# Project history and motivation

I first learned about the Zettelkasten method back in the summer of 2021. I
looked at a few programs for getting into it, and I settled on Obsidian MD. But
I didn't like the experience: I was an avid vim user, and the vim compatibility
mode wasn't usable in the least.

I had already written quite a few notes, and I didn't want to change them to
make the links and tags work with other programs.

So, in early August, I had the idea of writing a standalone CLI program that I
could easily use with vim, and at the same time use Obsidian-style links and
tags. Thus, `settle` was born: it combines maximum human readability with the
potential to be used with any text editor, no plugins required (even if they may
improve usability).

In the meantime, I've read Sonke Ahrens's *How to take smart notes* and have
added many features to `settle`, such as [projects](./projects.md).
