15 ms·

Beorg – an Emacs org-mode companion for iOS

178 points by yankcrime 9y ago

qrbLPHiKpiux 9y ago
I hope this will jump start me into learning emacs and org-mode. I always put it off. Because I just can’t get into learning it.
- zimablue 9y ago
  I just quit learning emacs, I was learning e-lisp and spacemacs and trying to customize the IDE to be close to a pycharm experience. It just didn't seem to be possible, I could get a graphical debugger for a while until I found realgud and even then there's no support for a locals window or doing console input Find symbols, the anaconda implementation by default just gave me a list of matches without context or file/line number etc which isn't very useful. It just felt like there can't be enough users with enough demand for things you get in an IDE for it to be worth getting into Emacs for programming. I'd love to get all comfy with a very customizable text editor but none seem there: Emacs => above Atom => similarly missing some basic python debugging features VSCode => Evil microsoft and I think had limited support for customizing windows (If I wanted to use a customizable text editor and not an IDE the first thing I'd need/want to implement would be embedding Jupyter cells.
  - gjstein 9y ago
    While I agree that one's Emacs setup will never be able to compete with a fully-featured IDE for any single language, I've found it impossible for me to leave Emacs because I now do everything in it. However, with my org-mode integration: - I have a list of all open tasks for each of my open projects, each with an associated deadline (if applicable). - As I complete tasks, I provide a short summary of what it took to resolve the task; as such, my .org files have become a log of what I accomplished - I also use .org to clock my time, which makes it easy to summarize a week or month at a glance, and to see if I'm spending my time where I think I should be. - Finally, one of my favorite features of org-mode is the ability to include links to my code in each of my todo items, which means that I can immediately open files of interest (and even link to a particular version in git: http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-git-link.html http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-git-link.html) and start editing, since I never left my editor in the first place. To me, it's not about having all the features for a single language; what keeps me working within Emacs is the ability to have all the features I've grown accustomed to for every language, and have a system customized to my liking that I never have to leave. It's certainly not for everyone (I hope I don't come across as critical), but I'm convinced nothing will ever get me to leave. EDIT: formatting.
  - cat199 9y ago
    > Jupyter cells There's an emacs lisp for that..: https://github.com/millejoh/emacs-ipython-notebook https://github.com/millejoh/emacs-ipython-notebook
    - zimablue 9y ago
      Thanks but I knew that this existed, it's more the other IDE things for python that didn't seem great - featured debugger (locals, watches) and a find-symbol that gives you more than just a list of matches (eg. return results with more details and context).
chrisper 9y ago
But can Beorg be run in Emacs?
altschuler 9y ago
Very cool. I'm curious about how it compares to MobileOrg (http://mobileorg.github.io http://mobileorg.github.io), which is also available for Android btw. From a first glance it seems much more polished.
- senan_kelly 9y ago
  mobileorg is hot
- jhoechtl 9y ago
  An Orgzly comparison would be more interesting. It's the better MobileOrg http://www.orgzly.com/ http://www.orgzly.com/
ljosa 9y ago
This is fantastic! Unlike MobileOrg, it does not require a separate step in emacs to export and import data. And it shows the files in ways that are more useful. Being able to review my tasks on the toilet will make org-mode ten times as useful. :) There are in-app purchases to donate $0.99, $2.99, or $7.99. I bought all three.
- jonnycomputer 9y ago
  I would just straight up ask for money if I were the developer.
  - lygaret 9y ago
    That's exactly what it is... Donations via in app purchase.
j7ake 9y ago
This app looks promising and I'm definitely considering supporting further development of this app. I have an org for time keeping, is it easy to do time keeping on the phone ?
- ljosa 9y ago
  It doesn't look like it supports clocking in or out.
  - appsonthemove 9y ago
    This is on the roadmap, but a little way off.
pserwylo 9y ago
If someone is looking for the equivalent on Android, I'd recommend the free and open source Orgzly[0][1]. [0] - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.orgzly https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.orgzly [1] - https://f-droid.org/packages/com.orgzly/ https://f-droid.org/packages/com.orgzly/
- th0br0 9y ago
  Last time I'd looked, I was unable to find such an app. This is what I've been looking for! Thanks!
  - tomlong 9y ago
    I looked at this a while ago, and actually took another look about two weeks ago when I got a new phone and it has come on in leaps and bounds since I last (quite quickly) wrote it off. I've got it set up to sync with nextcloud (through nextcloud app directory sync) and same with my laptop and it's proved a pretty solid and reliable way to stay on top of stuff. I've used it to migrate away from stuffing everything into Google Keep (in a general move away from google) and have ended up preferring my current config after living with it for a week or two.
- aerique 9y ago
  Can you tell me why you'd recommend it? Like MobileOrg I've never been able to get into it and keep going back to Google Keep (no pun intended).
  - clinth 9y ago
    I love it but use it only to view and process notes/deadlines/status from my mothership org files (maintained on non-mobile computers). I don't think I'd use it as a primary note application.
    - aerique 9y ago
      Right, thanks. That was my impression as well. It didn't feel really nice to take notes in. Too complicated.
Philipp__ 9y ago
This app looks really cool! Will give it a go for a week or so! For now it looks promising, I will be more than happy to donate!
Cacti 9y ago
Will you be supporting other cloud services than Dropbox?
- appsonthemove 9y ago
  As another commenter has put WebDAV support is in place. This is supported by many services such as OwnCloud, etc as well as your own server. git would be great as it would support better merging - however a little way off getting round to that yet.
- Xophmeister 9y ago
  It says it supports WebDAV-based cloud storage. It would be really nice, given its on iOS, if it supported iCloud.
- decasteve 9y ago
  iCloud and rsync would be nice options to have.
- tehno 9y ago
  Maybe Git even? Would love to keep my org files in a repo without having another special sync step.
splouk 9y ago
Would you consider adding support for checkboxes? I like to make grocery lists with org mode checkboxes, and this app doesn't seem to allow editing them.
- appsonthemove 9y ago
  Editing of outlines is in the works. Whilst checkbox support won't be in the first release it is in the roadmap.
splouk 9y ago
Do you have a recommendation for the best way to synch files which may be all over my computer?
- jhoechtl 9y ago
  Syncthing, using it for the exact same reason https://syncthing.net/ https://syncthing.net/
  - blue1 9y ago
    But how do Beorg and Synchthing play together?
    - jhoechtl 9y ago
      Does Beorg also sync to directory? Pick it up from there, done
decasteve 9y ago
I like the calendar integration. Reminders integration would be nice too. This is a nice app but it has lots of potential as well. Integration with Workflow could open up other possibilities as well.
hultner 9y ago
I’ve never used orgmode but heard of it frequently. As a non emacs user would it make sense for me to try it out and could some one give me a brief explanation of the benefits? I’m a heavy tmux and vi-user so I already practically live in my terminals.
- kazw8ue3tyupfbf 9y ago
  Org mode is very powerful for notes, outlines, and much much more. Org files are also very easily compiled to many different formats, including Tex, txt, html, etc.
- llamaz 9y ago
  It's convenient, but not life changing as some people think. It's worth using if you already use emacs, but it's not worth switching over. (I use emacs and org-mode extensively. Before that I used vi)
- rashkov 9y ago
  I started with making todo lists. It was easy to mark each row as TODO or DONE. I was able to indent underneath each todo to make sub tasks, and fold each section up and move it around easily. Then I found a way to add due dates to each item, and then view them all in a calendar view. I also found that I could add tags to each item, and then filter by tags. So if I had a question for my coworker I would tag that todo under his name and I could retrieve that later. Between tags and dates, you can stop worrying about the order of your todo list items and just throw new ones in there, and still easily find them because they're now structured by date and tag. You can also export your calendar and do other exports as well. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what org mode is capable of, but that's how I was able to dip my toe into it and pick up new functionality over time. If any org-mode wizards want to point out some other big use-cases that I've missed then I'd love to hear about that. I think some people even outline and publish books using org-mode so it's quite a deep system! Edit: I should also add that I came over from tmux+vim by using spacemacs, which is a vim-mode oriented distribution of emacs which comes with its own opinionated set of plugins and "layers" that you can easily add. It's worth a look if you're emacs-curious
unixhero 9y ago
Any equivalent for BeOS?
Game_Ender 9y ago
This is awesome, I hope it gets updated to support editing of existing files.
grumblepeet 9y ago
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for and I was starting to think I’d have to build my own iOS Org mode app. Found all of my Org mode files in Dropbox, and even found some TODO’s that I hadn’t completed back in 2011. Great piece of work and again many thanks.
nandkeypull 9y ago
It's quick and painless to sync with Dropbox - kudos to the developer. I've been looking for a decent iOS app for org integration and it looks like my search ends here. If I could make a suggestion though, it would be really nice if it supported subdirectories. I suspect that most people, like me, don't keep all their org notes in a perfectly flat hierarchy. Being able to go into subdirectories and view notes would be a great help.
malloryerik 9y ago
This is very nice, but I do wish we could edit files, not just view them.

178 points by yankcrime 9y ago

I hope this will jump start me into learning emacs and org-mode. I always put it off. Because I just can’t get into learning it.

zimablue 9y ago
I just quit learning emacs, I was learning e-lisp and spacemacs and trying to customize the IDE to be close to a pycharm experience. It just didn't seem to be possible, I could get a graphical debugger for a while until I found realgud and even then there's no support for a locals window or doing console input Find symbols, the anaconda implementation by default just gave me a list of matches without context or file/line number etc which isn't very useful. It just felt like there can't be enough users with enough demand for things you get in an IDE for it to be worth getting into Emacs for programming. I'd love to get all comfy with a very customizable text editor but none seem there: Emacs => above Atom => similarly missing some basic python debugging features VSCode => Evil microsoft and I think had limited support for customizing windows (If I wanted to use a customizable text editor and not an IDE the first thing I'd need/want to implement would be embedding Jupyter cells.
- gjstein 9y ago
  While I agree that one's Emacs setup will never be able to compete with a fully-featured IDE for any single language, I've found it impossible for me to leave Emacs because I now do everything in it. However, with my org-mode integration: - I have a list of all open tasks for each of my open projects, each with an associated deadline (if applicable). - As I complete tasks, I provide a short summary of what it took to resolve the task; as such, my .org files have become a log of what I accomplished - I also use .org to clock my time, which makes it easy to summarize a week or month at a glance, and to see if I'm spending my time where I think I should be. - Finally, one of my favorite features of org-mode is the ability to include links to my code in each of my todo items, which means that I can immediately open files of interest (and even link to a particular version in git: http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-git-link.html http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-git-link.html) and start editing, since I never left my editor in the first place. To me, it's not about having all the features for a single language; what keeps me working within Emacs is the ability to have all the features I've grown accustomed to for every language, and have a system customized to my liking that I never have to leave. It's certainly not for everyone (I hope I don't come across as critical), but I'm convinced nothing will ever get me to leave. EDIT: formatting.
- cat199 9y ago
  > Jupyter cells There's an emacs lisp for that..: https://github.com/millejoh/emacs-ipython-notebook https://github.com/millejoh/emacs-ipython-notebook
  - zimablue 9y ago
    Thanks but I knew that this existed, it's more the other IDE things for python that didn't seem great - featured debugger (locals, watches) and a find-symbol that gives you more than just a list of matches (eg. return results with more details and context).

chrisper 9y ago

But can Beorg be run in Emacs?

altschuler 9y ago

Very cool. I'm curious about how it compares to MobileOrg (http://mobileorg.github.io http://mobileorg.github.io), which is also available for Android btw. From a first glance it seems much more polished.

senan_kelly 9y ago
mobileorg is hot
jhoechtl 9y ago
An Orgzly comparison would be more interesting. It's the better MobileOrg http://www.orgzly.com/ http://www.orgzly.com/

ljosa 9y ago

This is fantastic! Unlike MobileOrg, it does not require a separate step in emacs to export and import data. And it shows the files in ways that are more useful. Being able to review my tasks on the toilet will make org-mode ten times as useful. :) There are in-app purchases to donate $0.99, $2.99, or $7.99. I bought all three.

jonnycomputer 9y ago
I would just straight up ask for money if I were the developer.
- lygaret 9y ago
  That's exactly what it is... Donations via in app purchase.

j7ake 9y ago

This app looks promising and I'm definitely considering supporting further development of this app. I have an org for time keeping, is it easy to do time keeping on the phone ?

ljosa 9y ago
It doesn't look like it supports clocking in or out.
- appsonthemove 9y ago
  This is on the roadmap, but a little way off.

pserwylo 9y ago

If someone is looking for the equivalent on Android, I'd recommend the free and open source Orgzly[0][1]. [0] - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.orgzly https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.orgzly [1] - https://f-droid.org/packages/com.orgzly/ https://f-droid.org/packages/com.orgzly/

th0br0 9y ago
Last time I'd looked, I was unable to find such an app. This is what I've been looking for! Thanks!
- tomlong 9y ago
  I looked at this a while ago, and actually took another look about two weeks ago when I got a new phone and it has come on in leaps and bounds since I last (quite quickly) wrote it off. I've got it set up to sync with nextcloud (through nextcloud app directory sync) and same with my laptop and it's proved a pretty solid and reliable way to stay on top of stuff. I've used it to migrate away from stuffing everything into Google Keep (in a general move away from google) and have ended up preferring my current config after living with it for a week or two.
aerique 9y ago
Can you tell me why you'd recommend it? Like MobileOrg I've never been able to get into it and keep going back to Google Keep (no pun intended).
- clinth 9y ago
  I love it but use it only to view and process notes/deadlines/status from my mothership org files (maintained on non-mobile computers). I don't think I'd use it as a primary note application.
  - aerique 9y ago
    Right, thanks. That was my impression as well. It didn't feel really nice to take notes in. Too complicated.

Philipp__ 9y ago

This app looks really cool! Will give it a go for a week or so! For now it looks promising, I will be more than happy to donate!

Cacti 9y ago

Will you be supporting other cloud services than Dropbox?

appsonthemove 9y ago
As another commenter has put WebDAV support is in place. This is supported by many services such as OwnCloud, etc as well as your own server. git would be great as it would support better merging - however a little way off getting round to that yet.
Xophmeister 9y ago
It says it supports WebDAV-based cloud storage. It would be really nice, given its on iOS, if it supported iCloud.
decasteve 9y ago
iCloud and rsync would be nice options to have.
tehno 9y ago
Maybe Git even? Would love to keep my org files in a repo without having another special sync step.

splouk 9y ago

Would you consider adding support for checkboxes? I like to make grocery lists with org mode checkboxes, and this app doesn't seem to allow editing them.

appsonthemove 9y ago
Editing of outlines is in the works. Whilst checkbox support won't be in the first release it is in the roadmap.

splouk 9y ago

Do you have a recommendation for the best way to synch files which may be all over my computer?

jhoechtl 9y ago
Syncthing, using it for the exact same reason https://syncthing.net/ https://syncthing.net/
- blue1 9y ago
  But how do Beorg and Synchthing play together?
  - jhoechtl 9y ago
    Does Beorg also sync to directory? Pick it up from there, done

decasteve 9y ago

I like the calendar integration. Reminders integration would be nice too. This is a nice app but it has lots of potential as well. Integration with Workflow could open up other possibilities as well.

hultner 9y ago

I’ve never used orgmode but heard of it frequently. As a non emacs user would it make sense for me to try it out and could some one give me a brief explanation of the benefits? I’m a heavy tmux and vi-user so I already practically live in my terminals.

kazw8ue3tyupfbf 9y ago
Org mode is very powerful for notes, outlines, and much much more. Org files are also very easily compiled to many different formats, including Tex, txt, html, etc.
llamaz 9y ago
It's convenient, but not life changing as some people think. It's worth using if you already use emacs, but it's not worth switching over. (I use emacs and org-mode extensively. Before that I used vi)
rashkov 9y ago
I started with making todo lists. It was easy to mark each row as TODO or DONE. I was able to indent underneath each todo to make sub tasks, and fold each section up and move it around easily. Then I found a way to add due dates to each item, and then view them all in a calendar view. I also found that I could add tags to each item, and then filter by tags. So if I had a question for my coworker I would tag that todo under his name and I could retrieve that later. Between tags and dates, you can stop worrying about the order of your todo list items and just throw new ones in there, and still easily find them because they're now structured by date and tag. You can also export your calendar and do other exports as well. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what org mode is capable of, but that's how I was able to dip my toe into it and pick up new functionality over time. If any org-mode wizards want to point out some other big use-cases that I've missed then I'd love to hear about that. I think some people even outline and publish books using org-mode so it's quite a deep system! Edit: I should also add that I came over from tmux+vim by using spacemacs, which is a vim-mode oriented distribution of emacs which comes with its own opinionated set of plugins and "layers" that you can easily add. It's worth a look if you're emacs-curious

unixhero 9y ago

Any equivalent for BeOS?

Game_Ender 9y ago

This is awesome, I hope it gets updated to support editing of existing files.

grumblepeet 9y ago

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for and I was starting to think I’d have to build my own iOS Org mode app. Found all of my Org mode files in Dropbox, and even found some TODO’s that I hadn’t completed back in 2011. Great piece of work and again many thanks.

nandkeypull 9y ago

It's quick and painless to sync with Dropbox - kudos to the developer. I've been looking for a decent iOS app for org integration and it looks like my search ends here. If I could make a suggestion though, it would be really nice if it supported subdirectories. I suspect that most people, like me, don't keep all their org notes in a perfectly flat hierarchy. Being able to go into subdirectories and view notes would be a great help.

malloryerik 9y ago

This is very nice, but I do wish we could edit files, not just view them.