diff --git a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx
index f82a4899..a1a63811 100644
--- a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx
+++ b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/App.tsx
@@ -3263,9 +3263,38 @@ function App() {
       return newSet
     })
 
-    // Select the file to show it in the editor
+    // If tab already exists for this path (e.g. second call after transcription),
+    // force a content reload instead of creating a duplicate tab.
+    const existingTab = fileTabs.find(tab => tab.path === notePath)
+    if (existingTab) {
+      setActiveFileTabId(existingTab.id)
+      // Read fresh content from disk and update the editor
+      try {
+        const result = await window.ipc.invoke('workspace:readFile', { path: notePath, encoding: 'utf8' })
+        const { raw: fm, body } = splitFrontmatter(result.data)
+        frontmatterByPathRef.current.set(notePath, fm)
+        setFileContent(body)
+        setEditorContent(body)
+        editorContentRef.current = body
+        editorPathRef.current = notePath
+        initialContentRef.current = body
+        initialContentByPathRef.current.set(notePath, body)
+        setEditorContentByPath(prev => ({ ...prev, [notePath]: body }))
+        editorContentByPathRef.current.set(notePath, body)
+        // Bump editor session to force TipTap to pick up the new content
+        setEditorSessionByTabId(prev => ({
+          ...prev,
+          [existingTab.id]: (prev[existingTab.id] ?? 0) + 1,
+        }))
+      } catch {
+        // File read failed — ignore
+      }
+      return
+    }
+
+    // First call — open the file in a tab
     navigateToFile(notePath)
-  }, [loadDirectory, navigateToFile])
+  }, [loadDirectory, navigateToFile, fileTabs])
 
   const ensureWikiFile = useCallback(async (wikiPath: string) => {
     const resolvedPath = toKnowledgePath(wikiPath)
diff --git a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/sidebar-content.tsx b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/sidebar-content.tsx
index 2ae699a9..40353183 100644
--- a/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/sidebar-content.tsx
+++ b/apps/x/apps/renderer/src/components/sidebar-content.tsx
@@ -608,6 +608,9 @@ function VoiceNoteButton({ onNoteCreated }: { onNoteCreated?: (path: string) =>
   const notePathRef = React.useRef<string | null>(null)
   const timestampRef = React.useRef<string | null>(null)
   const relativePathRef = React.useRef<string | null>(null)
+  // Keep a ref to always call the latest onNoteCreated (avoids stale closure in recorder.onstop)
+  const onNoteCreatedRef = React.useRef(onNoteCreated)
+  React.useEffect(() => { onNoteCreatedRef.current = onNoteCreated }, [onNoteCreated])
 
   React.useEffect(() => {
     window.ipc.invoke('workspace:readFile', {
@@ -642,11 +645,12 @@ function VoiceNoteButton({ onNoteCreated }: { onNoteCreated?: (path: string) =>
         recursive: true,
       })
 
-      const initialContent = `# Voice Memo
-
-**Type:** voice memo
-**Recorded:** ${now.toLocaleString()}
-**Path:** ${relativePath}
+      const initialContent = `---
+type: voice memo
+recorded: "${now.toISOString()}"
+path: ${relativePath}
+---
+# Voice Memo
 
 ## Transcript
 
@@ -659,7 +663,7 @@ function VoiceNoteButton({ onNoteCreated }: { onNoteCreated?: (path: string) =>
       })
 
       // Select the note so the user can see it
-      onNoteCreated?.(notePath)
+      onNoteCreatedRef.current?.(notePath)
 
       // Start actual recording
       const stream = await navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia({ audio: true })
@@ -707,11 +711,12 @@ function VoiceNoteButton({ onNoteCreated }: { onNoteCreated?: (path: string) =>
         const currentNotePath = notePathRef.current
         const currentRelativePath = relativePathRef.current
         if (currentNotePath && currentRelativePath) {
-          const transcribingContent = `# Voice Memo
-
-**Type:** voice memo
-**Recorded:** ${new Date().toLocaleString()}
-**Path:** ${currentRelativePath}
+          const transcribingContent = `---
+type: voice memo
+recorded: "${new Date().toISOString()}"
+path: ${currentRelativePath}
+---
+# Voice Memo
 
 ## Transcript
 
@@ -728,21 +733,23 @@ function VoiceNoteButton({ onNoteCreated }: { onNoteCreated?: (path: string) =>
         const transcript = await transcribeWithDeepgram(blob)
         if (currentNotePath && currentRelativePath) {
           const finalContent = transcript
-            ? `# Voice Memo
-
-**Type:** voice memo
-**Recorded:** ${new Date().toLocaleString()}
-**Path:** ${currentRelativePath}
+            ? `---
+type: voice memo
+recorded: "${new Date().toISOString()}"
+path: ${currentRelativePath}
+---
+# Voice Memo
 
 ## Transcript
 
 ${transcript}
 `
-            : `# Voice Memo
-
-**Type:** voice memo
-**Recorded:** ${new Date().toLocaleString()}
-**Path:** ${currentRelativePath}
+            : `---
+type: voice memo
+recorded: "${new Date().toISOString()}"
+path: ${currentRelativePath}
+---
+# Voice Memo
 
 ## Transcript
 
@@ -755,7 +762,7 @@ ${transcript}
           })
 
           // Re-select to trigger refresh
-          onNoteCreated?.(currentNotePath)
+          onNoteCreatedRef.current?.(currentNotePath)
 
           if (transcript) {
             toast('Voice note transcribed', 'success')
diff --git a/apps/x/packages/core/src/knowledge/note_creation.ts b/apps/x/packages/core/src/knowledge/note_creation.ts
index bec0dd21..adc1eafc 100644
--- a/apps/x/packages/core/src/knowledge/note_creation.ts
+++ b/apps/x/packages/core/src/knowledge/note_creation.ts
@@ -165,8 +165,8 @@ workspace-readFile({ path: "{source_file}" })
 - Email signature
 
 **Voice memo indicators:**
-- Has \`**Type:** voice memo\` field
-- Has \`**Path:**\` field with path like \`Voice Memos/YYYY-MM-DD/...\`
+- Has YAML frontmatter with \`type: voice memo\`
+- Has frontmatter \`path:\` field like \`Voice Memos/YYYY-MM-DD/...\`
 - Has \`## Transcript\` section
 
 **Set processing mode:**