Folder Metadata
Folders can carry the same five metadata fields a document’s own frontmatter does — but since a folder has no file of its own to hold YAML, they’re stored in the project’s .smaragd/project.json instead, one entry per folder.
Click any folder row in the Binder (other than the project root, which opens Project Metadata instead) to switch the Metadata dock to that folder’s own fields, headed “Folder Metadata” so it’s always clear you’re editing a folder and not a document:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
Type | Free-form section type, same as a document’s. |
Status | Free-form drafting status, same as a document’s. |
POV | Point-of-view character, free text. |
Word Count Target | A target word count for everything nested inside this folder. |
Tags | Free-form tags, edited the same removable pill-style chips a document’s are. |
See Document Metadata for the fuller description of what each field means and how the chip editor works — it’s the identical form, just without a live Word count readout, an Other fields section, or inline-#tag chips in Tags, since a folder has no file or body of its own for any of those three to read from.
What actually uses it
- Status and POV feed Binder Background Coloring the same way a document’s own
status/povdo — a folder’s row gets colored by whichever value it carries, once that coloring mode is active. The color-swatch button next toStatus:/POV:assigns the same project-wide color a document’s swatch would; coloring “draft” or “Alice” once colors every row carrying that value, document or folder alike. - Word Count Target feeds the Word Count Progress coloring mode specifically: a folder’s row is colored by the combined word count of every document nested inside it (computed off the UI thread, alongside the Word Count panel’s own total) against the folder’s own target.
- Type and Tags aren’t read anywhere else yet — they’re carried along purely for parity with the document form, in case you want the same fields available at a glance without opening every document inside. In particular, a folder’s
Tagsdon’t feed the Tags dock or#tagsearch; only a document’s own tags do.
Folder metadata is entirely independent of Folder Role (Research/Trash/Templates/Manuscript/World) — the same folder can have both, neither, or either on its own; setting one never touches the other.