How do i make a always executed script within trilium?

[DuckersMcQuack]

I wanted to make regex easier for me to remember/learn, by making a note that has the "expression" example as the note name, and content the regex script will be executed on, but from what i can tell, it only executes on press of play, not every time the note is loaded/rendered

https://regexr.com/#native_link#
This is the page i tried to replicate functions of. I can't code myself properly or much at all myself yet, but i'm still super slowly learning, so i have copilot assist. It made a working script, but it only ran once.

the reason i made a "clone" in regex, was to make hyperlinks of all the symbols to other notes that explains the symbol further for easy fast what and why experience. Hyperlinks within the notes works just fine, but regex execution, not so much. Or doesn't trilium support that?

If i wanted to add a backend script for my own use, how would i add that? Within the docker image?

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi @DuckersMcQuack! I'm Dosu and I’m helping the Trilium team.

Trilium doesn't support scripts that run automatically every time a note is loaded or rendered by default—scripts typically run only when you press "play" or at global events like startup. However, you can achieve always-executed behavior using custom widgets. If you create a JS frontend note that extends NoteContextAwareWidget and label it with #widget, your widget can react every time a note is activated or switched, making it ideal for things like auto-running regex on note content and updating hyperlinks to symbol explanations. This is how built-in features like math and diagram rendering work in Trilium. For details and examples, see the widget documentation and word count widget example.

For backend scripting, Trilium supports "custom request handlers"—backend JS code notes labeled with #customRequestHandler that expose REST endpoints. You can add these notes in your Trilium instance, including when running in Docker. To persist custom scripts or files in Docker, use a mapped volume for your data directory so your changes survive container updates. More info is in the custom request handler guide and Docker persistence advice.

If you want to build a regex widget, start with a JS frontend note, extend NoteContextAwareWidget, and use the refreshWithNote(note) method to process the note's content and update your UI every time the note is loaded. This approach gives you the dynamic, always-executed behavior you're looking for.

To reply, just mention @dosu.

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[DuckersMcQuack]

Thanks :D

But for a few issues i faced, as i followed the docs for widget, but it adds no widget anything top nor bottom left as far as i could see.

[eliandoran]

@DuckersMcQuack , close enough but you are missing a few key points:

1. There is nothing set in the template variable at the top, meaning that nothing will get rendered.
2. The CSS block doesn't apply since there is no element with an ID my-widget in the template.

Here's a working example, based on yours:

const template = `
    <div id="my-widget">Hi there</div>
`;

class MyWidget extends api.BasicWidget {
    get position() { return 1 }
    get parentWidget() { return "left-pane" }

    doRender() {
        this.$widget = $(template);
        this.cssBlock(`#my-widget {
            position: absolute;
            bottom: 0;
            width: 200px;
            left: 60px;
            z-index: 1000;
            background: red;
            contain: none;
            text-align: center;
        }`);
        return this.$widget;
    }
}

module.exports = new MyWidget();

Note: Don't forget to refresh after making your changes. Widgets are not automatically refreshed.

[infaktor]

Hi @DuckersMcQuack

What you probably need are Render Notes „renderNote“