Vim

To install vim the easiest way is through the APT repository. It can however also be installed through other means like github, after which you will have to compile it. However, I will show here the easiest way.

sudo apt install -y vim      # install vim

Interesting thing to note is the location of the configuration file. Its usually in the home folder and is named - .vimrc. We will edit this file for our purpose.

Once at the location of the file (usually home folder), open it with the admin/root rights with the following command.

sudo vim .vimrc      # Open the vim configuration file

The configuration file opens, go to to the bottom of the file and press i. This will put vim editor in insert mode. Press enter to get into a new line and write the following command.

autocmd BufWritePost *note-*.md silent !sk_buildNote %:p

Then press ESC to enter normal mode. In this write :wq and press enter to exit the editor. Here ‘:’ signifies a command, ‘w’ signifies write and ‘q’ signifies quit.

The command we entered basically tells the vim editor that whenever we save a file that has the file name starting with ‘note-’, then run the script ‘sk_buildNote’ silently. We will see below what are the contents of this script.

Pandoc

There are a number of ways to install pandoc as well, but as before with vim the easiest way is through the APT. Enter the following command to install it.

sudo apt install -y pandoc     # install pandoc

Latex

We also need to make sure that we install latex because we want our note to be also a beautiful looking pdf document. To install Latex, enter the following command. Note - this will install the entire thing and will take time going through the important associated packages. I highly recommend you install the entire thing because latex can be a hassle if you have to worry about its individual packages.

sudo apt install -y texlive         # install latex to produce pdf
sudo apt install -y texlive-xetex   # install latex engine xelatex in case it was not part of texlive

Git

Installing git is straight forward with the following command.

sudo apt install -y git      # install git

After installation, we have to configure git for usage. To set it up enter the following commands.

git config --global user.name "Your Name"         # Your name
git config --global user.email "your@email.com"   # Use your github no reply email for privacy. Need a github account for this.

Now your git should be set up. Please make sure to get ssh key pair setup for better security. Also from August 2021 github is not going to allow any https connections. You can learn more about it here.

Assuming all is working, Create an online repository on Github. I will call mine as notes_taking. To clone it through ssh enter the following command (I also have an example in comments on how to clone without ssh). You will have to enter the passphrase for the ssh connection or the password for the https connection.

# with ssh 
git clone git@github.com:<your-github-user-name>/notes_taking.git
#
# For without ssh, with https connection (soon to be obsolete)
# git clone https://github.com/<your-github-user-name>/notes_taking.git

Now we have a notes_taking folder with all the contents of the repository. you can confirm this by typing ls to check the existence of the folder. Now enter the folder and create two sub-folders. These folders will contain the relevant markdown and pdf files.

# enter the repository folder
cd notes_private
# Create the two sub-folders
mkdir md_files pdf
# go back to the home folder
cd ~

Zathura

Installing Zathura is straight forward with the following command.

sudo apt install -y zathura  # install zathura

Script 1

Lets create the first one called sk_ssh-add-pass. This script will in general be a way to access the online github repository without the need to manually enter the passphrase. I will be using the ssh key pair to accomplish this. Do the following.

# make sure you are in the home folder
cd ~
# create a file using editor of your choice, I will use vim
vim sk_ssh-add-pass

Once inside press i to start editing the file. Write the following

#!/bin/bash

# usage
if [ $# -ne 2 ] ; then
        echo "Usage: sk_ssh-add-pass keyfile passfile"
        exit 1
fi

# call the agent and give it the passphrase
pass=$(echo $2)
expect << EOF
    spawn ssh-add $1
    expect "Enter passphrase"
    send "$pass\r"
    expect eof
EOF

Save the file by pressing ESC and then typing :wq and then press enter.

Script 2

Follow the same procedure as script 1 above but instead call this one sk_notetaker, and enter the text inside as below.

#!/bin/bash

# get the correct file (create it if not found)
noteFilename="<repo-location>/note-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).md"
if [ ! -f $noteFilename ]; then
        echo "# Notes for $(date +%Y-%m-%d)" > $noteFilename
fi

# Vim formatting
vim -c "norm Go" \
        -c "norm Go## $(date +%H:%M)" \
        -c "norm G2o" \
        -c "norm zz" \
        -c "startinsert" $noteFilename

Note: <repo-location> is your repository location which would typically be /home/notes_taking.

Script 3

Follow the same procedure as script 1 above but instead call this one sk_buildNote, and enter the text inside as below.

#!/bin/bash

# location variables
filename=$1
target="$(dirname "${filename}")/../pdf"
location_now="$(dirname "${filename}")/../"
outputFile="$(basename "$filename" .md).pdf"

# make pdf folder if non existent
mkdir -p $target

# convert into pdf
pandoc \
    --pdf-engine=xelatex \
    -o "$target/$outputFile" $filename

# delete any saved swp files created by vim
rm $location_now/md_files/.note*.*

# getting access to github via ssh agent
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
sk_ssh-add-pass ~/.ssh/<private-id-name> <passphrase>

# commit changes to github and push it out
git -C $location_now/ add .
git -C $location_now/ commit -m 'note added'
git -C $location_now/ push origin main

Note: <private-id-name> is ssh private key name that you use to connect to github. <passphrase> is your passphrase for the key.

Script 4

Follow the same procedure as script 1 above but instead call this one sk_mostRecentNote, and enter the text inside as below.

#!/bin/bash

# call the latest note pdf file to view
ls -r <repo-location>/pdf/*.pdf | head -n1 | xargs zathura

Note: ‘<repo-location>’ is your repository location which would typically be /home/notes_taking.