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Feature

Command nodes

A command node is a custom automation you build by chaining actions together. When triggered, the actions run in sequence. You can run command nodes from the command line, attach them to supertags, or trigger them automatically.

Command nodes help you get one or more tasks done in Tana Outliner. You can create your own command nodes with multiple commands, or steps, within them. For example, build a “Process voice memo” command node that grabs the voice recording, transcribes it, creates and tags tasks and ideas that it finds, and sends it all to your daily notes.

Command nodes can be run via the command line, as buttons on a supertag, or via node events.

Command nodes are easier to understand if you're already comfortable with using the command line and the search query.

For commands that use AI, see here: AI command nodes

Basics

  • There are three essential elements to creating custom commands: the command node that is a container for the command, the commands that represent the actions you want to do, and the parameters that are the settings for the commands
  • To create a custom command node, run Cmd+KCtrl+K > Convert to command node on an empty node.
  • To configure what the command node does, add commands as child nodes to it. To get a list of all available commands you can add, use @.
  • Each command can receive certain parameters (represented as system fields), listed in the description. The ones that are starred are required. Add the necessary parameter fields to the command (hit > to create a field, then the name of the parameter), and fill it with the necessary field value.
  • If there are multiple commands in the command node, they are executed in the order that they're listed from the top.
  • You cannot add the same command twice. To repeat a command, wrap it in another command node and add that to the list.
  • Command nodes appear as buttons attached to nodes, supertag instances, or fields. They also appear in the command line.
  • You can control when/where a command appears by using node filter and node context parameters on the main command node.
  • You can find all commands in your workspaces by writing the keyword operator IS COMMAND in the search node.

Create a command node

To create a command node, on any node go Cmd+KCtrl+K > Convert to command node:

The icon of the node will change. Give the command node a name, which will appear on command buttons, and on the command line.

Set up commands and parameters

Commands

To configure the command node, select the commands you want using @. This gives you a filtered list of all available commands, including Tana Outliner commands, AI commands and custom commands you've defined previously.

Tana Outliner commands include:

  • Set field value tells the system to do the action of setting a field underneath your node—same way we do it ourselves—and then, optionally, filling that field with a specific value.
  • Insert a cloned copy of a node tells the system to do the action of copying another node (that you specify inside the command) and bringing a clone of that node into the context in which you're working.
  • Add tag adds a tag to your node, and Remove tag takes one away.

See All Tana Outliner commands for a full list of options.

Parameters

Each command has a set of parameters you use to configure it. To add a parameter to a command, add any of the listed parameters as a field under the command. Parameters with a star are required.

Using the example of the Move node command, you'll find these settings:

  • Target node: Let's you instruct the action where to send the moved node.
  • Remove reference after moving node: Let's you decide whether you want there to be a reference to your moved node at the current location, or not.
  • Node filter/Node context: These settings are available on all commands and let you specify which nodes will run your command, in various ways.

Using the Move node-command and these settings, you could, for instance, make a command that

  • Sends a node to your team workspace and
  • Removes the reference from your workspace

Combining this with Add tag and Set field values, you could

  1. create a new #project (Add tag)
  2. assign it to your teammate Brage (Set field value)
  3. set status to Active (Set field value) and
  4. send it to your shared workspace Viral Content (Move node)

all with one button click.

Access commands

Commands in the command line

Once you've configured your command node, it will appear in the command line (Cmd+KCtrl+K) as another command you can access alongside the default commands.

Commands as buttons

Once you've configured your command node, you can use it to make buttons appear in any node. With your caret on target node, go to the command line Cmd+KCtrl+K > Configure node to open the node configuration. Add your command node in the Commands field.

You can also add a command node to a supertag or field, see the supertag/field configuration panel > AI and Commands section > Compact/Full menu. Paste in the command you want to use in the compact or full menu field, and the command will appear alongside the tagged node or field.

Command buttons will appear next to tagged node

Command menu buttons

It is now possible to group multiple commands together in a menu button. These can either be shown on collapsed nodes (Compact menu) or only when you expand/zoom into a node (Full menu).

Command buttons with nested menus

To create command menu buttons;

  1. Go into the AI and Commands section, to Compact/Full menu
  2. In one of the fields, create a node with the menu title
  3. Do Cmd+KCtrl+K > Convert to Group on the node
  4. Indent below the node and paste in the commands you want shown in the menu
  5. For nested menus, make an indented node and convert this to a group, before pasting commands indented under that

Nested command button menu

Node filter

Using the parameter Node Filter, you can use search query language to control which nodes the command can be run on.

For instance, if you made a command specifically to run on your #standup tag and no other tag or node, you can add this:

>Node filter: #standup

An excluded node will not display the command, neither from the command line nor as a button.

Finding all commands

You can find all commands in your workspaces by creating a search node and using the keyword operator IS COMMAND. Scope it down to a workspace to only find commands from there.

Trigger commands on node events

You can have commands trigger when child nodes are added or removed from any node. For more, see On child added/removed

You can also have commands trigger when a supertag is added or removed from any node. For more, see On added/removed

All Tana Outliner commands

Insert a cloned copy of a node

Can be used to emulate template behaviour, add a new time log entry to a time log etc

Insert relative date

System command that inserts a date using the relative date string.

Move node

System command that moves a node

Add tags

System command for adding a tag to a node.

Remove tags

System command for removing a tag from a node.

Set field values

System command for setting field values to a field.

Set field values for all children

System command for setting field values to a field applied to all children. Example: Set all children to "status deployed" for a release process.

Remove fields

Removes the specified field

Set done status

Sets the done status of a node to a particular setting

Set view definition

Takes the same information that is stored as a custom view on a node - can be used to configure which columns are shown, sorting, filtering, grouping etc.

Set view type

Can set node to outline, cards, table, list, tabs, side menu, and calendar view.

Show alert

Displays a user alert

Ask for user confirmation

Displays a user confirm command, and halts execution if user does not confirm

Run commands in parallel

Takes a list of commands as input, and runs them in parallel (default is sequential)

Run a command line command

Let's you run any command from the command line. Does not work well with multi-stage prompts

Run commands on all children

Let's you run a command on all children.

Run commands on all children currently visible in the view

Let's you run a command on the children based on what currently is in view. It respects the current search query (which may not be saved) and filtering of results.

All AI Commands

For commands that use AI, see here: AI command nodes

All parameters

Node filter

  • Description: Search query to filter nodes that this command can be run on
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Node context

  • Description: Node context for commands - defaults to node the command is run on
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Field dependencies

  • Description: References to other fields on the same node. If any of these fields are empty, and have AI turned on, then their AI prompts will be run before evaluating this command.
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Target node

  • Description: Defines what Tana Outliner object to insert the result into. Can be a reference to a template node, or a field reference
  • Source: Tana Outliner

URL

  • Description: URL, processed using title expressions
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Insert output strategy

  • Description: Default is adding as a child (except in fields, where default is replace)
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Payload

  • Description: Payload type
  • Source: Tana Outliner

API method

  • Description: Defaults to GET
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Parse results

  • Description: Defaults to no parsing (raw)
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Authorization header

  • Description: For authentication (for example "Bearer ....")
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Headers

  • Description: API headers, must start with a word and a colon, like "Authorization: ..."
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Avoid using proxy

  • Description: For local sites, or where you know there is no CORS issue
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Tags

  • Description: Define supertags
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Metaprompt to enhance prompt with GPT-3

  • Description: n/a
  • Source: Tana Outliner

View definition

  • Description: View definition to apply to node
  • Source: Tana Outliner

View type

  • Description: Set view type by picking from dropdown.
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Fields to set

  • Description: Fields to set, and optionally values
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Commands

  • Description: Commands to execute
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Tag candidates

  • Description: Define supertags that become candidates
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Fields to remove

  • Description: Define fields that, if present, will be removed.
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Move node target

  • Description: Define node to be moved. Reference to a specific node, field or a dropdown option
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Remove reference after moving node

  • Description: Will remove the reference after moving node
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Move original node

  • Description: By default, if you run the command on a reference, the reference will be moved. This option can force the original node to be moved.
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Done status to set

  • Description: Gives you done state options to set. There are four options to choose from:
    • Node has no checkbox
    • Done
    • Not done
    • Toggle done status
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Command to run

  • Description: Write out the commands you want to run.
    • If you're uncertain about how a command is written out, navigate to it through the command line, create a custom shortcut, and go to Settings > Private keyboard shortcuts to the shortcut you just made and expand it. You'll find the command written out in a node.
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Look for children in field

  • Description: Looks for children in a specific field, instead of the node. Add reference to field definition.
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Relative date string

  • Description: Write out a date string like this week, in two months, etc. Interpreted with prompt expressions.
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Reference date

  • Description: Either a date, or use Lookup field to reference a field. If reference date is May 1, and relative date is in two weeks, the output will be May 15th.
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Date/time granularity

  • Description: Allows you to specify the granularity of the date object. Use the dropdown to set year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, or millisecond.
  • Source: Tana Outliner

Set only start or end of date

  • Description: Allows you to specify whether you want to set a Start or End date/time.
  • Source: Tana Outliner
Command nodes - Tana Outliner Learn