this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2024
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Yes, I know that the are dozens of notes apps. I'm looking for recommendations based on a few features that I like:

  • nice design (including color coding)
  • easy checklists
  • sharing - this one is key. I use a shared shopping list and we both need to add and edit.
  • pinning and archiving (hidden notes)

I don't mind running it from my homelab server, but that is not a requirement. Does anyone use a notes app that you love? Let me know!

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[–] recursive_recursion@lemmy.ca 39 points 4 months ago (4 children)
[–] merde@sh.itjust.works 17 points 4 months ago
  • sharing - this one is key. I use a shared shopping list and we both need to add and edit.

i use and love notally but you can't share/sync (export/import wouldn't satisfy the above requirement)

[–] Statick@programming.dev 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

I was using Joplin for a while... Self hosted their server. On two occasions it screwed up on me and wouldn't load my folders... Luckily I had backups but it was still frustrating. I don't recommend them purely because the notes are stored in a custom format instead of just plain text files.

My favorite way of doing notes now is with git, currently using a free private repo on gitlab.

Just clone the repo on whatever PC I need them and it has backups and version control.

Then use GitJournal on my phone.

It's perfect for me. I love it.

[–] baconman1945@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago

Nice, I’ve been doing something similar, using the obsidian-git plug-in for Obsidian and the Working Copy app on iOS.

Obsidian is my front-end, and it saves the notes in markdown files in a git-synced folder on my computer.

The plug-in pushes and pulls automatically, and Working Copy does the same thing on iOS, just before opening the Obsidian app on iOS.

[–] stphven@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

I had similar experiences with Joplin. Would randomly lose quite a lot of data, and exporting to other formats was a hassle. I also cannot recommend.

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

I also found a fork called NotallyX, which includes import functions from Keep and Evernote. Pretty useful for someone migrating.

[–] merde@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)
  • amount of backups to keep

also is a nice addition but i like the fact that notally is just 1.9mb. So i keep using notally and delete a dozen backups from time to time :/

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[–] merde@sh.itjust.works 17 points 4 months ago

if you're comparing note apps and don't want to try them all one by one like i did, somebody apparently tried them all and wrote reviews ☞https://www.noteapps.ca

[–] c24w@lemmy.world 14 points 4 months ago (2 children)
[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

Upvotes because the devs are good. Sharing does not work well if at all though.

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

This is a very cool project! With a few minor developments this could meet my needs

[–] filister@lemmy.world 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Obsidian is amazing, though it isn't FOSS but your notes are saved in Markdown, so even if something happens with the app, they will remain yours.

Another alternative may be Joplin and AnyType, but I think AnyType is also not 100% FOSS.

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[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I just use NextCloud Notes. Categories are just sub folders, so you can create a Shared category and just share it in Nextcloud.

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[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 9 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (5 children)
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[–] woodgen@lemm.ee 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Results from me asking this 1Y ago: https://lemm.ee/post/4593760

Went with Joplin and using it since.

Results from the same question 1 month ago: https://lemm.ee/post/45943693

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[–] gregor@gregtech.eu 8 points 4 months ago (4 children)
[–] christov@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago

+1 for notesnook, self hosting coming soon

[–] merde@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 months ago
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[–] NotGivinMyNam2AMachn 7 points 4 months ago

Joplin is my pick.

[–] JbIPS@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Fossify Notes is quiet good for note taking and quick check-lists.

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

No sync or share though, right?

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[–] Father_Redbeard@lemmy.ml 7 points 4 months ago (2 children)
[–] dorkdad@feddit.online 3 points 4 months ago

This is the best answer and should be much higher. It's the closest thing to Google Keep with the features OP wants.

[–] Dangerhart@lemm.ee 2 points 4 months ago (7 children)

Does this reorganize the task list when checked or treat it as vanilla mark down?

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[–] Dsklnsadog@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 4 months ago (3 children)
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[–] MITM0@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] Earflap@reddthat.com 5 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Basically unmaintained at this point until they release the DB version "some day". And you're delusional if you think they can maintain both versions at the same time. They can't even update the current production version that they already have without focusing all their efforts on a new app that hasn't been released yet.

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[–] danielquinn@lemmy.ca 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Joplin + Syncthing has been great for me. Sync across multiple devices with no third party in between. However the "sharing" in this context is limited to other installations of the entire db. To my knowledge, there's no way to say "sync these notes with my wife, and these others with my phone only" etc.

[–] Ohh@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Last i looked into it, joplin had a bug which ment syncthing didnt work . Can't remember the details but the solution was pinning an old version.

I am much much happier with markor notes + syncthing.

Super sinple, 100 % foss, sync what you want .

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[–] GravitySpoiled@lemmy.ml 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)
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[–] ryan@social.binarydad.com 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)
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[–] smiletolerantly@awful.systems 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Vikunja seems to check all your boxes

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[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago (4 children)

"I WANT ALL THE CLOUD THINGS RIGHT NOW FOR FREE AND I REFUSE TO COMPROMISE 🦶🦶🦶🦶"

That's what these requests read like.

Look, these people have a product with a good UI and sharing for a reason. Anything else you find that doesn't hit that mark is because of that. Make concessions for what you really need, build your own, or continue stomping around about it.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 27 points 4 months ago

They're just asking for recommendations, calm down...

[–] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 12 points 4 months ago

Yell louder while providing nothing useful to say.

Things exist. Things you may not know about.

Questions exist.

They are used to ask questions.

There's only one person stomping around in this post. It isn't OP.

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago (6 children)

I pay for all of the software that I use, and encourage others to do so as well. That's not what this is at all. Pretty much the opposite effect.

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I paid for Evernote for years, got a double helping of enshitification.

I pay for Google Workspace. They will Play eventually sunset keep even though I pay for their services because that's just what they do.

If you don't host it yourself, they can and will take it away from you.

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

Yep. You can pay with your data, you can pay a corporation, or you can pay open source developers directly.

If someone can't afford to pay, or doesn't believe in it, that's fine, and that's part of what open source is, which is amazing. But if you're in a position to support foss developers, and they created something useful for you, I think it's the least we can do.

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[–] MudMan@fedia.io 3 points 4 months ago

Or, you know, they could keep using Google Keep.

There's a corner of the FOSS community that is all like "you should jump ship on literally any software that is not clean and pure of corporate interests" but also "can't blame FOSS software for not being good unless you're in the process of making your own". It's... kinda confusing.

[–] paradox2011@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

You might like Blinko. It seems similar to Keep to me. I set it up for awhile, but it didn't give me anything beyond what I already have with Joplin, so couldn't justify keeping it or transitioning to it. Here's a video from DB Tech on the set up process: Self-host Blinko with docker

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Wow, this has some neat features and it looks great on any size screen. I will be following this for sure

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[–] blackbarn@lemm.ee 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Anyone know of any that integrate with Google assistant? Such that I can use my voice to add items to a list? Currently using keep due to this

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[–] ALERT@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 months ago
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