diff --git a/src/index.html b/src/index.html
index 0c21dcc..8488dcd 100644
--- a/src/index.html
+++ b/src/index.html
@@ -2574,6 +2574,24 @@
                 <line x1="21" y1="21" x2="16.65" y2="16.65" />
               </svg>
             </button>
+            <!-- Daily notes: list of YYYY-MM-DD.md files + Today button -->
+            <button class="sidebar-icon" data-panel="daily-notes" title="Daily Notes (Ctrl+Alt+D)">
+              <svg
+                width="20"
+                height="20"
+                viewBox="0 0 24 24"
+                fill="none"
+                stroke="currentColor"
+                stroke-width="2"
+                stroke-linecap="round"
+                stroke-linejoin="round"
+              >
+                <rect x="3" y="4" width="18" height="18" rx="2" />
+                <line x1="16" y1="2" x2="16" y2="6" />
+                <line x1="8" y1="2" x2="8" y2="6" />
+                <line x1="3" y1="10" x2="21" y2="10" />
+              </svg>
+            </button>
           </div>
           <div class="sidebar-panel" id="sidebar-panel">
             <div class="sidebar-panel-header">
diff --git a/src/main.js b/src/main.js
index e399c60..eb7c629 100644
--- a/src/main.js
+++ b/src/main.js
@@ -5759,7 +5759,10 @@ ipcMain.handle('daily-notes:list', async () => {
   const dir = dailyNotesDir();
   const validation = validatePath(dir);
   if (!validation.valid) return [];
-  return DailyNotes.listExisting({ dir, fs, pathUtil: path });
+  // Return absolute paths so the renderer can pass them straight to
+  // open-file-path without re-synthesizing.
+  const filenames = DailyNotes.listExisting({ dir, fs, pathUtil: path });
+  return filenames.map((name) => path.join(dir, name));
 });
 
 // ================================
@@ -6172,8 +6175,17 @@ ipcMain.handle('move-path', async (event, payload) => {
   };
 });
 
-// Open a file by path (from explorer panel)
-ipcMain.on('open-file-path', (event, filePath) => {
+// Open a file by path (from explorer panel). Accepts an optional `offset`
+// (char offset in the file) so deep-links from search results / Q&A hits
+// can scroll to the matching passage.
+ipcMain.on('open-file-path', (event, payload) => {
+  // Backwards-compatible: callers passing a plain string still work.
+  let filePath = payload;
+  let offset = 0;
+  if (payload && typeof payload === 'object') {
+    filePath = payload.path;
+    offset = typeof payload.offset === 'number' && payload.offset >= 0 ? payload.offset : 0;
+  }
   try {
     // Validate path to prevent traversal attacks
     const validation = validatePath(filePath);
@@ -6191,6 +6203,7 @@ ipcMain.on('open-file-path', (event, filePath) => {
     mainWindow.webContents.send('file-opened', {
       path: validation.resolved,
       content,
+      offset,
     });
   } catch (err) {
     console.error('open-file-path error:', err);
diff --git a/src/renderer.js b/src/renderer.js
index 837001e..dfb7e1e 100644
--- a/src/renderer.js
+++ b/src/renderer.js
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ const DOMPurify = createDOMPurify(window);
 const hljs = require('highlight.js');
 const { createEditor } = require('./editor/codemirror-setup');
 const { undo, redo } = require('@codemirror/commands');
+const { EditorView } = require('@codemirror/view');
 const { showMediaOperationsDialog } = require('./renderer/media-operations-dialog');
 const { showPdfBatchDialog } = require('./renderer/pdf-batch-dialog');
 const { showDocumentCompareDialog } = require('./renderer/document-compare-dialog');
@@ -2241,11 +2242,27 @@ document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async () => {
           const el = document.getElementById('explorer-path');
           return el ? el.value.trim() || null : null;
         },
-        onOpenFile: (filePath /* , offset */) => {
-          ipcRenderer.send('open-file-path', filePath);
+        onOpenFile: (filePath, offset) => {
+          ipcRenderer.send('open-file-path', { path: filePath, offset });
         },
       }),
   });
+
+  // Daily notes journal browser — lists existing YYYY-MM-DD.md files and
+  // surfaces a "Today" button that creates/opens today's entry. Renders
+  // paths as a placeholder string; main rewrites them on click (via the
+  // file-opened IPC path, which already handles any daily-notes path).
+  sidebarManager.registerPanel('daily-notes', {
+    title: 'Daily Notes',
+    icon:
+      '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="16" height="16"><path fill="currentColor" d="M19 4h-1V2h-2v2H8V2H6v2H5a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v14a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h14a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V6a2 2 0 0 0-2-2zm0 16H5V10h14v10zm0-12H5V6h14v2z"/></svg>',
+    render: (container) =>
+      require('./sidebar/daily-notes-panel').renderDailyNotesPanel(container, {
+        openToday: ({ date } = {}) => ipcRenderer.invoke('daily-notes:open-today', { date }),
+        listExisting: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('daily-notes:list'),
+        onOpenFile: (filePath) => ipcRenderer.send('open-file-path', { path: filePath }),
+      }),
+  });
   sidebarManager.registerPanel('git', {
     title: 'Git',
     render: (container) =>
@@ -2900,6 +2917,22 @@ ipcRenderer.on('file-opened', (event, data) => {
 
   if (tabManager) {
     tabManager.openFile(data.path, data.content);
+    // Deep-link from search/Q&A: scroll the editor to the matching offset.
+    // openFile() loads the doc into the active tab; once it returns the
+    // CodeMirror view exists and we can dispatch a selection.
+    if (data && typeof data.offset === 'number' && data.offset > 0) {
+      const tab = tabManager.tabs.get(tabManager.activeTabId);
+      const view = tab && tab.editorView;
+      if (view) {
+        const docLen = view.state.doc.length;
+        const pos = Math.min(data.offset, docLen);
+        view.dispatch({
+          selection: { anchor: pos, head: pos },
+          effects: EditorView.scrollIntoView(pos, { y: 'center' }),
+        });
+        view.focus();
+      }
+    }
   } else {
     console.error('[RENDERER] tabManager not initialized!');
   }
diff --git a/src/sidebar/daily-notes-panel.js b/src/sidebar/daily-notes-panel.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7deb7cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sidebar/daily-notes-panel.js
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+/**
+ * Sidebar panel: daily notes journal browser.
+ *
+ * Lists the YYYY-MM-DD.md files in <userData>/notes/daily/ newest-first,
+ * lets the user click one to open it, and surfaces a "Today" button that
+ * creates/opens today's note. Pure DOM module — same pattern as
+ * snippets-panel.js / search-panel.js.
+ *
+ * @param {HTMLElement} container
+ * @param {object} deps
+ * @param {() => Promise<Array<{docPath:string, savedAt:number, byteSize:number, appVersion:string}>>} [deps.listPendingRecoveries]
+ * @param {(args:{date?:string}) => Promise<{path:string, content:string, created:boolean}>} deps.openToday
+ * @param {() => Promise<string[]>} deps.listExisting
+ * @param {(filePath:string) => void} deps.onOpenFile
+ * @param {(filePath:string) => Promise<void>} [deps.deleteEntry]   optional — deletes a daily note
+ */
+function renderDailyNotesPanel(container, deps) {
+  const { openToday, listExisting, onOpenFile } = deps;
+  let entries = []; // [{ path, name }]
+
+  container.innerHTML = `
+    <div class="daily-notes-panel">
+      <div class="daily-notes-toolbar">
+        <button class="daily-notes-today-btn" id="daily-notes-today">Today</button>
+        <button class="daily-notes-refresh-btn" id="daily-notes-refresh" title="Reload list">↻</button>
+      </div>
+      <div class="daily-notes-status" id="daily-notes-status"></div>
+      <div class="daily-notes-list" id="daily-notes-list"></div>
+    </div>
+  `;
+
+  const todayBtn = container.querySelector('#daily-notes-today');
+  const refreshBtn = container.querySelector('#daily-notes-refresh');
+  const statusEl = container.querySelector('#daily-notes-status');
+  const listEl = container.querySelector('#daily-notes-list');
+
+  function basename(p) {
+    return String(p).split(/[/\\]/).pop();
+  }
+
+  function statusOf(name) {
+    // YYYY-MM-DD.md → "Sun, 13 Sep 2026" (or local equivalent)
+    const m = /^(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})\.md$/.exec(name);
+    if (!m) return name;
+    const d = new Date(Number(m[1]), Number(m[2]) - 1, Number(m[3]));
+    if (Number.isNaN(d.getTime())) return name;
+    return d.toLocaleDateString(undefined, {
+      weekday: 'short',
+      day: '2-digit',
+      month: 'short',
+      year: 'numeric',
+    });
+  }
+
+  function setStatus(text) {
+    if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = text || '';
+  }
+
+  function renderList() {
+    if (!listEl) return;
+    if (!entries || entries.length === 0) {
+      listEl.innerHTML =
+        '<div class="daily-notes-empty">No daily notes yet. Press <b>Today</b> to start.</div>';
+      return;
+    }
+    listEl.innerHTML = entries
+      .map((entry, i) => {
+        return `<div class="daily-notes-item" role="button" tabindex="0" data-idx="${i}">
+          <div class="daily-notes-name"></div>
+          <div class="daily-notes-sub"></div>
+        </div>`;
+      })
+      .join('');
+    // Set dynamic content via textContent so a malicious filename can't
+    // inject HTML.
+    listEl.querySelectorAll('.daily-notes-item').forEach((el) => {
+      const idx = Number(el.dataset.idx);
+      const entry = entries[idx];
+      el.querySelector('.daily-notes-name').textContent = entry.name.replace(/\.md$/, '');
+      el.querySelector('.daily-notes-sub').textContent = statusOf(entry.name);
+      el.addEventListener('click', () => {
+        if (onOpenFile) onOpenFile(entry.path);
+      });
+      el.addEventListener('keydown', (ev) => {
+        if (ev.key === 'Enter' || ev.key === ' ') {
+          ev.preventDefault();
+          el.click();
+        }
+      });
+    });
+  }
+
+  async function refresh({ keepStatus = false } = {}) {
+    if (typeof listExisting !== 'function') {
+      setStatus('Daily notes list is unavailable.');
+      return;
+    }
+    if (!keepStatus) setStatus('Loading…');
+    try {
+      const list = await listExisting();
+      // listExisting returns absolute paths (newest first). Pair each path
+      // with its basename for display.
+      const paths = Array.isArray(list) ? list : [];
+      entries = paths
+        .filter((p) => /\.md$/i.test(p))
+        .map((p) => ({ path: p, name: basename(p) }));
+      renderList();
+      if (!keepStatus) setStatus(entries.length === 0 ? '' : `${entries.length} note${entries.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}`);
+    } catch (err) {
+      setStatus(`Error: ${err && err.message ? err.message : 'unknown'}`);
+      renderList();
+    }
+  }
+
+  todayBtn.addEventListener('click', async () => {
+    setStatus('Opening today…');
+    todayBtn.disabled = true;
+    try {
+      const result = await openToday({});
+      if (result && result.path && onOpenFile) onOpenFile(result.path);
+      setStatus(result && result.created ? 'Created today.' : 'Today already exists.');
+      await refresh({ keepStatus: true });
+    } catch (err) {
+      setStatus(`Error: ${err && err.message ? err.message : 'unknown'}`);
+    } finally {
+      todayBtn.disabled = false;
+    }
+  });
+
+  refreshBtn.addEventListener('click', () => {
+    refresh();
+  });
+
+  refresh();
+  return {
+    refresh,
+    basename,
+  };
+}
+
+module.exports = { renderDailyNotesPanel };
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/daily-notes-panel.test.js b/tests/daily-notes-panel.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08d44f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/daily-notes-panel.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+/**
+ * @jest-environment jsdom
+ *
+ * Daily notes sidebar panel tests.
+ */
+const { renderDailyNotesPanel } = require('../src/sidebar/daily-notes-panel');
+
+function mountPanel(deps = {}) {
+  const container = document.createElement('div');
+  document.body.appendChild(container);
+  const api = renderDailyNotesPanel(container, {
+    openToday: deps.openToday || jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ path: '/notes/2026-09-14.md', created: true }),
+    listExisting: deps.listExisting || jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]),
+    onOpenFile: deps.onOpenFile || jest.fn(),
+    ...deps,
+  });
+  return { container, api };
+}
+
+async function flush() {
+  for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+}
+
+describe('renderDailyNotesPanel — mounting', () => {
+  test('mounts the panel structure', () => {
+    const { container } = mountPanel();
+    expect(container.querySelector('.daily-notes-panel')).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(container.querySelector('#daily-notes-today')).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(container.querySelector('#daily-notes-refresh')).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(container.querySelector('#daily-notes-list')).not.toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('shows the empty-state message when there are no notes', async () => {
+    const { container } = mountPanel({ listExisting: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]) });
+    await flush();
+    expect(container.querySelector('.daily-notes-empty')).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(container.textContent).toMatch(/Press.*Today/);
+  });
+
+  test('renders one row per filename', async () => {
+    const { container } = mountPanel({
+      listExisting: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([
+        '/notes/daily/2026-09-14.md',
+        '/notes/daily/2026-09-13.md',
+        '/notes/daily/2026-09-10.md',
+      ]),
+    });
+    await flush();
+    const items = container.querySelectorAll('.daily-notes-item');
+    expect(items).toHaveLength(3);
+    expect(items[0].textContent).toContain('2026-09-14');
+    expect(items[0].textContent).toMatch(/Sep/);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('renderDailyNotesPanel — Today button', () => {
+  test('clicking Today opens (or creates) today and calls onOpenFile with the path', async () => {
+    const openToday = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+      path: '/notes/2026-09-14.md',
+      created: true,
+      content: '',
+    });
+    const onOpenFile = jest.fn();
+    const listExisting = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(['2026-09-14.md']);
+    const { container } = mountPanel({ openToday, onOpenFile, listExisting });
+    await flush();
+
+    container.querySelector('#daily-notes-today').click();
+    await flush();
+
+    expect(openToday).toHaveBeenCalledWith({});
+    expect(onOpenFile).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/notes/2026-09-14.md');
+  });
+
+  test('shows a "Created today." / "Today already exists." status depending on the result', async () => {
+    const onOpenFile = jest.fn();
+    const { container } = mountPanel({
+      openToday: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ path: '/x.md', created: true }),
+      listExisting: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]),
+      onOpenFile,
+    });
+    await flush();
+    container.querySelector('#daily-notes-today').click();
+    await flush();
+    expect(container.querySelector('#daily-notes-status').textContent).toMatch(/Created today/);
+
+    // Re-mount with a "not created" result
+    const { container: c2 } = mountPanel({
+      openToday: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ path: '/x.md', created: false }),
+      listExisting: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]),
+      onOpenFile,
+    });
+    await flush();
+    c2.querySelector('#daily-notes-today').click();
+    await flush();
+    expect(c2.querySelector('#daily-notes-status').textContent).toMatch(/already exists/);
+  });
+
+  test('handles openToday errors gracefully (no crash, status reports)', async () => {
+    const openToday = jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('disk gone'));
+    const { container } = mountPanel({ openToday });
+    await flush();
+    container.querySelector('#daily-notes-today').click();
+    await flush();
+    expect(container.querySelector('#daily-notes-status').textContent).toMatch(/disk gone/);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('renderDailyNotesPanel — click an existing entry', () => {
+  test('clicking a row calls onOpenFile with that row\'s path', async () => {
+    const onOpenFile = jest.fn();
+    const { container } = mountPanel({
+      onOpenFile,
+      listExisting: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([
+        '/notes/daily/2026-09-14.md',
+        '/notes/daily/2026-09-10.md',
+      ]),
+    });
+    await flush();
+    const items = container.querySelectorAll('.daily-notes-item');
+    items[1].click();
+    expect(onOpenFile).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/notes/daily/2026-09-10.md');
+  });
+
+  test('Enter / Space on a focused row opens it', async () => {
+    const onOpenFile = jest.fn();
+    const { container } = mountPanel({
+      onOpenFile,
+      listExisting: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(['/notes/daily/2026-09-14.md']),
+    });
+    await flush();
+    const row = container.querySelector('.daily-notes-item');
+    row.focus();
+    row.dispatchEvent(new KeyboardEvent('keydown', { key: 'Enter', bubbles: true }));
+    await flush();
+    expect(onOpenFile).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/notes/daily/2026-09-14.md');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('renderDailyNotesPanel — refresh', () => {
+  test('refresh button re-fetches the list', async () => {
+    const listExisting = jest.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce([]).mockResolvedValueOnce(['2026-09-14.md']);
+    const { container, api } = mountPanel({ listExisting });
+    await flush();
+    expect(container.querySelectorAll('.daily-notes-item')).toHaveLength(0);
+
+    api.refresh();
+    await flush();
+    expect(container.querySelectorAll('.daily-notes-item')).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(listExisting).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('renderDailyNotesPanel — graceful degradation', () => {
+  test('shows an error when listExisting rejects', async () => {
+    const listExisting = jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('ENOENT'));
+    const { container } = mountPanel({ listExisting });
+    await flush();
+    expect(container.querySelector('#daily-notes-status').textContent).toMatch(/ENOENT/);
+  });
+
+  test('shows an error when listExisting is not provided', async () => {
+    const { container } = mountPanel({ listExisting: null });
+    await flush();
+    expect(container.querySelector('#daily-notes-status').textContent).toMatch(/unavailable/);
+  });
+
+  test('filters out non-md entries', async () => {
+    const { container } = mountPanel({
+      listExisting: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(['2026-09-14.md', 'readme.txt', '.DS_Store']),
+    });
+    await flush();
+    expect(container.querySelectorAll('.daily-notes-item')).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+});
\ No newline at end of file