I’m completely new to selfhosting but see a lot of potential. I wonder if anyone knows a good way to self host a notetaking app? The point is that I need to access my notes on multiple devices so self hosting them could be a nice idea. I currently use google keep and goodnotes but would like to leave those behind…
I’m just using a self hosted git repo with markdown files. I was having trouble finding something open source that I could edit with vim that also had a good mobile solution. I also didn’t want to get locked into a file format that was specific to an app.
Markdown is ubiquitous and I use git all the time as a developer so it was easier to tack something onto an existing workflow. It’s a little janky but at least I won’t be screwed by devs abandoning whatever app I was using.
Quillpad is the closest I’ve found. It’s simple markdown files. It can sync with Nextcloud as well. I use it for any short note or lists. Long form stuff including journal, I use Obsidian (not open source)
You can browse the collection on OpenAlternative here: https://openalternative.co/categories/notetaking
I use Joplin, no complaints.
Nextcloud is a really good all-in-one solution for self hosting data
Results from me asking this 1Y ago: https://lemm.ee/post/4593760
Went with Joplin and using it since.
My solution is basically what @mojolobo mentions with Nextcloud behind it and I love the concept. Because Obsidian (via a WebDAV plugin on the phone) just syncs with the “Notes” folder in my Nextcloud root it really is just a bunch of .md (markdown) files. It gives me an added sense of security (on top of the self-hosting aspect) because I can see those files everywhere I have Nextcloud installed, I can edit them manually if I wanted to. On the PC you just point the Obsidian app to the folder, on phones you do it via a WebDAV plugin.
Welcome to the rabbit hole of selfhosted note-taking apps. https://selfh.st/apps/?tag=Note-Taking
Unfortunately, this is going to be a bit of a journey. You’ll probably end up going through a few of these options until you find one that works for you and fits your workflow.
I use nextcloud notes because I already have nextcloud and my needs are not that sophisticated
I’m going to try this out. I hesitated because I was considering switching to Owncloud Infinite Scale, but I’m not going to bother because I decided the file structure OCIS uses is a deal-breaker (way too complex to recover in a disaster).
Obsidian is pretty neat. Can use it with Syncthing, although I guess you need Syncthing-Fork on Android now.
Obsidian is not open source but i also think it’s pretty neat.
Resilio sync works great for that since syncthing is on the out. I actually prefer Resilio anyways
What’s this about Syncthing now?
Dev discontinued the app due to google being difficult to maintain.
Ah damn. Thanks for the info
I migrated to the Syncthing android fork, and it’s even better than the original.
See my comment about Resilio sync above
I’ve used Joplin before which was okay-ish (but borked the e2e encryption during an update).
Now I would recommend Silverbullet if you are really keen on self hosting a notes app.
But the notes that work best for me is simply Obsidian + Syncthing-Fork (you could self host a syncthing server), thanks to its sheer ability to adapt to nearly any use case thanks to its plugin.
If you go this route, OP, and have an Android phone, then you should know the (very sad and disappointing) news that SyncThing for Android is about to be shut down.
But Syncthing Fork is not shut down and is still maintained (never used the main version tbh).
https://github.com/Catfriend1/syncthing-android-fdroid
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.github.catfriend1.syncthingandroid/
Thanks!
Oooohh. TIL. Thanks!
What was wrong with Joplin? I was thinking about giving it a try.
Not the OP, but I believe they’re talking about the upgrade from 128 bit AES to 256 bit AES. It created some compatibility issues between clients for a few days as the ones that weren’t updated yet couldn’t decrypt the newer 256 AES encrypted notes. That was my experience anyways. It’s a great app/server from my personal experience.
I also tried Joplin and while it’s great while using it, there’s no background sync and never will be. That’s a huge pain when you’re mobile and need to get at your notes but have little or no signal.
After trying a bunch, I’m using Obsidian + <your choice of sync plugin> now. Good thing with Obsidian is your notes are ultimately a bunch of plaintext files, so you can do whatever you want with them, and it comes with clients for most platforms.
Another option is Trilium, it is pretty powerful, and has a webapp so as long as you can access a browser, you’ll be able to access your notes. https://github.com/zadam/trilium
Been using Logseq since February and it’s been a game changer. My only gripes are a) inability to access via browsers, and b) lack of a quick note function. Sometimes I still use Keep to jot something down and transfer later. Logseq spends a solid 5+ seconds syncing upon opening, which can feel like an eternity when trying to quickly log something.
For browser, there is a webapp that can be selfhosted. See here https://github.com/logseq/logseq/blob/master/docs/docker-web-app-guide.md
I think you need chromium browsers due to the API they use, but it should work.
+1 for the open source option: Trilium The project is being maintained here: https://github.com/TriliumNext/Notes
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Probably Joplin is the easiest to use. Looks like OneNote but it’s different in many ways.
I use Memos and love it.
I connect to it from my desktop at home and from my phone via a WireGuard VPN and it’s everything I need. Worth a look, I think.
Memos fits a wide variety of uses and is the first note system that has clicked for me. I use it for quick notes so I don’t forget things, journal-like entries, save for later (like Pocket), shopping lists and other todos.
Looks great! Does it have handwriting support?
I don’t see anything about that on their site.
Yeah Memos is great. I use it as a personal journal. It supports great features like Postgres database, tags, filters, S3 for assets, SSO with OIDC. Dev works on more features like referencing notes if I read correctly
Only downside for me is, pictures are always at the end of a note, not inline like in wikis
I’ve been getting on well with notesnook, the self hosting is in beta right now but its just a docker container. Docs are coming for self hosting in the near future.
The criteria for me when I was looking for a notes app were:
- self hosted
- e2e encrypted
- supports images and other rich media as well as text
- can use markdown for text formatting
- supports mobile as well as some desktop interface
- can make lists with checkable boxes
- background sync
Notesnook hits all of these. I wish it had a dedicated desktop app but that’s something I can just use a browser window for.
Notesnook has a desktop app. Does it not work with self hosted implementation?
You’re right! I missed it somehow
