Command palette (⌘O)

Navigating desktop applications with a trackpad or mouse introduces subtle micro-interruptions that compound throughout the workday. Reaching for a pointer, scanning a multi-level folder tree, clicking a dropdown menu, and selecting a command pulls your attention away from active reasoning.

For writers, engineers, researchers, and executives, speed is a cognitive feature. When software responds as fast as thought, deep focus remains uninterrupted.

Oyma places the Command Palette at the very center of its interaction architecture. Implemented in src/renderer/workspace/CommandPalette.ts and src/renderer/commands/command-registry.ts, the unified palette provides a keyboard-driven HUD that lets you open notes, run system actions, jump to headings, and trigger meeting operations in milliseconds.

The unified ⌘O overlay: One shortcut for everything

Rather than cluttering your workspace with separate dialogs for “Quick Open”, “Command Menu”, and “Tag Browser”, Oyma consolidates all navigational flows into a single, intuitive shortcut: ⌘O.

Pressing ⌘O invokes a lightweight modal overlay centered gracefully on screen. The interface is optimized for instant response:

• Recent notes on launch: If you open the palette with an empty input, it immediately presents your recently viewed and edited documents, allowing you to toggle between active project files with two keystrokes.
• Fuzzy matching algorithm: You do not need to memorize exact filenames. Typing abbreviations or spaced fragments (such as amr to match Architecture Migration Review) matches corresponding letters across your vault with high-precision ranking.
• Immediate file previews: As you navigate candidate items with the Up and Down arrow keys, the active preview reflects the document outline, helping you verify that you have chosen the intended note before pressing Return.

Prefix operators: Precision modes at your fingertips

To give power users complete control over palette context, Oyma supports prefix operators that reshape search behavior instantly:

1. Document Mode (Default)

Typing plain text queries document titles, aliases, and filenames across your active vault. If no matching note exists, pressing Shift-Return creates a brand-new note with that exact title in your default folder, allowing you to capture fleeting thoughts without breaking your train of thought.

2. Command Mode (>)

Prefixing your query with > transitions the palette into Command Mode, querying all registered application actions:

> Toggle Dark Theme
> Export Note to PDF
> Start Meeting Recording
> Summarize Note with Ollama
> Open Graph View

Every command displays its assigned keyboard shortcut in the right margin, helping you learn direct hotkeys naturally as you work.

3. Tag Mode (#)

Prefixing with # activates Tag Search, presenting an alphabetical list of every tag defined in YAML frontmatter or inline across your vault. Selecting a tag filters your workspace view to show all documents bearing that categorization.

Direct meeting controls from your keyboard

Because Oyma deeply integrates meeting workflows into your note-taking environment, the command palette is wired directly into audio capture controllers:

• Start recording instantly: Type > Record to start capturing system audio and microphone input via our zero-bot meeting recording pipeline without looking for a menu icon.
• Insert meeting markers: While a meeting is actively recording, invoke ⌘O and trigger > Add Bookmark to drop a timestamped bookmark into your live notes for pivotal discussion moments.
• Trigger on-device summarization: When a discussion wraps up, run > Summarize to execute our local AI with Ollama templates without touching the mouse.

Jumping directly to document headings and outline anchors

For long-form technical specifications, detailed customer discovery logs, or extensive meeting records, navigating to the top of a document is often only half the journey.

The command palette supports immediate heading resolution. When typing a note query, append # followed by a heading name (for example, API Spec#Authentication) to see matching section anchors across the document. Pressing Return opens the note and scrolls directly to that exact anchor position, letting you jump straight into the relevant paragraph without scrolling through pages of preliminary notes.

Native macOS keyboard muscle memory and accessibility

Oyma treats keyboard ergonomics as a fundamental accessibility requirement rather than an optional convenience:

• Standard Emacs navigation: Supports standard macOS readline shortcuts (Ctrl-N for next item, Ctrl-P for previous item, Ctrl-A for line start, Ctrl-E for line end) so terminal veterans feel instantly at home.
• Tab management: Hold ⌘ while pressing Return to open candidate notes in a new workspace tab, or ⌥Return to open the file in a split editor pane for simultaneous side-by-side editing.
• Full VoiceOver compatibility: The command palette announces active search counts, current selection states, and keyboard shortcuts cleanly to macOS screen readers, ensuring blind and low-vision users enjoy equal speed and navigational fluidity.
• Zero-lag modal rendering: Dismissing the palette with Escape returns focus to your exact prior text selection in less than a millisecond, preserving your active typing momentum.

Combined with our fluid live-preview Markdown editor, bidirectional wikilinks & backlinks, and fast full-text search, the command palette provides an agile, friction-free interface built for focused intellectual work.