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Atlas Help

Template Tools

Templates let you create consistently structured notes without starting from scratch every time. Atlas can list your available templates and apply them — filling in placeholders automatically — directly from a conversation.

list_templates

Section titled “list_templates”

Returns all the templates available in your vault.

Try saying:

  • “What templates do I have?”
  • “List my available note templates”
  • “Do I have a meeting note template?”
  • “Show me my templates”

The result includes each template’s name and a brief description of what it’s for.

use_template

Section titled “use_template”

Creates a new note from a template, filling in any placeholders with the current values (or custom values you provide).

Key parameters:

  • template_name — the name of the template to use
  • output_filename — the name for the new note that will be created
  • replacements — a map of custom {{placeholder}} values to override

Try saying:

  • “Create a meeting note using my meeting template”
  • “Use the weekly review template for this week”
  • “Apply my project kickoff template and name it Henderson Kickoff”
  • “Create a journal entry using my journal template”
  • “Use the 1-on-1 template for my meeting with Sarah today”

Built-In Placeholders

Section titled “Built-In Placeholders”

Templates support {{placeholder}} syntax for dynamic values. These are filled in automatically when the template is applied:

PlaceholderWhat it becomes
{{date}}Today’s date in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g., 2024-01-15)
{{day}}The full day name (e.g., Monday)
{{time}}The current time in HH:MM format (e.g., 14:30)
{{title}}The output filename you provided (without the .md extension)

A simple meeting template might look like this:

---
date: {{date}}
tags: [meeting]
---


# {{title}}


**Date:** {{date}} ({{day}})
**Time:** {{time}}


## Attendees


## Agenda


## Notes


## Action Items
- [ ]

When Atlas applies this template with output_filename: "Product Review 2024-01-15", it creates:

---
date: 2024-01-15
tags: [meeting]
---


# Product Review 2024-01-15


**Date:** 2024-01-15 (Monday)
**Time:** 14:30


## Attendees


## Agenda


## Notes


## Action Items
- [ ]

Custom Replacements

Section titled “Custom Replacements”

You can pass custom replacement values to override built-in placeholders or fill in any {{custom}} placeholder you’ve defined in your template.

Try saying:

  • “Use the project kickoff template, name it Henderson Kickoff, and set the project name to Atlas Mobile”
  • “Apply the 1-on-1 template for a meeting with Sarah, set the attendee placeholder to Sarah Chen”
  • “Create a weekly review for the week of January 13th”

Atlas will pass any natural values it picks up from your request as custom replacements. For anything ambiguous, it will ask.

Managing Templates

Section titled “Managing Templates”

Templates are stored in your vault under a templates folder (set up via Settings > Templates). You can:

  • Create new templates from the Templates tab in the sidebar
  • Edit templates directly in your vault with any markdown editor
  • Use any .md file as a template — just move it to the templates folder

Next: Voice Note Tool