Foam/Q/How can I configure Foam to use a subfolder as the workspace root?

• How can I configure Foam to use a subfolder as the workspace root?

  • AI Answer

    • AI/Response
      • Answer/Official from foam.files.include — foambubble/foam package.json
      • Short answer: two approaches work — a VS Code workspace file (.code-workspace) or the foam.files.include setting.

      • Method 1: VS Code workspace file (recommended for monorepos)

        • Create <repo_root>/foam.code-workspace:
        • json

          {
            "folders": [
              { "path": "my-garden" }
            ]
          }

        • Open VS Code by opening foam.code-workspace instead of the repo root folder. Foam treats my-garden as the workspace root; all daily note paths, template paths, and wikilinks resolve relative to it.

      • Method 2: foam.files.include setting

        • In .vscode/settings.json at the repo root (or in the "settings" block of your .code-workspace):
        • json

          {
            "foam.files.include": ["my-garden/**"]
          }

        • Per the official description: "Use this to limit Foam to specific directories (e.g., ["notes/**"]) or file types." Foam will only index and graph files under my-garden/. VS Code's workspace root stays at the repo root, so daily-note and template paths in settings must be written relative to the repo root (e.g. "foam.openDailyNote.directory": "my-garden/journals").

      • Method 3: open the subfolder directly

        • The simplest approach — open my-garden/ directly in VS Code (File > Open Folder). No configuration needed; Foam sees the folder as the workspace root.

      • Comparison

        • - 1. .code-workspace file — cleanest for monorepo; all Foam-relative paths resolve inside my-garden; lets VS Code also include sibling folders (e.g. tools/) if needed.
        • - 2. foam.files.include — keeps the repo root open; useful when other VS Code tooling needs the full repo in scope; requires manually prefixing Foam path settings.
        • - 3. Open subfolder directly — simplest; loses easy access to repo-root tooling.