Org Ecosystem

Patterns for Org-mode document creation, GTD workflow, literate programming with Babel, and export/publishing.

Syntax Fundamentals

Headings and Properties

* Top-level heading
** Second-level heading
*** Third-level heading

* Task
:PROPERTIES:
:CATEGORY: work
:EFFORT:   2h
:END:

Timestamps

• <2024-01-15 Mon> - active (shows in agenda)
• [2024-01-15 Mon] - inactive
• <2024-01-15 Mon +1w> - repeating weekly
• <2024-01-15 Mon .+1d> - restart from completion

Markup

• *bold* /italic/ _underline_ =verbatim= ~code~ +strikethrough+

Links

• [[https://orgmode.org][Org website]] - external
• [[file:./other.org][Local file]] - file link
• [[*Heading][Internal link]] - heading link
• [[id:unique-id][ID link]] - stable cross-file reference

Tables

| Name  | Qty | Price | Total |
|-------+-----+-------+-------|
| Item1 |   2 |  10.0 |  20.0 |
#+TBLFM: $4=$2*$3

GTD Workflow

TODO States

#+TODO: TODO(t) NEXT(n) WAITING(w@/!) | DONE(d!) CANCELLED(c@)

• @ prompts for note, ! records timestamp, | separates active/done

Capture Templates

(setq org-capture-templates
  '(("t" "Todo" entry (file+headline "~/org/inbox.org" "Tasks")
     "* TODO %?\n  %i\n  %a")
    ("n" "Note" entry (file "~/org/notes.org")
     "* %? :note:\n  %U\n  %i")))

• %? cursor, %i region, %a annotation, %U inactive timestamp

Clocking

:LOGBOOK:
CLOCK: [2024-01-15 Mon 10:00]--[2024-01-15 Mon 12:30] =>  2:30
:END:

• C-c C-x C-i clock in, C-c C-x C-o clock out

Babel (Literate Programming)

Code Blocks

#+NAME: example-block
#+BEGIN_SRC python :results output :exports both
print("Hello from Python")
#+END_SRC

Header Arguments

• :results - value, output, silent, table
• :exports - code, results, both, none
• :var - variable binding
• :session - persistent session
• :tangle - extract to file
• :noweb - reference expansion

Tangling

#+BEGIN_SRC python :tangle ./script.py :shebang "#!/usr/bin/env python3"
def main():
    print("Generated from org file")
#+END_SRC

• C-c C-v t to tangle

Noweb References

#+NAME: imports
#+BEGIN_SRC python :noweb-ref imports
import os
#+END_SRC

#+BEGIN_SRC python :tangle ./program.py :noweb yes
<<imports>>
#+END_SRC

Export

Document Header

#+TITLE: Document Title
#+AUTHOR: Author Name
#+OPTIONS: toc:2 num:t author:t

Export Backends

• HTML: C-c C-e h h
• PDF via LaTeX: C-c C-e l p
• Beamer slides: C-c C-e l b
• Markdown: C-c C-e m m

Selective Export

* Exported heading
* Not exported :noexport:

#+BEGIN_EXPORT html
<div class="custom">Raw HTML</div>
#+END_EXPORT

Best Practices

Critical:

• One file per major project or area
• Keep inbox.org for captures, refile regularly
• Consistent TODO state workflow across files

High:

• Add SCHEDULED/DEADLINE to time-sensitive tasks
• Use tags for context (@home, @work) not categories
• Archive completed subtrees periodically

Anti-Patterns

Constraints

Must:

• Use appropriate heading levels (don't skip)
• Close all drawers and blocks properly
• Use relative paths for portability

Avoid:

• Excessive nesting beyond 4-5 levels
• Side effects in babel without documentation