Backlinks

In the default template, backlinks split into two flavors based on whether the linking note’s filename matches an YYYY-MM-DD[-…] daily-note pattern:

Regular backlinks — non-daily notes that reference the current page.
Timeline backlinks — daily notes (filenames like 2025-03-14.md) that reference the current page.

The split is computed in Calendar.parseRouteDay and exposed to templates as the <ema:note:backlinks:nodaily> / <ema:note:backlinks:daily> Heist splices respectively.

Regular backlinks

Render as a slim labelled list of “tiny title chips” — same chip language as wiki-links — in the right-panel column at lg: and above (#backlinks-margin), or stacked at the bottom of the card at narrower widths (#backlinks-bottom).

Each chip is just the linking note’s title; hovering or focusing a chip opens a flyout to the left over the prose column with the rendered context paragraphs (the prose around where this note is referenced). The flyout shares typography with the timeline heatmap’s cell-hover popup, so all “side material” reads as one family.

On <lg (when the right-panel is hidden), the bottom strip carries the same data. Touch devices skip the flyout entirely and see the contexts inlined under the chip.

Timeline backlinks

Render as a year-stacked heatmap: 12 rows per year (one per month), each row 31 cells wide. Cells with a daily backlink are filled in the primary palette and clickable; empty cells are gray. Years stack newest-first.

Hovering a filled cell opens a context flyout (header YYYY-MM-DD — title, then the rendered backlink context paragraphs). Same flyout chrome as regular-backlink chips. The heatmap renders in two homes:

Right-panel at lg:+ (compact 4×4 cells in the narrow column)
Bottom strip at <lg (cells stretch as horizontal bars to fill the wider row)

Dates come from the linked note’s route via Calendar.parseRouteDay, the same parser used for the daily/non-daily split. A daily note can therefore have a custom title without disappearing from the heatmap.

See Daily Notes for how the daily/non-daily split feeds these two surfaces.

Linked from

Table of contents

In the default template, the table of contents lives in the right-panel column at lg: (≥1024px) breakpoint and above, alongside Backlinks and the timeline heatmap. Below that breakpoint the right-panel hides entirely and the TOC is omitted to keep the prose centered.
Right panel

Timeline heatmap — year-stacked grid of cells where filled days are daily-note backlinks to the current page (see Backlinks).

Timeline heatmap — year-stacked grid of cells where filled days are daily-note backlinks to the current page (see Backlinks).

Linked from — slim chip list of regular backlinks (non-daily notes that reference the current page); each chip opens a context flyout on hover.

The TOC and backlinks each have their own enable knobs (see Table of contents and Backlinks). The right-panel renders only when there’s content for at least one of them — pages with no TOC and no backlinks omit it entirely (no empty gray column).
Pandoc Lua Filters

Backlinks
Fonts and Typography

The theme colour (set via template.theme — see YAML configuration) drives the unified chip language used by the page title, wikilinks, Backlinks, query results, the timeline heatmap, and tags — every “linked note” surface reads as one family. The table of contents sits deliberately outside this palette in neutral gray, since TOC entries map to plain-prose headings rather than other notes.
Focus mode

the narrow-screen bottom strip that mirrors right-panel Backlinks and timeline content
Daily Notes

The backlinks panel will render daily notes separate from regular notes. Daily notes render as a year-stacked timeline heatmap (see Backlinks); regular notes render as a “Linked from” chip list.

Linked from

Table of contents

In the default template, the table of contents lives in the right-panel column at lg: (≥1024px) breakpoint and above, alongside Backlinks and the timeline heatmap. Below that breakpoint the right-panel hides entirely and the TOC is omitted to keep the prose centered.
Right panel

Timeline heatmap — year-stacked grid of cells where filled days are daily-note backlinks to the current page (see Backlinks).

Timeline heatmap — year-stacked grid of cells where filled days are daily-note backlinks to the current page (see Backlinks).

Linked from — slim chip list of regular backlinks (non-daily notes that reference the current page); each chip opens a context flyout on hover.

The TOC and backlinks each have their own enable knobs (see Table of contents and Backlinks). The right-panel renders only when there’s content for at least one of them — pages with no TOC and no backlinks omit it entirely (no empty gray column).
Pandoc Lua Filters

Backlinks
Fonts and Typography

The theme colour (set via template.theme — see YAML configuration) drives the unified chip language used by the page title, wikilinks, Backlinks, query results, the timeline heatmap, and tags — every “linked note” surface reads as one family. The table of contents sits deliberately outside this palette in neutral gray, since TOC entries map to plain-prose headings rather than other notes.
Focus mode

the narrow-screen bottom strip that mirrors right-panel Backlinks and timeline content
Daily Notes

The backlinks panel will render daily notes separate from regular notes. Daily notes render as a year-stacked timeline heatmap (see Backlinks); regular notes render as a “Linked from” chip list.