Media: store anything else

Add images, audio, video, PDFs, or any other binary file to Alexandria.

When you add media, Alexandria copies the file into media/ and creates a note for it. That note stores metadata and can hold searchable context, such as a photo description, location, people, or source.

On first use, Alexandria automatically creates a special Media tag. It tracks media properties such as original filename, file path, media type, size, MIME type, and associated notes.

Which notes use a media

A media note keeps a list of the notes using it. A note uses a media either by showing it in its body or by pointing at it from a property — the receipt photo on an expense is filed that way, and both count as a use.

That list is what protects your files when you delete things. Trashing a note takes along the media nothing else uses, and keeps the media another note still shows.

Alexandria keeps the list current as you work. It only sees its own writes, though: if you edit the vault with another editor, or a note arrives from another device through sync, the list can describe that note as it used to be. Nothing is lost when it does — the note itself still says what it refers to — and saving that note in Alexandria brings the list back in line.

Albums are just tags. For example, create a tag called Summer 2025 in Spain, then apply it to the relevant media notes or photos.