Global Variables

A global variable is a named snippet you define once in QuickAdd’s settings and reuse anywhere QuickAdd fills in placeholders. Keep your list of projects, a folder path, or a block of boilerplate in one place, then drop it into any choice or template with {{GLOBAL_VAR:<name>}}. Edit the snippet in settings and every choice that uses it updates at once.

Unlike a run variable, which lives only while one choice is running, a global variable is saved with your vault and available to every choice, every time.

For example, define a snippet named Signature:

Settings → QuickAdd → Global Variables

Name:  Signature
Value: Logged by QuickAdd on {{DATE:YYYY-MM-DD}}

Then use it in a capture or template:

You write

{{GLOBAL_VAR:Signature}}

You get

Logged by QuickAdd on 2026-07-08

Snippets can hold other placeholders (like the {{DATE}} above), so a global variable can be a fixed string, a small template, or a reusable option list.

Good places to use one:

• A single list of projects, tags, or folders reused across many choices and templates
• Constants you’d otherwise retype: paths, emojis, boilerplate text, or a YAML block

Define a global variable

1. Open Settings → QuickAdd → Global Variables.
2. Add a name and a value. The value is free text and supports all of format syntax.
3. That’s it - changes save automatically as you type.

Tip

Typing {{GLOBAL_VAR: anywhere QuickAdd formats text pops up suggestions, including the names you’ve defined. Use descriptive names, and avoid two names that differ only by case.

Use it anywhere: {{GLOBAL_VAR:<name>}}

Write {{GLOBAL_VAR:<name>}} and QuickAdd replaces it with that snippet’s value. It works everywhere QuickAdd formats text:

Where	Which fields
Template choice	File name format, folder paths, template content
Capture choice	Target path, content formatting
Macros	Inline formatting strings

Good to know:

• The name after GLOBAL_VAR: matches case-insensitively, so {{global_var:Signature}} also works. The stored key itself is case-sensitive, which is why you should avoid defining two variables whose names differ only in case.
• A name that doesn’t match any global variable becomes an empty string rather than erroring.

Put other placeholders inside a snippet

A snippet’s value can contain any QuickAdd placeholder - {{VALUE:...}}, {{VDATE:...}}, {{FIELD:...}}, {{RANDOM:n}}, and so on. When the snippet is inserted, those placeholders run just like they would if you’d typed them directly.

Settings → QuickAdd → Global Variables

Name:  MyProjects
Value: {{VALUE:Inbox,Work,Personal,Archive}}

You write (a template path)

Projects/{{GLOBAL_VAR:MyProjects}}/{{DATE:YYYY}}/

Running a choice that uses MyProjects shows the Inbox / Work / Personal / Archive picker, and your pick lands in the path.

Good to know:

• A snippet can reference another global variable. QuickAdd resolves up to 5 levels of nesting, so an accidental loop stops instead of hanging.
• Globals expand early in the formatter, so any placeholders inside a snippet are processed by the passes that follow.
• The one-page input form looks inside your snippets too, so prompts they introduce (like {{VALUE:...}}) appear up front with the rest.