diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/de/idetools/filename_template/InitializeFilenameTemplateActivity.kt b/src/main/kotlin/de/idetools/filename_template/InitializeFilenameTemplateActivity.kt
index c3cfa14..e224f9e 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/de/idetools/filename_template/InitializeFilenameTemplateActivity.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/de/idetools/filename_template/InitializeFilenameTemplateActivity.kt
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import de.idetools.filename_template.placeholders.EpochPlaceholder
 import de.idetools.filename_template.placeholders.HostPlaceholder
 import de.idetools.filename_template.placeholders.PlaceholderProcessor
 import de.idetools.filename_template.placeholders.ProjectPlaceholder
+import de.idetools.filename_template.placeholders.SequencePlaceholder
 import de.idetools.filename_template.placeholders.UserPlaceholder
 import de.idetools.filename_template.settings.FilenameTemplateSettingsState
 
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ class InitializeFilenameTemplateActivity : StartupActivity {
             DatePlaceholder(),
             ProjectPlaceholder(),
             HostPlaceholder(),
+            SequencePlaceholder(),
             UserPlaceholder(),
             DefaultPlaceholder()
         )
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/de/idetools/filename_template/placeholders/SequencePlaceholder.kt b/src/main/kotlin/de/idetools/filename_template/placeholders/SequencePlaceholder.kt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bcb9707
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/de/idetools/filename_template/placeholders/SequencePlaceholder.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+package de.idetools.filename_template.placeholders
+
+import com.intellij.psi.PsiFile
+
+class SequencePlaceholder : Placeholder {
+    override fun supports(placeholder: String): Boolean = placeholder.matches("^\\d+$".toRegex())
+
+    override fun process(placeholder: String, context: PlaceholderContext): String {
+        var value = Integer.parseInt(placeholder)
+        while (sequenceValueExists(context.directory.files, context.filename + formatSequence(value, placeholder.length))) {
+            value++
+        }
+        return formatSequence(value, placeholder.length)
+    }
+
+    private fun sequenceValueExists(files: Array<PsiFile>, sequence: String): Boolean {
+        return files.any { it.name.startsWith(sequence) }
+    }
+
+    private fun formatSequence(value: Int, length: Int) =
+        value.toString().padStart(length, '0')
+}
diff --git a/src/main/resources/META-INF/plugin.xml b/src/main/resources/META-INF/plugin.xml
index 79b59d3..59f1874 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/META-INF/plugin.xml
+++ b/src/main/resources/META-INF/plugin.xml
@@ -58,6 +58,12 @@
                 <dd>
                     The username of the user running the IDE.
                 </dd>
+
+                <dt>{###}</dt>
+                <dd>
+                    The first available sequential number. Define the initial value and desired leading zeros in the template.
+                    Example: notes({042}).md => notes(042).md, notes(043).md, ...
+                </dd>
             </dl>
         </dd>
     </dl>