Content vs Source Folders

Content vs Source Folders

One of Lighthouse’s most powerful features is the distinction between content folders and source folders. This concept, borrowed from Ulysses, is key to accurate writing progress tracking.

The Core Concept

When working on a long-form writing project, not all folders should count toward your word count goal:

• Content Folders 📝 - Your actual writing that counts toward goals
• Source Folders 📚 - Research, notes, and reference material that doesn’t count

Why This Matters

Without Content/Source Distinction

Imagine a novel project without folder types:

My Novel/
├── chapters/           (50,000 words - your manuscript)
├── research/          (30,000 words - character notes)
└── references/        (20,000 words - historical facts)

Total: 100,000 words

If your goal is 80,000 words for the novel, this shows 125% complete—but you’ve only written 50,000 words of actual content!

With Content/Source Distinction

Mark folders appropriately:

My Novel/
├── chapters/          ✅ Content (50,000 words)
├── research/          📚 Source (30,000 words - excluded)
└── references/        📚 Source (20,000 words - excluded)

Content Total: 50,000 words (63% of goal)

Now your progress accurately reflects your actual writing!

Content Folders

Content folders contain the writing that counts toward your project goals.

Typical Content Folders

• chapters/ - Novel chapters
• drafts/ - Work in progress
• scenes/ - Individual scenes
• sections/ - Document sections
• posts/ - Blog posts or articles
• manuscript/ - Final draft

When to Use Content

Mark a folder as content if:

• It contains text you’re actively writing
• It will be part of the final deliverable
• You want it to count toward your word count goal
• You’re tracking progress on it

Source Folders

Source folders contain supporting material that doesn’t count toward your goals.

Typical Source Folders

• research/ - Background research
• notes/ - Planning and brainstorming
• character-notes/ - Character development
• references/ - Quotes and citations
• worldbuilding/ - Setting details
• outline/ - Story structure
• ideas/ - Unused concepts

When to Use Source

Mark a folder as source if:

• It contains supporting material
• It helps your writing but isn’t the writing itself
• You don’t want it counting toward goals
• It’s research or reference content

Setting Up Folders

During Project Creation

When you create a project, you can designate folders immediately:

1. Create Project via Command Palette
2. In the project modal, click Add Content Folder
3. Select folders from your project
4. Repeat for Source Folders

After Project Creation

You can modify folder designations anytime:

1. Go to Settings → Lighthouse
2. Find your project
3. Click Edit
4. Add or remove content/source folders
5. Save changes

From the Dashboard

1. Open Lighthouse: Open Dashboard
2. Click Edit next to your project
3. Modify folder lists
4. Save

Folder Paths

Folders are specified relative to the project root:

Project Root: Projects/My Novel/

Content Folders:
- chapters/          (relative path)
- drafts/final/      (nested folders work too)

Source Folders:
- research/
- notes/planning/

The full vault paths would be:

• Projects/My Novel/chapters/
• Projects/My Novel/drafts/final/

Nested Folders

Lighthouse respects folder hierarchies:

All Files Count

chapters/            ✅ Content
├── act1/
│   ├── chapter1.md  ✅ Counts
│   └── chapter2.md  ✅ Counts
└── act2/
    └── chapter3.md  ✅ Counts

Marking chapters/ as content includes all nested files.

Mixed Designations

manuscript/
├── drafts/          ✅ Content
│   └── draft1.md    ✅ Counts
└── notes/           📚 Source
    └── ideas.md     ❌ Doesn't count

You can designate subfolders differently from their parents.

Best Practices

Organize Before You Write

Set up your folder structure and designations before diving into writing. This ensures accurate counts from day one.

Be Consistent

Develop a naming convention and stick to it:

✅ Good:
- content/
- sources/

✅ Also Good:
- chapters/
- research/

❌ Confusing:
- stuff/
- things/

Review Periodically

As your project evolves, review folder designations:

• Did you add new folders?
• Should any folders switch types?
• Are there obsolete folders to remove?

Don’t Over-Complicate

You don’t need to designate every folder. Consider:

Minimal Approach:

My Project/
└── manuscript/      ✅ Content

(Everything else is ignored)

Detailed Approach:

My Project/
├── chapters/        ✅ Content
├── scenes/          ✅ Content
├── research/        📚 Source
└── notes/           📚 Source

Choose the level of detail that works for you.

Examples

Novel Project

My Novel/
├── manuscript/      ✅ Content
│   ├── act1/
│   ├── act2/
│   └── act3/
├── research/        📚 Source
│   ├── historical-facts/
│   └── character-profiles/
└── planning/        📚 Source
    ├── outline.md
    └── timeline.md

Academic Thesis

Thesis/
├── chapters/        ✅ Content
│   ├── introduction.md
│   ├── literature-review.md
│   ├── methodology.md
│   └── conclusion.md
├── drafts/          ✅ Content
│   └── rough-drafts/
└── research/        📚 Source
    ├── papers/
    └── notes/

Blog Series

Blog 2024/
├── published/       ✅ Content
├── drafts/          ✅ Content
└── ideas/           📚 Source
    └── topics.md

Technical Documentation

Documentation/
├── guides/          ✅ Content
├── api-reference/   ✅ Content
└── internal-notes/  📚 Source

FAQ

Q: What if I don’t designate any folders? A: Lighthouse will count all markdown files in your project root. This works, but you’ll get more accurate tracking with explicit designations.

Q: Can I mark the same folder as both content and source? A: No. Each folder is either content, source, or undesignated.

Q: Do nested folders inherit their parent’s type? A: Only if the parent is explicitly designated. You can override by explicitly designating the child folder differently.

Q: What about files in the root? A: Files in the project root (not in any designated folder) are counted if the root itself is marked as content, otherwise they’re ignored.

Q: Can I change folder types later? A: Yes! Word counts will recalculate immediately.

Next Steps

• Learn about Word Counting
• Explore the Writing Stats Panel
• Read about Project Management