Notes in a Vial
Most files inside a Vial can have their own Markdown note, a separate place to jot things down beside the file. Markdown files themselves (.md, .markdown, .mdc) are the exception: you edit those files directly in the Markdown editor instead. Per-file notes apply to PDFs, images, spreadsheets, and other file types. You edit notes from the preview sidebar or the Vials panel; they aren’t custom properties and need no setup.
Prerequisites
You must be inside a Vial (the folder that contains .phials/). If you have not created one yet, see Create and manage a Vial.
Per-file notes
A per-file note is one Markdown note per note-eligible file in the Vial (everything except .md, .markdown, and .mdc). You do not enable it in the schema.
How to edit: Select the file in the file list. In the Preview sidebar, open the Note section. If the note already has content, the section opens expanded automatically; if it is empty, it starts collapsed so you can focus on other sections or start typing when you are ready. Your changes are saved in place as you type; there is no separate Save button.
Open from the Vials panel: In the Vials panel, when a file already has a note, a small Note button appears on its row. Click it to open that note in a preview tab for reading or editing with more space, so you do not have to navigate to the file in the tree first.
Renames: A note stays with the same file even if you rename or move it inside the Vial. Phials stores the file’s note using a stable ID, not the filename on disk.
Where it applies: Per-file notes are only available for files indexed by a Vial, typically files under the Vial root folder. A bare file outside any Vial does not get a Note section.
Where notes live
Notes are kept inside the Vial’s hidden .phials folder, so they travel with the Vial when you move or sync it. You normally open and edit them through Phials. If you delete the .phials folder, all of the Vial’s information goes with it, including notes.