Static HTML export anomalies?

[pyz0123-cpu]

Description

Hi there! I’ve been testing the static export feature you recommended, and overall it works really nicely. I did notice a few small quirks that might be worth a look — nothing urgent, just things that stood out when I inspected the exported files.

1. Hidden Notes navigation entry - In the exported index.html, there’s a navigation entry at the bottom:
   html Hidden Notes
   What’s interesting is:
   The _hidden folder doesn’t exist in the export
   None of the hidden notes are exported
   The link points to a non‑existent path
   Clicking it results in a broken link

So the export includes a navigation link for hidden notes, but the notes themselves aren’t exported. It feels like a small mismatch — almost like the export is wearing one mismatched shoe. Not a big deal, just something I noticed while testing.

2. Light/Dark theme toggle
   The exported viewer includes a Light/Dark theme toggle at the top. The button itself works (the toggle state changes), but the theme doesn’t actually change. It’s like a decorative hat that doesn’t do anything yet. Maybe it’s a placeholder for a future feature?

3. Exclusion attribute
   I tested exclusion metadata on the system‑hidden User Guide note. The export still includes a navigation entry for hidden notes, but the hidden notes themselves are not exported. I have not yet tested exclusion on normal notes, since user‑hidden notes are no longer supported yet (coming in .102.0)

Code #excludeFromExport

It shows up correctly in the Attributes panel of the user guide, but the export still includes the hidden notes link. Not sure if this attribute is meant to be supported in the new export engine, but I figured I’d mention it in case it’s supposed to work.

None of this is blocking — the export itself works fine — and I have easy work-arounds - but I wanted to share these observations in case they’re helpful. If any of this is intentional, feel free to let me know!

Thanks again for pointing me to the static export. I’m enjoying exploring it.

TriliumNext Version

.0101.3

What operating system are you using?

Windows

What is your setup?

Local (no sync)

Operating System Version

Windows 11

Error logs

No response

[eliandoran]

Light/Dark theme toggle

If you are accessing the HTML by double-clicking, the it's normal for it not to work. You need to use a local HTTP server, as per the documentation.

Regarding hidden notes, how are you exporting your notes? Are you exporting your root (top-most) note?

Hidden notes are not meant to be exported so most likely it's a bug in the index.

[pyz0123-cpu]

*Thanks for the clarification. A couple of follow‑ups based on what I observed while testing:* *1. Theme toggle* Even when served through a local HTTP server, the theme toggle doesn’t function. The export includes the HTML for the toggle and a small script that *initializes* the checkbox, but there’s no event handler to actually switch themes. So the UI element appears, but it’s non‑functional. *2. Hidden notes* Yes, I exported from the root. The hidden notes themselves are not exported (as expected), but the _hidden navigation entry *is* generated in index.html, which leads to a broken link. That’s the part that seems unintended. *3. Temporary workaround* In case it helps others, I added a small <style> block to index.html to hide both the _hidden navigation item and the non‑functional theme toggle: html <style> a[href="./_hidden"] { display: none !important; } .theme-selection { display: none !important; } </style> This keeps the export clean from these two items. Thanks again for all your answers.

…

On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 10:25 PM Elian Doran ***@***.***> wrote: *eliandoran* left a comment (TriliumNext/Trilium#8714) <#8714 (comment)> Light/Dark theme toggle If you are accessing the HTML by double-clicking, the it's normal for it not to work. You need to use a local HTTP server, as per the documentation. Regarding hidden notes, how are you exporting your notes? Are you exporting your root (top-most) note? Hidden notes are not meant to be exported so most likely it's a bug in the index. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#8714 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/B5IAVHZW5AOJ7YCV4FYZ67D4L25XNAVCNFSM6AAAAACVDKUNPGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTSMBRGIZTKNBSGI> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[eliandoran]

@pyz0123-cpu , can you check the browser console for errors? The theme switcher is supposed to work, as it is working on docs.triliumnotes.org (same export mechanism).

[pyz0123-cpu]

Thanks for the reply. I checked the console and there are no errors. The toggle animates, but the theme itself never changes — even before I hide anything. So it doesn’t appear to be a CSS issue or a console issue on my side; it just looks like the theme logic isn’t activating in the static export environment. This is what I observed in my testing.

…

On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 10:58 PM Elian Doran ***@***.***> wrote: *eliandoran* left a comment (TriliumNext/Trilium#8714) <#8714 (comment)> @pyz0123-cpu <https://github.com/pyz0123-cpu> , can you check the browser console for errors? The theme switcher is supposed to work, as it is working on docs.triliumnotes.org (same export mechanism). — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#8714 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/B5IAVHYIHLP6YFBT5CGJGR34L3BRLAVCNFSM6AAAAACVDKUNPGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTSMBRGI3TSNJVG4> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[eliandoran]

@pyz0123-cpu , can you provide a .zip with the export where the theme toggle doesn't work?

[pyz0123-cpu]

TEST NOTEBOOK.zip

Thanks for the reply. I've attached the zip of a minimal test notebook created using the Export HTML for web publishing. I opened the Index.html file in Google Chrome, since that is the browser most users rely on. Here are the behaviors I observed in the untouched export:

1. The theme toggle animates, but no dark theme is applied. The switch itself works, but the underlying dark-theme styling doesn't appear to be included in the export.
2. A "Hidden-Notes" entry appears at the of the navigation. The link is present even though hidden notes aren't supposed to be exported.
3. System notes are present in the export, but covered by the Hidden Notes wrapper. If I remove the wrapper in the HTML, the System notes spill into the navigation tree. Since there is no way to start with a blank notebook and the previous exclusion attributes were removed, these system notes always end up in the export.
4. Branches in the navigation tree expand but never collapse. When clicking a parent note with children, the branch expands, but there is no way to collapse it again unless a different branch is selected. This is unusual for a documentation-style navigation tree and may not be intentional.

This export is completely unmodified — it’s just what Trilium produces from a fresh notebook. This is what I’ve observed, and I hope the information is helpful. If you observe different behavior or if I’m doing something incorrectly, please let me know.