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Org Mode

Use when asked to write or edit Org mode files (.org) — headline/outline syntax, TODO workflows, tables, links, properties, the agenda, or Babel code blocks — whether inside Emacs or as a plain-text format read by other tools.

Org mode is a plain-text outlining, notes, and task-management format built into Emacs (org-mode), and readable/writable by other tools (Logseq, org-roam, static-site generators) because the syntax itself is simple and line-oriented.

Headlines and structure

* Top-level headline
** Second-level headline
*** TODO Write the report                                        :work:
    DEADLINE: <2026-09-12 Sat>
    Body text and notes go here, indented under the headline.
**** DONE Draft outline
     CLOSED: [2026-09-01 Tue 14:30]
  • Leading * count is the outline depth — not indentation.
  • TODO / DONE (and any custom keywords defined via #+TODO:) are task states, written right after the stars.
  • Trailing :tag1:tag2: are tags, inherited by sub-headlines unless overridden.
  • Tab on a headline cycles that subtree's fold state; S-Tab cycles the whole buffer's global fold state (in Emacs).

Dates, scheduling, and the agenda

  • <2026-09-12 Sat> — an active timestamp, appears in the agenda.
  • [2026-09-12 Sat] — an inactive timestamp, recorded but not agenda-visible.
  • SCHEDULED: <...> / DEADLINE: <...> — planning lines right under a headline; <2026-09-12 Sat +1w> repeats weekly.
  • C-c a opens the agenda view (in Emacs), aggregating TODOs/deadlines across all files in org-agenda-files.

Links, properties, tables

[[https://orgmode.org][Org mode homepage]]
[[file:./notes.org::*Some headline][Jump to a headline in another file]]

:PROPERTIES:
:ID:       a1b2c3d4-...
:EFFORT:   2:00
:END:

| Name  | Qty | Price |
|-------+-----+-------|
| Widget|   3 | 9.99  |
| Gadget|   1 | 19.99 |
#+TBLFM: $3=@2$2*1.1
  • A PROPERTIES drawer attaches structured key/value metadata to a headline (used heavily by org-roam for :ID:, and by the agenda for :EFFORT:).
  • Tables auto-align on Tab; #+TBLFM: defines spreadsheet-style formulas recalculated with C-c C-c on the formula line.

Babel (executable code blocks)

#+begin_src python :results output
print(2 + 2)
#+end_src

#+RESULTS:
: 4

C-c C-c inside the block executes it and inserts a #+RESULTS: block below. Babel supports dozens of languages this way and can pass results between blocks (:var x=other-block), which is what makes Org usable as a literate notebook, not just an outline.

Export

#+TITLE:, #+AUTHOR:, #+OPTIONS: are document-level keywords read by the exporter. C-c C-e opens the export dispatcher (Markdown, HTML, LaTeX/PDF, ODT, and more via ox-* backends).

Common pitfalls

  • Confusing headline depth with indentation. Body text under a headline should be indented for readability, but what controls outline structure is the * count on headline lines, not whitespace.
  • Active vs. inactive timestamps. Using [...] when you meant the agenda to pick the date up (<...>) is the single most common reason "it's not showing up in my agenda."
  • Editing a table's alignment by hand. Let Tab (or C-c C-c on a formula row) redo the column widths; hand-editing pipe positions drifts out of alignment as content changes.
  • Forgetting :results output vs :results value in a Babel header — output captures everything printed to stdout, value captures the block's final expression value; using the wrong one gives an empty or wrong #+RESULTS:.

Learn more

View org-mode/SKILL.md on GitHub