Field Pad, a Markdown journal saved into one HTML file that you can keep private
Field Pad is a journal of dated Markdown entries, with tags and search to find them again. It's a template on Hyperclay, a host for documents that save their own changes, so every entry is saved into the journal's one HTML file.
Once you have your own copy, press ⌥⌘N (Ctrl+Alt+N on Windows and Linux) for a new entry and type # Seed order with a few lines under it. The first line becomes the entry's heading. The entry gets today's date and shows up in the list. Write a line like Ordered from the co-op #garden, and a garden tag appears above the list. A tag inside code doesn't count.
The live example opens as a visitor sees it, so you can search it but not write in it.
Hyperclay has no free plan, and plans start at $6 a month. Your copy starts out public, like the example, until you make it private in your Hyperclay dashboard. Private means visitors can't open the journal unless you share it with them. The entries aren't encrypted.
What you can do in it
- Start an entry with ⌥⌘N (Ctrl+Alt+N on Windows and Linux), or delete one.
- See each entry's date and word count. Click the date to move the entry to another day.
- Write in Markdown, with a toolbar for bold, italic, code, links, lists, task lists and quotes.
- Press / to search, or ⌥⌘F (Ctrl+Alt+F) while you're writing. Every word has to appear in the entry, and "quoted phrases" have to appear as written. Case doesn't matter.
- Click a tag to see only the entries that use it.
- Download all your entries as one Markdown file, or import a Markdown file by dragging it onto the page.
- Dark mode follows your system setting. On a phone, you switch between the entry list and the open entry, each on its own screen.
It saves into the page
Write a sentence in an entry, wait for Saved, and close the tab. Open the journal again, and the sentence is there.
Field Pad saves each change into its own HTML as you type. There's no separate database behind it. The status at the top says Saved once the change is in the file.
Open the file in Hyperclay's code editor and you'll find your sentence as plain text inside an <article class="entry"> tag. The entry's date is on that tag, in data-date.
Change it
In light mode, the red margin line on every entry comes from one line near the top of the file: --margin: rgba(204, 70, 32, 0.42);. Change that color in Hyperclay's code editor, save, and every entry has the new line.
Sync the journal to a folder with Hyperclay Local, and a coding agent like Claude Code can change the file there. The change syncs back to your journal.
Where it stops
Your copy starts out public, like the live example. In a public journal, you see a banner at the top: "This journal is public. Anyone with the link can read it." Its Make private link opens your Hyperclay dashboard. Visitors to a public journal can read every entry and download them as Markdown.
Private is a setting on Hyperclay. A private journal doesn't open for visitors unless you share it with them.
Field Pad doesn't encrypt anything. Your entries sit in the file as plain text.
Field Pad is for one writer, and it doesn't merge edits. If the journal changes somewhere else while you write, the status reads Changed elsewhere. Your text stays on screen, and you choose which version to keep.
Entries are text only, with no images or attachments.
Get your own Field Pad
Hyperclay has no free plan. Personal is $6 a month. Maker is $15 a month. Compare the plans.
If you're signed in, the button lets you name your copy, and the copy lands in your workspace. If you're not, you sign in first, or choose a plan if you're new to Hyperclay.
If there's something you'd change in Field Pad, email me at david@hyperclay.com.