GrapeGrape
Help center
Writing and the editor5 min readUpdated August 10, 2026

Create note templates

Save any note as a template, insert dates automatically with variables, and every date pattern you can use.

A template is a note you start from instead of a blank page: a meeting shape, a daily log, a client brief.

Making a template

Two ways:

  • Open a note that already has the right shape, open the note menu and choose Save as Template.
  • Go to Settings, open the Templates tab and add a template from there.

Templates stay listed in the Templates tab, where you can rename them, disable them without deleting, or remove them. A removed template stays in its folder as a normal note.

Starting a note from a template

On desktop, right click the New Note button and pick the template. On mobile, long press the New Note button. Recently used templates appear first.

Variables

Templates can contain variables that fill themselves in when the note is created:

  • {{date}} for the current date
  • {{time}} for the current time
  • {{datetime}} for both
  • {{weekday}} for the day name

So a daily note template titled {{date}} standup names itself correctly every morning.

Custom date formats

Add a colon and a pattern to any variable, like {{date:dd.MM.yyyy}} or {{date:EEEE, d MMMM yyyy}}. Dots, dashes, slashes and spaces come through as typed. The Templates tab in Settings shows live examples rendered with your own settings, and every pattern you can use is below.

Example formats

What a few complete variables produce, on Monday, August 10, 2026 at 2:30:45 PM:

Variable Result
{{date:dd.MM.yyyy}} 10.08.2026
{{date:yyyy-MM-dd}} 2026-08-10
{{date:MMMM d, yyyy}} August 10, 2026
{{date:EEEE, d MMMM yyyy}} Monday, 10 August 2026
{{date:do MMMM}} 10th August
{{date:'Week' ww 'of' yyyy}} Week 33 of 2026
{{date:dd MM yyyy - HH:mm}} 10 08 2026 - 14:30
{{time:HH:mm}} 14:30
{{time:h:mm a}} 2:30 PM
{{time:HH:mm:ss}} 14:30:45
{{datetime:PP p}} Aug 10, 2026 2:30 PM
{{weekday:EEE}} Mon

The variable name only chooses the default, so once a pattern follows the colon, any variable can produce anything: {{date:dd MM yyyy - HH:mm}} is a date variable that writes the time too. Every letter these patterns are built from is in the tables below.

Date patterns

Pattern What you get
d 1, 2, ..., 31
dd 01, 02, ..., 31
do 1st, 2nd, ..., 31st
EEE Mon, Tue, ..., Sun
EEEE Monday, Tuesday, ..., Sunday
EEEEEE Mo, Tu, ..., Su
M 1, 2, ..., 12
MM 01, 02, ..., 12
Mo 1st, 2nd, ..., 12th
MMM Jan, Feb, ..., Dec
MMMM January, February, ..., December
yy 26
yyyy 2026

Time patterns

Pattern What you get
h 1, 2, ..., 12
hh 01, 02, ..., 12
H 0, 1, ..., 23
HH 00, 01, ..., 23
m 0, 1, ..., 59
mm 00, 01, ..., 59
s 0, 1, ..., 59
ss 00, 01, ..., 59
a AM, PM
aaa am, pm

Week and quarter patterns

Pattern What you get
w 1, 2, ..., 53
ww 01, 02, ..., 53
wo 1st, 2nd, ..., 53rd
Q 1, 2, 3, 4
QQQ Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4
QQQQ 1st quarter, ..., 4th quarter

Ready made styles

One letter that expands into a full local format. Examples for Monday, August 10, 2026 at 2:30:45 PM:

Pattern What you get
P 08/10/2026
PP Aug 10, 2026
PPP August 10th, 2026
PPPP Monday, August 10th, 2026
p 2:30 PM
pp 2:30:45 PM
Pp 08/10/2026, 2:30 PM

Words inside a pattern

Letters are read as patterns, so words go between single quotes: {{date:'Week' ww}} gives Week 33. Two single quotes in a row produce a real quote mark in the result.

Two that look right but are not

Uppercase YYYY and D mean different things in date formatting, the week numbering year and the day of the year, and they fail inside a variable. Use lowercase yyyy for the year and d for the day.

One more nice touch

Month and weekday names follow the app language, so MMMM writes August, agosto or Ağustos depending on your Settings.

Try It While the Guide Is Open

Grape is free to install and needs no account, so you can follow along in the real app.