Hi. Basically, I’m asking for suggestions. Do you know any good note taking app that works on linux desktop? I’m looking for something that I can use instead of Notion or Obsidian, with some nice to have:
- Open source (that’s the reason I’m not that much into Obsidian, it could disappear tomorrow and I could not replace it with a community maintained fork)
- Markdown based. I’d like to know that I can replace that app for another one when I want, and that’s not possible when they use their own obscure format
- Local. I’m not interested in paying monthly for cloud storage. And actually, I’d prefer to know for certain that nothing leaves my local machine
- Nice UX. I know that using plain text files and vim might do the job, but I’d like something more user friendly and with nice features (Notion, for example, nails it in my opinion)
- Bonus: Can also be used on android (I’m aware this is a though one, and is not a deal breaker)
I know that all those requirements are hard to fulfill and I don’t even know if something like that exists, so I’d appreciate any kind of suggestion. For example, It’d be great if an open source like that exists, but I’m not completely closed to open-source-ish proprietary apps (e.g. licenses not really open but close enough), as long as they are free to use and work on linux.
Edit: Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. The most suggested alternative was Joplin so I’ll give it a try. However, as most of you mentioned, at the core it’s all markdown so I could easily try the other alternatives with the same knowledge base at a later point :)
can’t believe nobody mentioned silver bullet yet
Shameless plug, but I had almost the same requirements so I went and made the app myself https://github.com/RoBoT095/printnotes
Desktop needs more work but you can for now use the appimage. Once it’s in a better state I’ll make flatpaks and maybe other types like rpm and deb packages
I forgot to mention your app, I use it on my phone. Pretty fast app.
I was planning to add an issue - when the numbered list reaches 3 digits, it overflows to the next line. This was the reason I went back to Joplin. But I have high hopes for your app :)
I get what you say about Obsidian just falling off of the face of the earth, but it is just that, markdown, so you can migrate it to any MD based notes app, like Joplin.
Now, I don’t think those meet the nice UX requirement.
Was going to say the same. Obsidian has very little proprietary stuff in it, other than maybe some plugins users may elect to use. Other than that, it’s just folders full of markdown files.
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Beaver Notes. The android version is in early dev called Beaver pocket. Do note, it does not have folder/notebook feature afaik
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SiYuan. You can notes as Markdown files but their sync requires payment (I don’t know much about Siyuan’s pricing). I don’t use this as it has “AI”, it can be disabled but I didn’t need it in the first place.
Joplin and Beaver Notes (soon) support syncing with syncthing and other similar options (Joplin also has it’s own paid cloud sync afaik)
The rest are available on Linux, but if you export the notes, you can use Markor on Android
I second Joplin. I use it on Android and sync it locally (and only locally) with my Mac. It uses Markdown.
Joplin & sync to my self-hosted Nextcloud (with many other sync options)
Seconding Markor for Android. I originally installed it because I was sick of all the note-taking apps that store your notes away in hidden directories and proprietary formats. I’ve been using it for years and it’s not let me down yet.
SiYuan’s AI features only work if you have an OpenAI API key, or host your own LLM locally.
They have their own sync service but also support self hosting WebDAV or S3 servers. Unfortunately, even self hosting requires a one time payment for the Pro version.
Other than that, SiYuan is literally an open source Obsidian clone.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Logseq yet.
Also use logseq having switched from Joplin. Love the concept.
Why did you stay with it over Joplin? As a Joplin user, I am curious.
Really just the way it works for me. It is easy to randomly jot down stuff and find it again. No folders and organising notes. It really depends how you work best. Logseq is based around making quick notes and connecting them (like zettlekasten) without having to worry about files and folders.
Quillpad has an interface like Google Keep - which for mobile it’s one of the best ones out there IMO. It’s also markdown-based, local-first, open source, gluten-free, vegan, etc
Well if you happen to find a good app that does what you want on desktop, then you can complement it on Android with Markor , it’s “markdown native” and it has nice extra options like adding list elements, quick formatting etc. All based on markdown, can be easily switched between editor mode and preview(markdown rendered) mode.
I’ve recently discovered Trilium : markdown, electron app but works in pure web too if you host it somewhere, opensource, UX is ok by my standards, and the mobile web app works on Android too. And there is something of an ecosystem around, with extensions for browsers and the such. Sadly, I’ve also (and as recently) discovered its development was halted.
But there’s hope, and a TriliumNext project has seen light, which took right where Trilium stopped (and, from what I understood, they’re still mostly compatible at that point).
I recommend Notesnook. It is open source, cross platform, and cloud synchronized E2E encrypted. I know cloud based wasn’t something you wanted especially, but I thought it was worth mentioning because it is encrypted.
Yeah, technically you can self-host it but on boy its configuration is convoluted. I decided that trying it out on their cloud would be better for my mental health.
The source code is open, but Its not traditionally open-source.
Thats good enough for me, but worth noting.
Get a nvim distribution like lazy or lunar or nvchad, etc and install obsidian.nvim.
Note to OP: you don’t want to use obsidian, but obsidian.nvim is not related and not dependent on the software with the same name. Obsidian.nvim offers a Zettelkasten approach too.
https://github.com/epwalsh/obsidian.nvim https://youtu.be/5ht8NYkU9wQ
QOwnNotes https://www.qownnotes.org/
I think you are looking for one of these
- NotesNook (best free tier in my opinion)
- logseq (like an open source obsidian)
- Joplin (cloud is paid but you can selfhost)
- Standard Notes (only support plain text on free tier)
https://github.com/YangDai2003/OpenNote-Compose
Though it might be lacking in terms of UX.When searching the Flathub store for markdown editors, I found Folio, which works well for me. I use Syncthing fork to sync my notes folder between Android and Linux, and use https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/com.printnotes.printnotes on Android to edit it.
