Attachments & Files

Keep the original material beside the knowledge it supports. Add a screenshot to a project note, an audio recording to an interview summary, or a PDF to a research page so the file and its context remain together.

MindWiki stores attachments in your vault and references them from Markdown pages. The Mac app provides file insertion, drag-and-drop, and image paste. The web app displays synced attachments embedded in pages; web uploads are not currently part of this workflow.

Add an attachment on Mac

Choose one method:

1. Slash command: type /attachment, /image, /audio, /video, or /pdf, then choose the file.
2. Drag-and-drop: drag a file from Finder into the editor at the intended position.
3. Image paste: copy an image or screenshot to the clipboard, then paste it into the page.

MindWiki copies the file into _assets/ and inserts a reference in the current page. Write a short explanation near the attachment so a future reader understands why it is there.

Common file types

Files outside these examples can be attached generically where supported. Storage support is different from native preview or editing support. A design file or spreadsheet may be represented by a file card and require its original application to open.

What appears inside the page

Playback depends on the client, codec, and file. The Mac editor also provides image resizing controls. A preview is a way to inspect a file, not a conversion into editable Markdown.

Capture a screenshot into a note

On Mac:

1. Press Cmd+Control+Shift+4 to capture a selected region to the clipboard.
2. Select the region.
3. Place the cursor in the MindWiki page.
4. Press Cmd+V.
5. Add a caption explaining what the screenshot shows.

If you use Cmd+Shift+4 without Control, macOS normally saves a screenshot file instead. Drag that file from its saved location into the page.

Keep attachments and references together

Original files live under _assets/, while pages hold references to them. This separation allows a file to support more than one page without requiring you to paste its full contents into every note.

Avoid manually deleting or moving referenced assets without updating their uses. When exporting or backing up a vault, include its attachments as well as the Markdown pages. A Markdown export without the referenced files cannot reproduce those attachments elsewhere.

Understand sync behavior

Attachments are part of the vault's synced content. The local Mac copy and cloud copy use content hashes to identify files and avoid unnecessary repeated transfer of unchanged content.

Larger files can take longer to transfer than text. Wait for the asset to finish syncing before expecting it to open on another device. A page can arrive before the full media file is ready to display.

Give agents useful context around files

Agents can use the page text, metadata, and available tools to understand how an attachment relates to your work. Add a source, summary, or explanation in Markdown when you want that context to be easy to retrieve.

For example:

Read the interview summary in MindWiki and compare its findings with the project brief. Cite the note pages supporting your conclusions.

Attaching a file does not guarantee every client can download it, read its full contents, transcribe audio, OCR images, unpack archives, or edit proprietary formats. Those capabilities depend on the actual tools exposed to that client and the workflow you are using.

Email attachments are a separate path

Email capture currently records attachment information in the captured message page without storing those attachments as separate vault files. To retain an original attachment in _assets/, save it through the Mac app's attachment workflow.

Next: The Editor, Capture Methods, and Export & Backup.