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Folder flows

A folder flow is a flow with the role runs on a folder (flow roles,

437). Create a note in that folder — by any means: a new file in Obsidian, a sync, another plugin —

and the wizard opens on the folder's flow, so every note there goes through the same steps.

The door: the folder's own menu

Right-click a folder in the file explorer and choose Edit folder workflow. ZettelFlow opens the folder's flow canvas in a new tab, creating an empty one the first time. Build the flow on it like any other: steps, actions, exits.

The canvas lives in the folder-flows folder (default _ZettelFlow/folders) and is named after the folder: its path with each / replaced by _. The folder Profiles gets _ZettelFlow/folders/Profiles.canvas; Work/Clients gets Work_Clients.canvas. That name is the whole link — nothing is written into the folder or the note.

Where it is in settings

  • Settings → Flows → Your flows lists every canvas with a role, the folder flows included, and is where you change a role. Give a role to another canvas turns an existing canvas into a folder flow: choose runs on a folder and it asks which folder, shows the move it is about to make, and applies it on a second click.
  • Settings → Advanced → Folders ZettelFlow uses → Folder flows (behind Show advanced settings) is the folder-flows folder itself.

What happens, exactly

  • The flow fires for a note created directly in the folder. A sub-folder is a folder of its own, with its own flow or none.
  • Renaming a folder renames its flow canvas with it, so the link survives.
  • A note created through the ZettelFlow wizard (the ribbon, a command) does not trigger the folder flow a second time: the wizard is already running.

Example

You keep people in Profiles and want an email, a team and a name on each of them.

  1. Right-click Profiles → Edit folder workflow. _ZettelFlow/folders/Profiles.canvas opens.
  2. Add a step with three prompt actions — email, team, name — writing to the frontmatter.
  3. Create a new note in Profiles. Expect the wizard to open on that step.

Troubleshooting

  • The wizard does not open. Check that the canvas sits in the folder-flows folder under the folder's exact name (Settings → Flows → Your flows shows it as runs on a folder), and that the note was created directly in that folder.
  • It did not open for a note made from the ribbon. Intended: a note the wizard creates never re-triggers its folder's flow.