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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

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.
    - eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
      > Even offline-only apps might gain online capabilities. You need to read the changelogs nevertheless. No, I only have to look at the permissions. That is much less work because they're not arbitrarily long like changelogs can be. And Google Play flags new permissions with a green "New", so it's easy to spot.
InitialLastName 5y ago
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).
- eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
  Well thanks, but on Android it demands "full network access", so it does want to do something on the internet :|
  - InitialLastName 5y ago
    I suppose it's possible they want to use the sync service's API rather than the app? Web stuff is really the wrong end of the stack for me, so not sure what the "right" decision there would be.
    - eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
      See my reply to jszymborski for my problem with that.
swiley 5y ago
org mode in emacs is pretty great and there are lots of org editor apps for smartphones if you don't want to run full emacs. Personally I sync my org files along with my calendar using git and that works well enough for me.
- pitched 5y ago
  I’ve had a lot of trouble finding org editors for my phone. Org web like it might be the favourite right now but I don’t really want to host it myself. Can I ask what format you use for calendar files too? That’s another one I have a bit of trouble with! Everything seems to want to use the Google APIs for everything.
  - swiley 5y ago
    Emacs actually has built in support for the unix calendar format and the official distribution has import and export utilities for ical files so you can handle/generate invitations. I keep it in the same git repo that I have my org files in. I'm actually a vim user (and have been since I was ~12.) I just use Emacs because it's where all the good PIM tools are for Linux.
  - tehbeard 5y ago
    Any issues with Orgzly? Org web looks neat, though I really hope there's some theming options. Cannot see the clickable actions on the yellow background. Edit: also from the looks of it Org-Web only needs a static host and some keys set up, as the gDrive/dropbox is done via client SDKs?
    - e3bc54b2 5y ago
      As a user of Orgzly, it's not the best note taking tool on mobile. Its a _great_ todo/reminder app that stores and syncs using org-mode.
corobo 5y ago
Can you not just use a bunch of .txt files in a directory and whatever your usual editor of choice is at that point?
- eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
  I have multiple thousands of personal TODOs, so it is impossible to manage that size of a workload without proper UI for moving, sorting and filtering according to priority, location, project, etc. But thanks for your suggestion anyway :)
frankish 5y ago
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. [0]: https://gsantner.net/project/markor.html https://gsantner.net/project/markor.html [1]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.dropsync https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.dr... [2]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.c306.ttsuper https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.c306.ttsup...
- approxim8ion 5y ago
  I use Markor for plaintext notes and TODO.txt files as well, synced with Syncthing. Markor itself is open-source under Apache License, and you can disable network access via permission or firewall if you don't trust it.
- eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
  Thanks! I had tried Markor already, and its TODO feature seems like a prototype unfortunately. It lacks crucial UI to use it properly and it's clearly visible that the TODO part is "bolt-on" only on top of a text editor. :| With regards to Todo.txt[2]: I can't manage to find its source code, is it open source?
dude01 5y ago
I've been using https://github.com/vimoutliner/vimoutliner https://github.com/vimoutliner/vimoutliner for about a decade, everywhere I work. Just text files with simple Ascii checkboxes.
dankco 5y ago
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 https://github.com/dkaslovsky/textnote The project received some attention on the front page of HN a few months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26123436 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.
- eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
  Thanks! I'm looking for an Android app unfortunately, sorry :|

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.
  - eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
    > Even offline-only apps might gain online capabilities. You need to read the changelogs nevertheless. No, I only have to look at the permissions. That is much less work because they're not arbitrarily long like changelogs can be. And Google Play flags new permissions with a green "New", so it's easy to spot.

InitialLastName 5y ago

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).

eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
Well thanks, but on Android it demands "full network access", so it does want to do something on the internet :|
- InitialLastName 5y ago
  I suppose it's possible they want to use the sync service's API rather than the app? Web stuff is really the wrong end of the stack for me, so not sure what the "right" decision there would be.
  - eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
    See my reply to jszymborski for my problem with that.

swiley 5y ago

org mode in emacs is pretty great and there are lots of org editor apps for smartphones if you don't want to run full emacs. Personally I sync my org files along with my calendar using git and that works well enough for me.

pitched 5y ago
I’ve had a lot of trouble finding org editors for my phone. Org web like it might be the favourite right now but I don’t really want to host it myself. Can I ask what format you use for calendar files too? That’s another one I have a bit of trouble with! Everything seems to want to use the Google APIs for everything.
- swiley 5y ago
  Emacs actually has built in support for the unix calendar format and the official distribution has import and export utilities for ical files so you can handle/generate invitations. I keep it in the same git repo that I have my org files in. I'm actually a vim user (and have been since I was ~12.) I just use Emacs because it's where all the good PIM tools are for Linux.
- tehbeard 5y ago
  Any issues with Orgzly? Org web looks neat, though I really hope there's some theming options. Cannot see the clickable actions on the yellow background. Edit: also from the looks of it Org-Web only needs a static host and some keys set up, as the gDrive/dropbox is done via client SDKs?
  - e3bc54b2 5y ago
    As a user of Orgzly, it's not the best note taking tool on mobile. Its a _great_ todo/reminder app that stores and syncs using org-mode.

corobo 5y ago

Can you not just use a bunch of .txt files in a directory and whatever your usual editor of choice is at that point?

eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
I have multiple thousands of personal TODOs, so it is impossible to manage that size of a workload without proper UI for moving, sorting and filtering according to priority, location, project, etc. But thanks for your suggestion anyway :)

frankish 5y ago

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. [0]: https://gsantner.net/project/markor.html https://gsantner.net/project/markor.html [1]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.dropsync https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.dr... [2]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.c306.ttsuper https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.c306.ttsup...

approxim8ion 5y ago
I use Markor for plaintext notes and TODO.txt files as well, synced with Syncthing. Markor itself is open-source under Apache License, and you can disable network access via permission or firewall if you don't trust it.
eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
Thanks! I had tried Markor already, and its TODO feature seems like a prototype unfortunately. It lacks crucial UI to use it properly and it's clearly visible that the TODO part is "bolt-on" only on top of a text editor. :| With regards to Todo.txt[2]: I can't manage to find its source code, is it open source?

dude01 5y ago

I've been using https://github.com/vimoutliner/vimoutliner https://github.com/vimoutliner/vimoutliner for about a decade, everywhere I work. Just text files with simple Ascii checkboxes.

dankco 5y ago

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 https://github.com/dkaslovsky/textnote The project received some attention on the front page of HN a few months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26123436 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.

eMGm4D0zgUAVXc7 5y ago
Thanks! I'm looking for an Android app unfortunately, sorry :|