insert-date

A plugin for Inkdrop that allows you to quickly insert the current date and time into your notes. Uses date-fns for formatting and localization. It was originally created by @sambrezo.

Install

ipm install insert-date

Usage

Right-click in the editor — or in the note title — and pick a format from the Insert date submenu. Each entry previews what it will insert, using the current date and your configured locale:

Insert date  ▸
    ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
    │ Wednesday, July 8th, 2026 at 2:58 PM │
    │ July 8th, 2026 at 2:58 PM            │
    │ Wednesday, July 8th, 2026            │
    │ 07/08/2026                           │
    │ 2:58 PM                              │
    │ 2026-07-08                           │
    └──────────────────────────────────────┘

Set the Format setting (see below) to a pattern of your own and it appears at the top of the menu, rendered the same way:

Insert date  ▸
    ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
    │ Today is Wednesday, July 8th         │  ← your Format setting
    │ ──────────────────────────────────── │
    │ Wednesday, July 8th, 2026 at 2:58 PM │
    │ …                                    │
    └──────────────────────────────────────┘

Alternatively you can add a keybinding to your keymap.json file like so:

{
  "body": {
    "ctrl-alt-d": "insert-date:run"
  }
}

The keybinding inserts your Format setting — or PPPPp (full date & time) when you haven't set one — into the title if that's where your cursor is, and into the editor otherwise.

Settings

Please refer to date-fns for all available format tokens.

Format

Empty by default — leave it that way and the menu just offers the predefined formats above.

Set it to add your own entry at the top of the menu; it's also what the keybinding inserts. Here are some common options, shown for Friday, April 22, 2016 5:14:58 AM:

• PPPPp: Friday, April 22nd, 2016 at 5:14 AM
• PPPP: Friday, April 22nd, 2016
• PPPp: April 22nd, 2016 at 5:14 AM
• PPP: April 22nd, 2016
• PPp: Apr 22, 2016, 5:14 AM
• PP: Apr 22, 2016
• Pp: 04/22/2016, 5:14 AM
• P: 04/22/2016
• p: 5:14 AM
• pp: 5:14:58 AM
• yyyy-MM-dd: 2016-04-22
• MMMM do yyyy, h:mm:ss a: April 22nd 2016, 5:14:58 AM

Locale

Applies to the menu entries and to whatever you insert. Shown with the PPPPp format:

• en: Friday, April 22nd, 2016 at 5:14 AM (default)
• ja: 2016年4月22日金曜日 5:14
• de: Freitag, 22. April 2016 um 05:14
• fr: vendredi 22 avril 2016 à 05:14
• ko: 2016년 4월 22일 금요일 05:14

Migrating from Moment.js formats

Version 0.2.x used Moment.js, whose format tokens differ from date-fns'. If you customized the Format setting, update it — or clear it, since the menu now covers the common formats:

Moment	date-fns	Example
LLLL	PPPPp	Friday, April 22nd, 2016 at 5:14 AM
LLL	PPPp	April 22nd, 2016 at 5:14 AM
llll	PPp	Apr 22, 2016, 5:14 AM
LL	PPP	April 22nd, 2016
ll	PP	Apr 22, 2016
L	P	04/22/2016
LT	p	5:14 AM
LTS	pp	5:14:58 AM
YYYY	yyyy	2016
DD	dd	22
D	d	22
A	a	AM

Two of these fail quietly rather than loudly, so it's worth checking your setting:

• YYYY and DD are rejected by date-fns — the plugin shows an error notification instead of inserting anything.
• LLLL is still a valid date-fns token, but it means "standalone month" and renders as just April.