Determine the notebook directory with zk's config file

[xlucn]

Currently, zk-nvim will look for the default notebook directory according to $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR. However, zk provides another way with config section [notebook].

Could the config file be used to determine the default notebook directory in zk-nvim, too?

[tjex]

zk-nvim is effectively a 'client' of sorts to zk / zk's lsp. So the notebook discovery functionality of zk should work like you were executing zk commands from the cli. I would just recommend trying it out, and then ideally reporting back here with your findings so others can be informed too 👍

[xlucn]

In my case, ZkNotes fails when I didn't set $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR but set in config.toml

[notebook]
dir = "~/Code/test/zk/"

---

I tried something I can think of, although I am not sure what is the common way to debug this issue. All of these are tested in my $HOME folder.

1. Command line, zk successfully finds my notes with no issues.

   1. With export ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR="$HOME/Code/test/zk/"

   $ export ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR="$HOME/Code/test/zk/"
   $ zk list
   My first note vpg1-untitled.md (2 months ago)
   Found 1 note
   $ zk list $HOME
   My first note vpg1-untitled.md (2 months ago)
   Found 1 note
   

   2. With unset ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR

   $ unset ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR
   $ zk list
   My first note vpg1-untitled.md (2 months ago)
   Found 1 note
   $ zk list $HOME
   My first note vpg1-untitled.md (2 months ago)
   Found 1 note
   

2. In Neovim with zk-nvim's ZkNotes, behaviors start to differ.

   1. With export ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR="$HOME/Code/test/zk/", Telescope shows my notes.
   2. With unset ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR, Error occurs:

   Error executing vim.schedule lua callback: /home/oliver/.local/share/nvim/lazy/zk-nvim/l
   ua/zk.lua:104: RPC[Error] code_name = InvalidRequest, message = "failed to open notebook
   : no notebook found in /home/oliver or a parent directory"                              
   stack traceback:                                                                        
           [C]: in function 'assert'                                                       
           /home/oliver/.local/share/nvim/lazy/zk-nvim/lua/zk.lua:104: in function 'handler
   '                                                                                       
           /usr/share/nvim/runtime/lua/vim/lsp/client.lua:687: in function ''              
           vim/_editor.lua: in function <vim/_editor.lua:0>                                
   

3. Some inspecting
   

   zk-nvim/lua/zk/api.lua

   Lines 19 to 25 in dbf4eea

   	lsp.client().request("workspace/executeCommand", {
   	command = "zk." .. cmd,
   	arguments = {
   	path or util.resolve_notebook_path(bufnr),
   	options,
   	},
   	}, cb, bufnr)

   
   I tried to print the arguments:

   print(vim.inspect({ command = ..., arguments = ... }))

   1. With export ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR="$HOME/Code/test/zk/"

   {
     arguments = { "/home/oliver/Code/test/zk/", {                                        
         select = { "title", "absPath", "path" }                                          
       } },                                                                               
     command = "zk.list"                                                                  
   }                                                                                      
   

   2. With unset ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR

   {                                                                              
     arguments = { "/home/oliver", {                                                       
         select = { "title", "absPath", "path" }                                           
       } },                                                                                
     command = "zk.list"                                                                   
   }                                                                                       
   

   zk-nvim/lua/zk.lua

   Lines 100 to 107 in dbf4eea

   	function M.pick_notes(options, picker_options, cb)
   	options =
   	vim.tbl_extend("force", { select = ui.get_pick_notes_list_api_selection(picker_options) }, options or {})
   	api.list(options.notebook_path, options, function(err, notes)
   	assert(not err, tostring(err))
   	ui.pick_notes(notes, picker_options, cb)
   	end)
   	end

   
   I tried to print something before the assert:

   assert(false, 'options:' .. vim.inspect(options) .. 'picker_options:' .. vim.inspect(picker_options) .. "Notes:" .. vim.inspect(notes))

   1. With export ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR="$HOME/Code/test/zk/"

   options:{                                                              
     select = { "title", "absPath", "path" }                                              
   }picker_options:{                                                                      
     title = "Zk Notes"                                                                   
   }Notes:{ {                                                                             
       absPath = "/home/oliver/Code/test/zk/vpg1-untitled.md",                            
       path = "vpg1-untitled.md",                                                         
       title = "My first note"                                                            
     } }
   

   2. With unset ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR

   options:{                                                                
     select = { "title", "absPath", "path" }                                               
   }picker_options:{                                                                       
     title = "Zk Notes"                                                                    
   }Notes:nil
   

Not sure if these helps.

[tjex]

Are you setting this:

[notebook]
dir = "~/Code/test/zk/"

In the global config.toml or the local one?
It's also not clear where you're running these commands from btw. The below will work if you are within a zk notebook. But it should not work if you are higher than that directory (as shown below in my test).

With unset ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR

$ unset ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR
$ zk list
My first note vpg1-untitled.md (2 months ago)
Found 1 note
$ zk list $HOME
My first note vpg1-untitled.md (2 months ago)
Found 1 note

The zk list /any/random/path/without/a/notebook command (while having $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR set) is in keeping with the notebook discovery logic.

My Tests

But, I tested on my end with a global config at ~/.config/zk/config.toml (and commenting out my $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR variable) with my main zk notebook. So:

[notebook]
dir = "~/wikis/ps"

And everything works as expected.
I also tried your export / unset steps and it all worked for me.
(the below is scrollback from my cli, "base >" is my prompt, it's not shell redirection..)

~/.config
base > zk list
zk: error: failed to open notebook: no notebook found in /Users/tjex/.config or a parent directory
~/.config
base > export ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR="$HOME/wikis/ps"
~/.config
base > echo $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR
/Users/tjex/wikis/ps
~/.config
base > zk list
2024-03-18 -> d/2024/2024-03-18.md ... (5 months ago)
2024-03-28 -> d/2024/2024-03-28.md ... (5 months ago)
...
Found 453 notes
~/.config
base > unset ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR
~/.config
base > echo $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR

~/.config
base > zk list
zk: error: failed to open notebook: no notebook found in /Users/tjex/.config or a parent directory

So for the moment, I'm thinking there is some error in your config / testing process.

Be sure to try:

1. setting $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR in your .zprofile or .zshrc
2. opening a new terminal window / instance
3. run zk list
4. 5. go to any random markdown document outside of a zk notebook, run :ZkNotes

Then:

1. Remove $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR in your zsh file.
2. add your above toml entry to ~/.config/zk/config.toml
3. open a new shell instance
4. run zk list
5. go to any random markdown document outside of a zk notebook, run :ZkNotes

Both should work.

[xlucn]

Thanks for the reply!

I am putting the settings in the ~/.config/zk/config.toml. And all my tests are run in the $HOME folder with the settings.

My expectation is that zk-nvim finds the default notebook path no matter where I run nvim in, without the env var ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR set, as you described at the end of your reply. But my tests shows otherwise.

[itsdalmo]

I'm having the same issue as @xlucn. ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR did not seem to work for me either, at least not with a ~/ in there (got it working with an absolute path).

[xlucn]

ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR did not seem to work for me either, at least not with a ~/ in there (got it working with an absolute path).

@itsdalmo, I know that one. ~ is actually a trick that some shells (like bash) and some applications do, which will be replaced with user's $HOME folder. However, it is not am enforced standard. Zk, for example, doesn't convert ~ to your home folder and will look for a folder named literally ~. Thus, you have to set that environment variable with something like $HOME, say

export ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR="$HOME/foo/bar"

[tjex]

It's not that zk doesn't expand ~, it's that tilde expansion doesn't work at all in shell environment variables.

~/.config/nvim main* ⇡ ≡
base > echo $FOO
~/wikis

~/.config/nvim main* ⇡ ≡
base > cd $FOO
cd: no such file or directory: ~/wikis

~/.config/nvim main* ⇡ ≡
base > source ~/.zprofile         <--- after editing ~/.zprofile with export FOO="$HOME/wikis"

~/.config/nvim main* ⇡ ≡
base > echo $FOO
/Users/tjex/wikis

~/.config/nvim main* ⇡ ≡
base > cd $FOO

~/wikis
base >

For example you can use ~ in the [notebook] path (in the global config at ~/.config/zk/config.toml, although I realise this is the point of concern with this issue).