Roam Research Docs · Help & user documentation

Welcome to Roam v2

Quick Start

• There's very little to know to start using Roam.
  • Everything is a block
    • Each bullet you see is a block, and we write them inside pages like this one.
      • We create new blocks by pressing Enter; and nest them using Tab (pressShift+Tab to unindent)-
        • This creates children blocks, which we can expand, collapse, and focus.
        • Indenting provides structure. We can scan pages with ease and find related blocks. Try clicking the ᐅ icon on the next block!
  • Everything is where you need it to be
    • Organizing information is effortless with [page](Page References)/[block references](Block References).
      • Let's say we have a meeting. In our Daily Notes, we might write
        • {{TODO}} Have a meeting with John Smith about Roam Research on February 8th, 2021. #marketing
      • Those square brackets turn text into backlinks.
        • This automatically creates a page for each keyword--click the backlink to go the keyword's page.
        • At the bottom, you'll find instances where the page was mentioned--its page references.
        • So the meeting reminder block appears on meeting, John Smith, marketing, and Roam Research!
        • This way, we never have to worry about which folder to file things in- just backlink as you go.
  • Everything is a / away
    • Roam is packed with powerful features. Anytime you want to do more than type text,
      • just type / to bring up the inline command palette.
        • If you don't find what you're looking for, click on the Help
        • icon in the top right of the page! If you can think it, you can do it in Roam.

markdown version · view in Roam Research · exported 2026-07-03