CONFIGURATION

Symbols

Basalt uses symbols throughout the interface for tree indicators, list markers, heading decorations and other visual elements. You can customize these through the [symbols] table in your configuration file.

Presets

Symbols start from a preset, a complete set of defaults. Pick one and optionally override individual fields.

Preset	Description
`unicode`	Rich Unicode glyphs (default). Works in most modern terminals.
`ascii`	Plain ASCII characters. Use when your terminal has limited font support.
`nerd-font`	Uses Nerd Font icons for file and folder indicators. Requires a Nerd Font installed.

Set the preset in your config:

[symbols]
preset = "unicode"

Overriding individual symbols

Any field can be overridden on top of the chosen preset. Only specify the symbols you want to change; all others keep their preset values.

[symbols]
preset = "nerd-font"
task_checked = "[x]"
task_unchecked = "[ ]"

Symbol reference

General

Field	Description	Unicode	ASCII	Nerd Font
`wrap_marker`	Shown at the start of wrapped lines	`⤷`	(empty)	`⤷`
`horizontal_rule`	Character used for horizontal rules	`═`	`=`	`═`
`pane_open`	Indicator for an open pane	`▶`	`>`	`▶`
`pane_close`	Indicator for a closed pane	`◀`	`<`	`◀`
`pane_full`	Indicator for a full-width pane	`⟹`	`=>`	`⟹`

Explorer

Field	Description	Unicode	ASCII	Nerd Font
`tree_indent`	Vertical line for tree indentation	`│`	`\|`	`│`
`tree_expanded`	Expanded folder indicator	`▾`	`v`	(folder-open icon)
`tree_collapsed`	Collapsed folder indicator	`▸`	`>`	(folder icon)
`selected`	Selected file indicator	`◆`	`*`	(file icon)
`unselected`	Unselected file indicator	`◦`	`.`	(dot icon)
`sort_asc`	Ascending sort indicator	`↑≡`	`^=`	(sort-asc icon)
`sort_desc`	Descending sort indicator	`↓≡`	`v=`	(sort-desc icon)
`folder_expanded_collapsed`	Expanded folder in collapsed pane view	`▪`	`+`	(folder-open icon)
`folder_collapsed_collapsed`	Collapsed folder in collapsed pane view	`▫`	`-`	(folder icon)
`heading_collapsed_dot`	Heading dot in collapsed explorer	`·`	`.`	`·`

Note editor

Field	Description	Unicode	ASCII	Nerd Font
`h1_underline`	Character used for H1 underline	`═`	`=`	`═`
`h2_underline`	Character used for H2 underline	`─`	`-`	`─`
`h3_marker`	Marker symbol for H3 headings	`◉`	`###`	`◉`
`h4_marker`	Marker symbol for H4 headings	`◎`	`####`	`◎`
`h5_marker`	Marker symbol for H5 headings	`◈`	`#####`	`◈`
`h6_marker`	Marker symbol for H6 headings	`✦`	`######`	`✦`
`task_unchecked`	Unchecked task marker	`□`	`[ ]`	(checkbox-blank icon)
`task_checked`	Checked task marker	`■`	`[x]`	(checkbox-marked icon)
`blockquote_border`	Border character for block quotes	`┃`	`\|`	`┃`

List markers

List markers cycle based on nesting depth. Configure them as an array:

[symbols]
list_markers = ["*", "-", "+"]

Preset	Default markers
`unicode`	`["●", "○", "◆", "◇"]`
`ascii`	`["-", "*", "+"]`
`nerd-font`	`["●", "○", "◆", "◇"]`

At depth 0 the first marker is used, at depth 1 the second, and so on. When the depth exceeds the number of markers the list wraps around.

Outline

Field	Description	Unicode	ASCII	Nerd Font
`outline_indent`	Indentation character for nested items	`│`	`\|`	`│`
`outline_expanded`	Expanded heading indicator	`▾`	`v`	`▾`
`outline_collapsed`	Collapsed heading indicator	`▸`	`>`	`▸`
`outline_heading_dot`	Heading dot in collapsed outline	`·`	`.`	`·`
`outline_heading_expanded`	Expanded heading in collapsed outline	`✺`	`v`	`✺`
`outline_heading_collapsed`	Collapsed heading in collapsed outline	`◦`	`>`	`◦`

Font styles

Some text elements can have a decorative font style applied. The available styles are black-board-bold, fraktur-bold and script.

Field	Description	Unicode / Nerd Font	ASCII
`title_font_style`	Font style for the note title	`black-board-bold`	(none)
`h5_font_style`	Font style for H5 headings	`script`	(none)
`h6_font_style`	Font style for H6 headings	`script`	(none)

Set to a style name to enable, or omit to use no special styling:

[symbols]
title_font_style = "fraktur-bold"
h5_font_style = "script"

Full example

[symbols]
preset = "unicode"
task_checked = "[x]"
task_unchecked = "[ ]"
list_markers = ["->", "=>", "~>"]
h5_font_style = "fraktur-bold"

This uses the unicode preset but replaces the task markers with ASCII-style checkboxes, uses custom list markers and changes H5 headings to blackboard bold style.