Meeting Notes Template (Markdown)
A plain-Markdown meeting notes template that puts decisions and action items at the top, where people actually look for them, and keeps the raw discussion below. No sign-up: copy it, download the .md file, or open it in a wiki.
Free to use, no attribution required (CC0).
{{Meeting title}} — {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
| Date and time | {{YYYY-MM-DD, HH:MM–HH:MM, time zone}} |
| Facilitator | {{Name}} |
| Note-taker | {{Name}} |
| Attendees | {{Name, Name, Name}} |
| Absent | {{Name — will read the notes}} |
| Purpose | {{One sentence, written before the meeting: what must be true when we leave?}} |
Decisions
Only what was actually decided. One line each: the decision, the reason, the owner.
- {{Decision}}. Why: {{reason}}. Owner: {{Name}}.
- {{Decision}}. Why: {{reason}}. Owner: {{Name}}.
Action items
One owner per item. If two people must act, write two items. A date is mandatory.
- {{Action}} — {{Owner}}, due {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
- {{Action}} — {{Owner}}, due {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
Open questions
Things that came up and were not settled. Say who will resolve each one and by when.
- {{Question}} — {{Name}}, by {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
Agenda and discussion
Raw notes, written during the meeting. Keep the order of the agenda. Not cleaned up.
1. {{Topic}} ({{N}} min)
- {{Key point}}
- {{Key point}}
2. {{Topic}} ({{N}} min)
- {{Key point}}
Links
- Previous meeting: {{link}}
- Related documents: {{link}}
- Next meeting: {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
# {{Meeting title}} — {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
| | |
|---|---|
| **Date and time** | {{YYYY-MM-DD, HH:MM–HH:MM, time zone}} |
| **Facilitator** | {{Name}} |
| **Note-taker** | {{Name}} |
| **Attendees** | {{Name, Name, Name}} |
| **Absent** | {{Name — will read the notes}} |
| **Purpose** | {{One sentence, written before the meeting: what must be true when we leave?}} |
## Decisions
*Only what was actually decided. One line each: the decision, the reason, the owner.*
- **{{Decision}}**. Why: {{reason}}. Owner: {{Name}}.
- **{{Decision}}**. Why: {{reason}}. Owner: {{Name}}.
## Action items
*One owner per item. If two people must act, write two items. A date is mandatory.*
- [ ] {{Action}} — **{{Owner}}**, due {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
- [ ] {{Action}} — **{{Owner}}**, due {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
## Open questions
*Things that came up and were not settled. Say who will resolve each one and by when.*
- {{Question}} — {{Name}}, by {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
## Agenda and discussion
*Raw notes, written during the meeting. Keep the order of the agenda. Not cleaned up.*
### 1. {{Topic}} ({{N}} min)
- {{Key point}}
- {{Key point}}
### 2. {{Topic}} ({{N}} min)
- {{Key point}}
## Links
- Previous meeting: {{link}}
- Related documents: {{link}}
- Next meeting: {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
Want to see it as a real wiki page? Open this template in the Folio demo, where it is a normal Markdown page.
How to use it
Step 1: Copy or download the template. Paste it into any Markdown editor, a Git repository, Obsidian, GitHub, or a wiki page.
Step 2: Fill in the purpose before the meeting, and the rest during it. Write the one-sentence purpose and the agenda in advance. Capture discussion in the bottom section as it happens.
Step 3: Move the outcome to the top before you share. Pull decisions into "Decisions", turn every commitment into a checkbox with one owner and a date, then send the link.
What makes good meeting notes
Decisions and actions come first. Nobody re-reads the discussion. They come back to find what was decided and who does what. Put those two sections above the raw notes and keep the raw notes honest and unpolished.
One owner per action, always with a date. An action assigned to two people is assigned to nobody. If two people must act, write two items. A task without a date is a wish.
Written for someone who was not there. Test the notes on a colleague who skipped the meeting: can they tell what changed and what they must do? If they need to ask, the decision is missing its reason.
Findable later. Date in the title, one file per meeting, links to the previous and next meeting. Notes you cannot find are notes you did not take.
More templates
Questions
- What is the difference between meeting notes and meeting minutes?
- Minutes are a formal record: attendance, motions, votes. Notes are a working document: what was decided, who does what, what is still open. Most teams need notes. Use minutes when a board, a regulator, or a contract requires a formal record.
- Who should take the notes?
- Rotate the role, and never give it to the person leading the discussion. The note-taker can still speak; they just own the document afterwards.
- How long should meeting notes be?
- One screen of decisions, actions and open questions, plus as much raw discussion as the topic deserves. If the top section is longer than a screen, the meeting probably had too many topics.
- Can I use this template for recurring meetings?
- Yes. Create one file per occurrence from the same template, name it with the date, and link to the previous one in "Links". Carry unfinished action items forward by copying them, not by rewriting them.
- Where should I store meeting notes?
- Next to the work they describe: in the project's repository or wiki, in a
meetings/folder, one file per meeting. Chat threads and personal notebooks are where decisions get lost.
Updated 11 October 2026.
Keep meeting notes next to the work
In Folio a template is just a Markdown page in Git. Put this file in your space's template folder and create each new meeting from it; every meeting becomes a versioned .md file you can search, link to and @-mention people in. - [ ] items stay real checkboxes, and ::pagetree turns a meetings/ folder into a live index.