Command reference

Run driftlog help <command> for the same text in your terminal.

Command	What it does
`new`	Create a new entry in `$EDITOR`.
`list`	List entries, newest first, with filters.
`show`	Print one or more entries to stdout.
`search`	Full-text search across the journal.
`edit`	Re-open an existing entry.
`tag`	Add or remove tags on an entry.
`export`	Render the journal to Markdown, HTML, or JSON.
`stats`	Counts, streaks, and tag frequency.
`reindex`	Rebuild the search index from the files on disk.

`driftlog new`

driftlog new [--tag TAG]... [--date DATE] [--stdin]

  --tag TAG     Attach one or more tags to the new entry.
  --date DATE   Backdate the entry (e.g. "yesterday", 2026-06-01).
  --stdin       Read the entry body from stdin instead of $EDITOR.

`driftlog list`

driftlog list [--tag TAG]... [--since DATE] [--until DATE] [--limit N] [--oneline]

  --since, --until   Accepts natural dates ("last monday", "3 days ago") or ISO dates.
  --limit N          Show at most N entries (default 50).
  --oneline          One entry per line: date, time, tags, title.

`driftlog search`

driftlog search QUERY [--tag TAG]... [--since DATE] [--context N]

  QUERY        Words to match; quote for phrases. Ranked by relevance.
  --context N  Show N lines of surrounding text around each match.

`driftlog export`

driftlog export [--format md|html|json] [--out PATH] [--tag TAG]... [--since DATE]

  --format     Output format. Default: md.
  --out PATH   Write to a file instead of stdout.

HTML export produces a single self-contained file with a table of contents — handy for printing a year of entries or handing them to someone.

`driftlog stats`

$ driftlog stats
entries        1,284
first entry    2024-02-09
current streak 11 days
top tags       #work (412)  #running (188)  #reading (151)

Global flags

--journal DIR   Use a different journal directory for this run.
--config FILE   Use an alternate config file.
--no-color      Disable ANSI colour.
--version       Print version and build date.