# Capture: Add entries to your daily note

> Cookbook of Capture recipes that add timestamped lines, tasks, quotes, callouts, and table rows to today's daily note

> Ready-made QuickAdd package for this workflow: [package JSON](https://quickadd.obsidian.guide/packages/daily-note-captures.quickadd.json). Copy its contents and import them in Obsidian via **Settings → QuickAdd → Import package…**.

This cookbook gives you one QuickAdd choice that adds text to today's daily note - even when the note or the target heading doesn't exist yet.

Every recipe starts from the same base Capture choice; you only change the **Capture format** and the target heading.

## Base setup

Imported the package above? Follow **After importing** in the card, then skip the base setup below. [Recipes](#recipes) explains what each imported capture does and how to add more.

1. In **Settings → QuickAdd**, click **New choice** → **Capture**. The Capture builder opens; click its name at the top to rename it (for example, `Daily entry`).
2. Disable **Capture to active file**.
3. Click **Daily note** next to **Capture to** (QuickAdd 2.30.0 or later). It fills in `{{DAILY}}`, which uses the folder, date format, and template from Obsidian's **Daily notes** settings, or from Periodic Notes when it manages your daily notes. On earlier versions, type your daily-note path and date pattern instead, for example `Daily/{{DATE:YYYY-MM-DD}}.md`.
4. Make sure **Create file if it doesn't exist** is on. The **Daily note** button turns it on; on earlier versions, turn it on yourself.
5. Set **Write position** to **After line...**.
6. In the **Insert after** field, enter the heading you want entries placed under, for example `## Journal`.
7. Make sure **Insert at end of section** is on, so each capture appends at the bottom of the section.
8. Make sure **Create line if not found** is on with placement **Top**, so the heading is inserted when a fresh note does not have it yet. A new Capture starts with both on in QuickAdd 2.30.0 or later; on earlier versions, turn them on.
9. Leave **Link to captured file** disabled.
10. Fill in **Capture format** with one of the recipes below.

## Recipes

Each recipe shows what to change from the base setup. Before QuickAdd 2.30.0, turn on the **Capture format** toggle to type a recipe.

### Timestamped journal line

Keep **Insert after** set to `## Journal`.

**Capture format:**

```
- {{DATE:HH:mm}} {{VALUE}}
```

Produces:

```markdown
## Journal
- 18:54 first journal entry
- 18:55 second journal entry
```

Before QuickAdd 2.30.0, end each recipe's format with `\n` (for example `- {{DATE:HH:mm}} {{VALUE}}\n`). Without it, a capture at the end of a section removes the blank line before the next heading.

### Task line

Change **Insert after** to `## Tasks`.

**Task:** on (in the **Content** section).

**Capture format:**

```
{{VALUE}}
```

**Task** wraps the value in `- [ ] ...` automatically. Do not add `- [ ]` to the format manually.

### Task with a date prompt

**Task:** on.

**Capture format:**

```
{{VALUE}} due {{VDATE:due,YYYY-MM-DD}}
```

QuickAdd prompts for the task text and then for `due`. You can enter an exact date or a natural-language date such as `tomorrow`. Result: `- [ ] pay rent due 2026-07-07`.

### Callout line

Change **Insert after** to the callout opener, for example:

```
> [!info]- Captured today
```

**Capture format:**

```
> {{VALUE}}
```

On first use, **Create line if not found** inserts the callout opener at the position you chose. Each subsequent capture appends before the next blank line or heading, so keep the callout as one contiguous quoted block. The `>` prefix is required to keep the entry inside the callout block.

### Quote

Change **Insert after** to `## Quotes`.

**Capture format:**

```
> {{VALUE}}
```

Same format as the callout recipe but targeting a regular heading. Produces a blockquote line under the section.

### Table row

Use this when the daily note already has a table under a heading and the table is the last block in that section. Keep **Write position** as **After line...**, set **Insert after** to the heading above the table, and keep **Insert at end of section** enabled. If more content follows the table in the same section, target the table separator row instead.

**Capture format:**

```
| {{DATE:HH:mm}} | {{VALUE}} |
```

This keeps the row attached to the table:

```markdown
## Log
| When | What |
| --- | --- |
| 09:00 | existing |
| 18:55 | section row |
```

### Tomorrow's daily note

With **Capture to** set to `{{DAILY}}`, set **Which day** to **Custom…**, one day forward. `{{DAILY}}` follows [Which day](/docs/Choices/TemplateChoice/#date-origin), so the capture targets tomorrow's note and creates it from your daily notes template.

With a typed path, change **Capture to** to:

```
Daily/{{DATE:YYYY-MM-DD+1}}.md
```

The `+1` shifts the target date one day forward. Combine with any of the formats above.

## Troubleshooting

**Pasted multiple lines became one task.**
The **Task** setting wraps the whole capture once. Turn on [**One entry per line**](/docs/Choices/CaptureChoice/#one-entry-per-line) (QuickAdd 2.30.0 or later) to make each line its own task.

**The heading is not found and capture fails.**
Turn on **Create line if not found** with placement **Top** (or **Bottom**). QuickAdd inserts the heading on first use and places new content after it.

**You need to insert above a placeholder.**
Use **Before line...** instead of **After line...** and target the placeholder, such as `<!-- quickadd:notes -->`. See [Insert before](/docs/Choices/CaptureChoice/#insert-before) for the full setting.

**Capture writes to the wrong file.**
Use `{{DAILY}}` in **Capture to**, which reads the path from your Daily notes settings. With a typed path, the date pattern must match your vault's daily-note naming exactly. If your notes are named `2025.01.15.md` inside `Journal/`, use `Journal/{{DATE:YYYY.MM.DD}}.md`.