8 ms·

Joplin – an open source note taking and to-do application with synchronization

116 points by josefslerka 5y ago

amaccuish 5y ago
One day I dream that OneNote will be open source
- smbv 5y ago
  Let's have Windows switch to GPL while we're at it too ;)
threatofrain 5y ago
Joplin has been around for awhile in this space; has anything new happened?
- dewey 5y ago
  Looks like a v2 recently went into "pre-release": https://joplinapp.org/changelog/ https://joplinapp.org/changelog/
hashhar 5y ago
So many people here are going to be one of today's lucky 10,000 [1] to learn about the awesomeness that Joplin is. 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/ https://xkcd.com/1053/
- waah 5y ago
  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.
- andredz 5y ago
  13 days later, but better late than even later.
lbotos 5y ago
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 https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/pull/4506
eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
I could use the opposite: 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/ 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 https://github.com/mpcjanssen/simpletask-android/issues/1110
- bachmeier 5y ago
  Use Obsidian or Logseq or Zim Wiki or TiddlyWiki or Zettlr or one of the many others.
- jszymborski 5y ago
  FWIW, synchronization in Joplin is: - Optional - End-to-end encrypted - Can be self-hosted or restricted to a file-system (like a network drive)
  - eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
    Thanks. That is nice but consider a broader point of view please: If not carefully choosing offline-only software, then almost everything demands internet access nowadays. All of those things will claim that they handle my data safely. Obviously that cannot be true, leaks do still happen. So from the perspective of someone who has to actually install, use and frequently update a dozen of Android apps, it is much easier to stick to only using such which do not want internet access instead of constantly having to read a very large amount of changelogs because all software you use is hooked up to the internet.
    - bhaak 5y ago
      > So from the perspective of someone who has to actually install, use and frequently update a dozen of Android apps, it is much easier to stick to only using such which do not want internet access instead of constantly having to read a very large amount of changelogs because all software you use is hooked up to the internet. Even offline-only apps might gain online capabilities. You need to read the changelogs nevertheless. In the case of Joplin, AFAIR it is offline first when you start it. As it supports various sync options you have to configure one before it will start syncing over the net. I think the risk of Joplin getting a sync option that is activated by default is about the same as an offline app getting online features.
rhodozelia 5y ago
I am a heavy one note user with a group we all sync our notes to a network drive abs it works well. Would this be equivalent but supports iOS and Linux?
- eitland 5y ago
  I've used both a fair bit and I think it would be hard to replicate the multi user magic of older OneNote versions in any program at the moment.
  - rhodozelia 5y ago
    Is newer one note not as good? It always bugs me to upgrade but usually the newer versions of everything are worse for the user.
    - eitland 5y ago
      You cannot use your own file server anymore so it is unusable by some organizations. Also it feels more like a toy.
      - rhodozelia 5y ago
        And so it goes. A program solves a problem for you, it is good value, you start to use it, it is changed to further lock you in, and then it changes to a subscription
notimetorelax 5y ago
It’s a pity OSS doesn’t have the resources to vet the names. In Russian this name doesn’t sound good no matter how you pronounce.
- arthurcolle 5y ago
  I guess no Russians listen to Janis Joplin either then. "You can please some people some of the time. You can't please all the people all the time."
  - notimetorelax 5y ago
    I’m alluding to this, context matters: https://www.carthrottle.com/post/49rx9gg/ https://www.carthrottle.com/post/49rx9gg/
- j1elo 5y ago
  Actually it is named after a pianist: https://joplinapp.org/faq/#why-is-it-named-joplin https://joplinapp.org/faq/#why-is-it-named-joplin
  - notimetorelax 5y ago
    My point exactly, you might think it’s a safe name to pick. Context is everything and for a todo app this name is quite unfortunate.
mixcocam 5y ago
Why do people keep using Dropbox and others for syncm?! Just use syncthing. syncthing.org
- barbazoo 5y ago
  I use it for simple off-site redundancy.
  - mixcocam 5y ago
    +1
- bachmeier 5y ago
  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.
  - mixcocam 5y ago
    That's unfortunate! If it has been a while I would give it another swing. I'm even using it to have a shared drive in the company I'm running.
- m-p-3 5y ago
  And on top of it I'll add that Syncthing added a feature called "untrusted device encryption" https://docs.syncthing.net/specs/untrusted.html https://docs.syncthing.net/specs/untrusted.html So you can set a node in the cloud and set an encryption key between two endpoints, and whichever nodes that have the directory synced but doesn't have the encryption key will never have access to the decrypted data.
  - 5y ago
dang 5y ago
Past related threads: Joplin – an open source note taking and to-do application with sync - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22439485 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 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 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15815040 - Nov 2017 (204 comments)
Thorentis 5y ago
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.
- jf___ 5y ago
  that has been addressed in the quicklinks [1] and the backlinks [2] plugin, which are an absolute bliss [1] https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/quick-links-plugin/14214 https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/quick-links-plugin/14214 [2] https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/automatic-backlinks-with-manual-insert-option/13632 https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/automatic-backlinks-with-m...
  - bachmeier 5y ago
    I just tested Quick Links. It looks okay, but the big thing is that you need to be able to create a link to a new page as you type, then open the page and start typing. Quick Links speeds up the process of linking to an existing page. You can already drag a page link from the sidebar onto the page.
  - Thorentis 5y ago
    Plugins shouldn't be required for core features. I consider linking as a core feature for any feature rich note taking application.
- weswpg 5y ago
  i have to drag and drop from the note list to link my current page to another
- ElCapitanMarkla 5y ago
  I didn't realise I wanted this until just now
JazzXP 5y ago
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).
- gilch 5y ago
  How do the UI and features compare to Evernote?
  - crossroadsguy 5y ago
    I would say underwhelming.
herdst 5y ago
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?
- kilroy123 5y ago
  I agree, the mobile experience is pretty dreadful.
- justusthane 5y ago
  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!).
  - jonwest 5y ago
    I’ve been using a theme in Obsidian that’s _pretty much_ WYSIWYG, but albeit not _quite_ at Typora/Notion levels. If you’re working in that paragraph it’ll show syntax but hide it once that paragraph loses focus. To me this felt like the best of both worlds since I can actually jump into an existing piece of formatted text and easily modify it or “jump out of” formatted modes like ‘code’ which was a bit of a pain in Notion.
j1elo 5y ago
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.
sharikone 5y ago
For me Obsidian is better but Joplin tramples it because it is open source 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
chetangoti 5y ago
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. So far it looks good. [1] https://github.com/zadam/trilium https://github.com/zadam/trilium
jiriro 5y ago
Does it have images/pictures?
- theshrike79 5y ago
  Yes, but the support is a bit clunky compared to the competition.
iamcreasy 5y ago
I exported my Evernote content and Joplin can open it without any change.
chadlavi 5y ago
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.
- krets 5y ago
  I'm doing the same but with syncthing instead of git to get auto sync
  - approxim8ion 5y ago
    I have been doing the same for the last year or so too. Syncthing has been very good and reliable.
- mixcocam 5y ago
  What are you using on mobile for: - search - note editing I'm on Android and have found nothing good.
kevinslin 5y ago
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/ https://wiki.dendron.so/

116 points by josefslerka 5y ago

amaccuish 5y ago

One day I dream that OneNote will be open source

smbv 5y ago
Let's have Windows switch to GPL while we're at it too ;)

threatofrain 5y ago

Joplin has been around for awhile in this space; has anything new happened?

dewey 5y ago
Looks like a v2 recently went into "pre-release": https://joplinapp.org/changelog/ https://joplinapp.org/changelog/

hashhar 5y ago

So many people here are going to be one of today's lucky 10,000 [1] to learn about the awesomeness that Joplin is. 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/ https://xkcd.com/1053/

waah 5y ago
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.
andredz 5y ago
13 days later, but better late than even later.

lbotos 5y ago

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 https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/pull/4506

eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago

I could use the opposite: 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/ 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 https://github.com/mpcjanssen/simpletask-android/issues/1110

bachmeier 5y ago
Use Obsidian or Logseq or Zim Wiki or TiddlyWiki or Zettlr or one of the many others.
jszymborski 5y ago
FWIW, synchronization in Joplin is: - Optional - End-to-end encrypted - Can be self-hosted or restricted to a file-system (like a network drive)
- eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
  Thanks. That is nice but consider a broader point of view please: If not carefully choosing offline-only software, then almost everything demands internet access nowadays. All of those things will claim that they handle my data safely. Obviously that cannot be true, leaks do still happen. So from the perspective of someone who has to actually install, use and frequently update a dozen of Android apps, it is much easier to stick to only using such which do not want internet access instead of constantly having to read a very large amount of changelogs because all software you use is hooked up to the internet.
  - bhaak 5y ago
    > So from the perspective of someone who has to actually install, use and frequently update a dozen of Android apps, it is much easier to stick to only using such which do not want internet access instead of constantly having to read a very large amount of changelogs because all software you use is hooked up to the internet. Even offline-only apps might gain online capabilities. You need to read the changelogs nevertheless. In the case of Joplin, AFAIR it is offline first when you start it. As it supports various sync options you have to configure one before it will start syncing over the net. I think the risk of Joplin getting a sync option that is activated by default is about the same as an offline app getting online features.

rhodozelia 5y ago

I am a heavy one note user with a group we all sync our notes to a network drive abs it works well. Would this be equivalent but supports iOS and Linux?

eitland 5y ago
I've used both a fair bit and I think it would be hard to replicate the multi user magic of older OneNote versions in any program at the moment.
- rhodozelia 5y ago
  Is newer one note not as good? It always bugs me to upgrade but usually the newer versions of everything are worse for the user.
  - eitland 5y ago
    You cannot use your own file server anymore so it is unusable by some organizations. Also it feels more like a toy.
    - rhodozelia 5y ago
      And so it goes. A program solves a problem for you, it is good value, you start to use it, it is changed to further lock you in, and then it changes to a subscription

notimetorelax 5y ago

It’s a pity OSS doesn’t have the resources to vet the names. In Russian this name doesn’t sound good no matter how you pronounce.

arthurcolle 5y ago
I guess no Russians listen to Janis Joplin either then. "You can please some people some of the time. You can't please all the people all the time."
- notimetorelax 5y ago
  I’m alluding to this, context matters: https://www.carthrottle.com/post/49rx9gg/ https://www.carthrottle.com/post/49rx9gg/
j1elo 5y ago
Actually it is named after a pianist: https://joplinapp.org/faq/#why-is-it-named-joplin https://joplinapp.org/faq/#why-is-it-named-joplin
- notimetorelax 5y ago
  My point exactly, you might think it’s a safe name to pick. Context is everything and for a todo app this name is quite unfortunate.

mixcocam 5y ago

Why do people keep using Dropbox and others for syncm?! Just use syncthing. syncthing.org

barbazoo 5y ago
I use it for simple off-site redundancy.
- mixcocam 5y ago
  +1
bachmeier 5y ago
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.
- mixcocam 5y ago
  That's unfortunate! If it has been a while I would give it another swing. I'm even using it to have a shared drive in the company I'm running.
m-p-3 5y ago
And on top of it I'll add that Syncthing added a feature called "untrusted device encryption" https://docs.syncthing.net/specs/untrusted.html https://docs.syncthing.net/specs/untrusted.html So you can set a node in the cloud and set an encryption key between two endpoints, and whichever nodes that have the directory synced but doesn't have the encryption key will never have access to the decrypted data.
- 5y ago

dang 5y ago

Past related threads: Joplin – an open source note taking and to-do application with sync - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22439485 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 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 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15815040 - Nov 2017 (204 comments)

Thorentis 5y ago

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.

jf___ 5y ago
that has been addressed in the quicklinks [1] and the backlinks [2] plugin, which are an absolute bliss [1] https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/quick-links-plugin/14214 https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/quick-links-plugin/14214 [2] https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/automatic-backlinks-with-manual-insert-option/13632 https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/automatic-backlinks-with-m...
- bachmeier 5y ago
  I just tested Quick Links. It looks okay, but the big thing is that you need to be able to create a link to a new page as you type, then open the page and start typing. Quick Links speeds up the process of linking to an existing page. You can already drag a page link from the sidebar onto the page.
- Thorentis 5y ago
  Plugins shouldn't be required for core features. I consider linking as a core feature for any feature rich note taking application.
weswpg 5y ago
i have to drag and drop from the note list to link my current page to another
ElCapitanMarkla 5y ago
I didn't realise I wanted this until just now

JazzXP 5y ago

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).

gilch 5y ago
How do the UI and features compare to Evernote?
- crossroadsguy 5y ago
  I would say underwhelming.

herdst 5y ago

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?

kilroy123 5y ago
I agree, the mobile experience is pretty dreadful.
justusthane 5y ago
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!).
- jonwest 5y ago
  I’ve been using a theme in Obsidian that’s _pretty much_ WYSIWYG, but albeit not _quite_ at Typora/Notion levels. If you’re working in that paragraph it’ll show syntax but hide it once that paragraph loses focus. To me this felt like the best of both worlds since I can actually jump into an existing piece of formatted text and easily modify it or “jump out of” formatted modes like ‘code’ which was a bit of a pain in Notion.

j1elo 5y ago

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.

sharikone 5y ago

For me Obsidian is better but Joplin tramples it because it is open source 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

chetangoti 5y ago

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. So far it looks good. [1] https://github.com/zadam/trilium https://github.com/zadam/trilium

jiriro 5y ago

Does it have images/pictures?

theshrike79 5y ago
Yes, but the support is a bit clunky compared to the competition.

iamcreasy 5y ago

I exported my Evernote content and Joplin can open it without any change.

chadlavi 5y ago

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.

krets 5y ago
I'm doing the same but with syncthing instead of git to get auto sync
- approxim8ion 5y ago
  I have been doing the same for the last year or so too. Syncthing has been very good and reliable.
mixcocam 5y ago
What are you using on mobile for: - search - note editing I'm on Android and have found nothing good.

kevinslin 5y ago

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/ https://wiki.dendron.so/