subtype navigation)
2. Template loading: Loads matching template if available (unless --no-template)
3. Field prompts: Prompts for each field defined in schema/template
4. File creation: Creates file in the type’s output_dir
5. Output: Returns path to created file

Template Discovery

Templates are stored in .bwrb/templates/{type}/{subtype}/*.md:

• If default.md exists, it’s used automatically
• If multiple templates exist without default.md, you’ll be prompted to select
• Use --no-template to skip template system entirely

See Also

• Templates Overview — Template system concepts
• bwrb template — Template management
• Schema — Schema structure and field types