Joplin is great, been using it for a little over a year now.
What's not the best is react native is... complex (rightfully so, many layers of abstraction) and it's hard to contribute unless you really grok every layer (JS/React/iOS Apps/XCode)
I tried to fix the spinner direction on mobile and trying to test was _challenging_. That said, If you are a react native expert, and can spare literally 30 min and wanna help feel free to take a look: https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/pull/4506
I used it for quite some time, but a couple of things have made me stop using it as of late.
Firstly, its just not very nice to look at, especially compared to something like Notion. I want something thats a joy to work in.
Secondly, the mobile experience kinda sucks. I used to use it to maintain a list of when i've taken my medication. Upon opening the app, i first have to wait to make sure my notes are fully synced from anything I changed on my laptop. Then once ive updated the note, I have to wait for the notes to be synced before i close it. If you close the app before syncing completes, it wont work.
Also all sorts of UX issues in the app, primary one I can think of is the keyboard going over the top of the text you are trying to write.
In general, a lot of the time I dont really have the need to have a see both a markdown-rendered window, and the text window. I end up closing the markdown-render window so I have more screen area to see what im writing. But then it just doesn't look good?
Im not trying to hate on Joplin, I really want to enjoy it. I even wrote a plugin for it. Does anyone have any similar thoughts?
I tried to use Joplin for a while, and stopped largely due to the same reasons as you.
I switched to Obisidan, which also stores all its notes locally in Markdown, offers all the features you want and a robust plugin ecosystem, has a (beta) mobile client, and is pretty.
The one thing it doesn't have that I really want is "WYSIWYG" markdown editing, a la Typora (but it's on the roadmap!).
One missing feature that has been requested many times, and largely ignored, is linking between pages quickly like in Confluence or a wiki. The biggest value in taking notes for me, comes from the ability to link multiple notes together freely and quickly.
The web clipper, which I use constantly in Firefox, is a godsend.
I can capture: full page, simplified page, just the selected text, or just the URL. And then I can edit the resulting document with my own notes, add other links or attachments and etc.
It allows me to take my own notes and build on a collection of bookmarked pages that I can still search and refer to long after the original site has disappeared.
I've transitioned to Joplin as my every day note taking app. Evernote did their dash with me when they limited to 2 devices (I was considering paying for it until that point, it showed that they're willing to change terms on a whim).
OneNote never resonated with me.
I was just syncing a directory of MD files for a while.
Joplin ended up working well for me, syncing to my own NextCloud server. The only thing I wish were different is that it wasn't an Electron app using heaps of memory (this is what stopped me adopting it earlier).
I wrote down some notes from previous discussions about note-taking apps, and one negative point I got for Joplin is that it uses an opaque & unstructured file naming: <UUID>.md
I guess this didn't change? While it seems arbitrary, I really would prefer to have some more readable names for when I access my notes with a plain text editor. Not being forced to use the same program everywhere in case I'm not on my computer or I'm in a hurry somehow and the software is not installed.
Just put markdown in a private git repo. There are good markdown editors (and git clients) for desktop and mobile. Much more portable and less reliant on some specific software.
I have been looking for note taking apps and shorted listed Joplin and Trilium [1].
I'm currently experimenting with Trilium since couple of days. While it looks complex at first, it seems to have a lot of extensibility which might make it "future proof" for extensive data.
A TODO-app which has no synchronization capabilities so I don't need to worry about leakage of private data.
Ideally it would use a very simple plaintext file format for its database so it is future proof, e.g. http://todotxt.org/
The TODO.txt format seems very nice but the Android apps listed on that site are either not fully developed or unmaintained, and one even looks like it's not open source.
Simpletask seems like the most advanced implementation, but it got kicked out of Google Play for the usual Google shenanigans, so the author says on a sticky GitHub issue that he has lost motivation: https://github.com/mpcjanssen/simpletask-android/issues/1110
I believe Markor[0] might satisfy your needs of having a TODO.txt editor that has no sync capabilities. I have to use in combination with Dropsync[1] to sync my notes.
Admittedly, I only use Markor for my plaintext notes and rely on Todo.txt[2] for my TODO.txt needs, which is still maintained and has syncing builtin.
AIUI Joplin effectively does that; its synchronization abilities boil down to "Integrate with file synchronization tools that don't natively create sync folders on your phone so you don't have to pay for a pro Dropbox account".
I just set up a test sync, and the files in my Dropbox Apps/Joplin folder are just Markdown and JSON (there appear to be some dotfiles, but I'll bet they just cache the database graph etc).
You might be interested in a project I created for exactly the use case you describe - simple, text-based notes/todos managed via a CLI: https://github.com/dkaslovsky/textnote
Because all notes are plaintext and stored in a single directory, it is easy to use standard tooling (such as grep) to extend the functionality. If cloud synchronization is a must-have, simply sync the directory to your provider of choice.
I have to admit, my experience with Syncthing is not what I'd call smooth. It's great when it works, but I didn't find it trivial to set up, the sync didn't work all the time, and then I was running my own storage/backup system.
I use Joplin with OneDrive and it works great. Setup was clicking a couple buttons. My employer provides me with 1 TB of storage. The free version gives you 5 GB and OneDrive standalone gives you 100 GB for $1.99 a month. I'm just a user but I'd encourage anyone to go the OneDrive route with Joplin rather than messing with Syncthing.
joplin is one of the initial open source note taking tools with cross platform and device support. they were an inspiration for me for making my own note taking tool.
shameless plug: if your looking for a modern dev focused note taking tool, would love to get feedback on what you think of https://wiki.dendron.so/
[+] [-] dang|4 years ago|reply
Joplin – an open source note taking and to-do application with sync - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22439485 - Feb 2020 (36 comments)
Joplin – a note taking and to-do application with synchronization capabilities - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21555238 - Nov 2019 (150 comments)
Joplin – A note-taking and to-do app with builds for desktop, mobile, terminal - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15815040 - Nov 2017 (204 comments)
[+] [-] lbotos|4 years ago|reply
What's not the best is react native is... complex (rightfully so, many layers of abstraction) and it's hard to contribute unless you really grok every layer (JS/React/iOS Apps/XCode)
I tried to fix the spinner direction on mobile and trying to test was _challenging_. That said, If you are a react native expert, and can spare literally 30 min and wanna help feel free to take a look: https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/pull/4506
[+] [-] herdst|4 years ago|reply
Firstly, its just not very nice to look at, especially compared to something like Notion. I want something thats a joy to work in.
Secondly, the mobile experience kinda sucks. I used to use it to maintain a list of when i've taken my medication. Upon opening the app, i first have to wait to make sure my notes are fully synced from anything I changed on my laptop. Then once ive updated the note, I have to wait for the notes to be synced before i close it. If you close the app before syncing completes, it wont work.
Also all sorts of UX issues in the app, primary one I can think of is the keyboard going over the top of the text you are trying to write.
In general, a lot of the time I dont really have the need to have a see both a markdown-rendered window, and the text window. I end up closing the markdown-render window so I have more screen area to see what im writing. But then it just doesn't look good?
Im not trying to hate on Joplin, I really want to enjoy it. I even wrote a plugin for it. Does anyone have any similar thoughts?
[+] [-] justusthane|4 years ago|reply
I switched to Obisidan, which also stores all its notes locally in Markdown, offers all the features you want and a robust plugin ecosystem, has a (beta) mobile client, and is pretty.
The one thing it doesn't have that I really want is "WYSIWYG" markdown editing, a la Typora (but it's on the roadmap!).
[+] [-] kilroy123|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Thorentis|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jf___|4 years ago|reply
[1] https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/quick-links-plugin/14214
[2] https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/automatic-backlinks-with-m...
[+] [-] ww_wpg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ElCapitanMarkla|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hashhar|4 years ago|reply
It's been around for quite a long time, in active development, with a nice ecosystem and well-polished featureset and interface.
I've been loving it for the time I've been using it. It even has a web clipper.
[1]: https://xkcd.com/1053/
[+] [-] andredz|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] waah|4 years ago|reply
I can capture: full page, simplified page, just the selected text, or just the URL. And then I can edit the resulting document with my own notes, add other links or attachments and etc.
It allows me to take my own notes and build on a collection of bookmarked pages that I can still search and refer to long after the original site has disappeared.
[+] [-] sharikone|4 years ago|reply
Pros: - Open source - Rich markdown with math notation, code highlighting and more - Sincronizable - Actively maintained
Cons: - Not so polished, especially in mobile - Less support for linking short notes than, say, Obsidian - Difficult to contribute to codebase
[+] [-] JazzXP|4 years ago|reply
OneNote never resonated with me.
I was just syncing a directory of MD files for a while.
Joplin ended up working well for me, syncing to my own NextCloud server. The only thing I wish were different is that it wasn't an Electron app using heaps of memory (this is what stopped me adopting it earlier).
[+] [-] gilch|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] j1elo|4 years ago|reply
I guess this didn't change? While it seems arbitrary, I really would prefer to have some more readable names for when I access my notes with a plain text editor. Not being forced to use the same program everywhere in case I'm not on my computer or I'm in a hurry somehow and the software is not installed.
[+] [-] chadlavi|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mixcocam|4 years ago|reply
I'm on Android and have found nothing good.
[+] [-] krets|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chetangoti|4 years ago|reply
I'm currently experimenting with Trilium since couple of days. While it looks complex at first, it seems to have a lot of extensibility which might make it "future proof" for extensive data.
So far it looks good.
[1] https://github.com/zadam/trilium
[+] [-] eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7|4 years ago|reply
A TODO-app which has no synchronization capabilities so I don't need to worry about leakage of private data.
Ideally it would use a very simple plaintext file format for its database so it is future proof, e.g. http://todotxt.org/
The TODO.txt format seems very nice but the Android apps listed on that site are either not fully developed or unmaintained, and one even looks like it's not open source.
Simpletask seems like the most advanced implementation, but it got kicked out of Google Play for the usual Google shenanigans, so the author says on a sticky GitHub issue that he has lost motivation: https://github.com/mpcjanssen/simpletask-android/issues/1110
[+] [-] frankish|4 years ago|reply
Admittedly, I only use Markor for my plaintext notes and rely on Todo.txt[2] for my TODO.txt needs, which is still maintained and has syncing builtin.
[0]: https://gsantner.net/project/markor.html
[1]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.dr...
[2]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.c306.ttsup...
[+] [-] jszymborski|4 years ago|reply
- Optional
- End-to-end encrypted
- Can be self-hosted or restricted to a file-system (like a network drive)
[+] [-] InitialLastName|4 years ago|reply
I just set up a test sync, and the files in my Dropbox Apps/Joplin folder are just Markdown and JSON (there appear to be some dotfiles, but I'll bet they just cache the database graph etc).
[+] [-] bachmeier|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] swiley|4 years ago|reply
Personally I sync my org files along with my calendar using git and that works well enough for me.
[+] [-] dankco|4 years ago|reply
The project received some attention on the front page of HN a few months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26123436
Because all notes are plaintext and stored in a single directory, it is easy to use standard tooling (such as grep) to extend the functionality. If cloud synchronization is a must-have, simply sync the directory to your provider of choice.
[+] [-] dude01|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] corobo|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mixcocam|4 years ago|reply
Just use syncthing.
syncthing.org
[+] [-] bachmeier|4 years ago|reply
I use Joplin with OneDrive and it works great. Setup was clicking a couple buttons. My employer provides me with 1 TB of storage. The free version gives you 5 GB and OneDrive standalone gives you 100 GB for $1.99 a month. I'm just a user but I'd encourage anyone to go the OneDrive route with Joplin rather than messing with Syncthing.
[+] [-] kevinslin|4 years ago|reply
shameless plug: if your looking for a modern dev focused note taking tool, would love to get feedback on what you think of https://wiki.dendron.so/
[+] [-] rhodozelia|4 years ago|reply
Would this be equivalent but supports iOS and Linux?
[+] [-] eitland|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] amaccuish|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] smbv|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] threatofrain|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dewey|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] iamcreasy|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] notimetorelax|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] arthurcolle|4 years ago|reply
"You can please some people some of the time. You can't please all the people all the time."
[+] [-] j1elo|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jiriro|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] theshrike79|4 years ago|reply