I have spent a lot of time searching for a good note taking app just to realize that saving my notes as simple HTML files is all I needed. Since HTML file it a small webpage, I can have any styling I want, any media like images/videos that I need, any embeds like fonts and twitter tweets I want to save. Making backups is easy, because all I need to do is just upload directory of my HTML files to a different drive or cloud storage and that's it. I have index.html file which is like an entry page with all the link to other HTML documents, so it's like a mini blog. Currently thinking of using git as version control and for quick backups
after trying all the noteapps, im thinking of going down that path. that's also what the author I've been reading (david kadavy; digital zettelkasten) does... may i ask how u go about it? what do you use for mobile? I'm thinking of using obsidian (I'm not paying for sync) and then backing the folder up to google drive on the regular...
I used Evernote for years. I never really liked it but for the most part it did the job. I then spent time in Joplin, which I loved...until TWICE it destroyed my notes due to a sync problem. I've now found org roam in Emacs and I'm a happy camper. Notesnook looks fine but I don't see enough benefit to justify the paid plan.
I want to use Evernote, but wow I feel like using it is gonna be very limited since the basic feature are locked behind a paywall. Glad that I have the chance to look even deeper for the alternative for evernote.
Notesnook probably has the best rich text support of any note taking app. Even better then OneNote. The android app also appears to be full featured relative to the desktop or web app. I use tables a lot to organize information inside notes, and I add images to tables, Notesnook and OneNote are the only apps that do this really well. Only been using it for about a week, and considering the app is less then a year old, i'm impressed with where they are so far. Standard Notes was a disappointment that never improved, to many editors, none of which work. I've also tried Joplin, Obsidian, Simplenote, Evernote, NixNote, TiddlyWiki, Zim, Trillium, and others. Hopefully Notesnook keeps on the right course as the build it out.
Hi!! There is a new Linux native GTK open-source note-taking app called TECHNENOTES (which I am actively developing). Although there are multiple amazing note-taking apps out there, I do think that TechneNotes has some strong points, starting from the database-like interface (with pagination, ordering, filtering, all combined with a treeview structure), the safety of local data storage with optional cloud sync (users choose if and how to sync data over the cloud), multi-tabs support with full-width note view, integration of text/files/images/videos/code as in a web-page, interconnected notes, standard markdown syntax (for cross-compatibility), and - most of all - its native (Gtk) and open source nature (thus ensuring that your notes will be fully accessible in the future, with no risk of vendor lock-in)
I have tried Logseq and it is the best I have used so far. It is like obsidian but open source. One downside is that it does not have sync features built in but you can easily use syncthing for it. Also has a plugin feature. It is a relatively new project but really solid, no issues so far.
Great information here and I had no idea there was such a similar alternative to Evernote. The one feature I cannot find in this category of application is the ability to have multiple tabs open. Evernote used to do this, and it was great. I could keep a tab up for each of the current projects I'm working on, and jump to that tab as needed.
Hey Matt when are you going to share that Fedora / i3? WM setup? I'd love to try Fedora but the i3 spin is pretty plain looking and I just don't have the time to mess around with ricing it. I love your setup though!! :))
I enjoy your videos from the Linux perspective. It's difficult to find all of the note taking apps out there. Finding one that Clicks all the bells can be frustrating. Hopefully your channel will grow😊😅
have you tried obsidian? microsoft's onenote is available as a web version. i don't know if that would work for you. that one's really good, too bad it's not available on linux native. but obsidian is probably better imo.
What kind of masochists would use OneNote? The search function is utter garbage (not find the note despite you typing in the EXACT word in the note), if you don't pay attention you can "accidentally" create offline notebooks (so not accessible from your other devices), people tend to lose overview quite quickly if they are not super organized note takers and religiously use good naming schemes (the bad search adds to that). I only ever tried it out for a couple of weeks myself, but I am an Admin at an MS-centric SMB and the users come to me with this kind of stuff all the time. For my own use, it already failed at creating text normally: The "feature" that lets you click ANYWHERE on the screen to create text (even overlapping) is utterly annoying to me.
Matt, have you looked at Cherrytree? Colin over at PCTLC uses it and does show it in some of his videos. It looks like it has lots of what you're looking for. Not sure, it might not... Lol I installed it and is way more than I would use as I don't really do note apps. Good luck on your choice! LLAP 🖖
what about notion what's wrong with that one or obsidian? obsidian is insanely amazing but has a tiny bit of learning curve while notion i think the only downside its that you have to be online for it to work no offline usage.(edit: honestly I think you will really appreciate notion because its are free for personal use.)
+1 for Obsidian. I disagree that it's more of a knowledge base application. It comes with most things disabled, and you just enable what you want. I pay for sync but mostly to support them. It's very easy to sync via a Nextcloud, Dropbox, etc. Notesnook seems extremely limited especially for someone who prefers a keyboard-driven workflow and wants to be able to add images. Obsidian even has vim mode Matt!
I liked the video because I like all of your videos during the opening shot, just to support you Matt 😁, but I have to echo a couple of other people here on Obsidian. It's as powerful or as minimal as you need it to be, without putting things behind a paywall. To each their own though!
notenook just errors on signup but still takes my email address lol... then it says my password is incorrect after i verify, then i reset and it just fails??? im gonna keep using notejot lol
Add a code block inside a call-out that contains characters and the parser breaks your code block and callout 😅 Need something better than obsidian for development notes.
@@vaisakh_km standard notes is an open source note taking app like Joplin. It has a free version with automatic sync and encrypted notes by default and 2fa. Paid version has extras like extensions for a variety of stuff. I use the free version on my Linux, Mac and iPad. There is a flatpak for it too.
hate to be that guy but u want emacs with org-mode and then magit to sync it for free to a private git repo. you can do images, html links , u get tags if u add org-roam and all free 😁
@John Faulkner Even then I'd call the open source nature of it into question: Phoning home means there is a server handling requests, meaning a server backend, meaning proprietary closed source code. The actual software on your system might be open source but that doesn't get you far if it still requires servers to run properly. I specifically commented that it's not FOSS because the notes in the video say it's a "FOSS alternative". As far as I'm concerned, if I have to subscribe to an app and pay a monthly fee to do something as simple as note-taking, I'd say thanks but no thanks.
I followed your advice and I downloaded the app. After downloading the app, it was apparent that it seems to be in a beta stage. Would you include that information in your future videos? I expected an app that was ready to use as my daily productivity app. Despite that, I've subscribed to Notesnook & I look forward to the app improving over time.
I didn't see where it was in beta. They moved it out of beta when it went open source. Did you download a beta version, maybe? It's also possible I missed it.
@@TheLinuxCast No, I do not think it is a beta, but it is incomplete. They do not have reminders or links for the notes, or a spell checker. Also, their OCR is not up and running. I thought these features would be available when a customer subscribes to an app. On the other hand, they do respond quickly to questions and there is a lively discussion on Discord. That helps because Evernote is slow to respond when you submit a ticket. In fact, Notesnook exposes some of the features that Evernote lacks. The ironic part is that I love the way this app is designed and they post a roadmap for their future improvements. For the time being I am going to continue my subscription. I think this can become my alternative if Evernote goes belly up.
Interesting. I don't really need stuff available away from my computer too often, and I just write notes in text files and I can always ssh and use vim. But this will definitely be useful to people who want the graphical method. For me, to search my notes, I just do find ~/.notes/ ... | xargs -0 grep -Hil ... and I can find whatever I'm looking for. I should probably write a shell script and make it easier to use. Maybe someone else would find that method works for them?
yes only thing that turn me off from it is screen shots, i need easier way to add screen shot... yes i know i can use md format and write a script to take screen shot with scrot and place it in a relative folder can copy the path to clipboard and add the path to vim... but that's exactly what i am doing with obsidean then all good stuffs like backlinks works, i can edit files both with vim and obsidean and i can sync with git or syncthing or just can ssh to machine just like you said
NotesNook is the shinest turd ✨💩 in a vast toilet 🚽clogged 🪠with other crappy 💩 note taking apps. Hopefully Notenook going open source will result in a community driven fork, kinda like the relationship between Firefox and Librefox. The options for free users are terrible, but still better than other note apps. I hope our society progresses enough in the next decade that we may have a good free notes app.
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I have spent a lot of time searching for a good note taking app just to realize that saving my notes as simple HTML files is all I needed. Since HTML file it a small webpage, I can have any styling I want, any media like images/videos that I need, any embeds like fonts and twitter tweets I want to save. Making backups is easy, because all I need to do is just upload directory of my HTML files to a different drive or cloud storage and that's it. I have index.html file which is like an entry page with all the link to other HTML documents, so it's like a mini blog. Currently thinking of using git as version control and for quick backups
emacs org mode :)
after trying all the noteapps, im thinking of going down that path. that's also what the author I've been reading (david kadavy; digital zettelkasten) does...
may i ask how u go about it? what do you use for mobile? I'm thinking of using obsidian (I'm not paying for sync) and then backing the folder up to google drive on the regular...
I used Evernote for years. I never really liked it but for the most part it did the job. I then spent time in Joplin, which I loved...until TWICE it destroyed my notes due to a sync problem. I've now found org roam in Emacs and I'm a happy camper. Notesnook looks fine but I don't see enough benefit to justify the paid plan.
I want to use Evernote, but wow I feel like using it is gonna be very limited since the basic feature are locked behind a paywall. Glad that I have the chance to look even deeper for the alternative for evernote.
Notesnook probably has the best rich text support of any note taking app. Even better then OneNote. The android app also appears to be full featured relative to the desktop or web app.
I use tables a lot to organize information inside notes, and I add images to tables, Notesnook and OneNote are the only apps that do this really well.
Only been using it for about a week, and considering the app is less then a year old, i'm impressed with where they are so far. Standard Notes was a disappointment that never improved, to many editors, none of which work. I've also tried Joplin, Obsidian, Simplenote, Evernote, NixNote, TiddlyWiki, Zim, Trillium, and others. Hopefully Notesnook keeps on the right course as the build it out.
Have you tried UpNote?
Hi!! There is a new Linux native GTK open-source note-taking app called TECHNENOTES (which I am actively developing). Although there are multiple amazing note-taking apps out there, I do think that TechneNotes has some strong points, starting from the database-like interface (with pagination, ordering, filtering, all combined with a treeview structure), the safety of local data storage with optional cloud sync (users choose if and how to sync data over the cloud), multi-tabs support with full-width note view, integration of text/files/images/videos/code as in a web-page, interconnected notes, standard markdown syntax (for cross-compatibility), and - most of all - its native (Gtk) and open source nature (thus ensuring that your notes will be fully accessible in the future, with no risk of vendor lock-in)
I have tried Logseq and it is the best I have used so far. It is like obsidian but open source. One downside is that it does not have sync features built in but you can easily use syncthing for it. Also has a plugin feature. It is a relatively new project but really solid, no issues so far.
Great information here and I had no idea there was such a similar alternative to Evernote. The one feature I cannot find in this category of application is the ability to have multiple tabs open. Evernote used to do this, and it was great. I could keep a tab up for each of the current projects I'm working on, and jump to that tab as needed.
Obsidian is the BEST. It has a plugin so you can sync to Git for free..
Hey Matt when are you going to share that Fedora / i3? WM setup? I'd love to try Fedora but the i3 spin is pretty plain looking and I just don't have the time to mess around with ricing it. I love your setup though!! :))
I enjoy your videos from the Linux perspective. It's difficult to find all of the note taking apps out there. Finding one that
Clicks all the bells can be frustrating. Hopefully your channel will grow😊😅
have you tried obsidian?
microsoft's onenote is available as a web version. i don't know if that would work for you. that one's really good, too bad it's not available on linux native. but obsidian is probably better imo.
What kind of masochists would use OneNote? The search function is utter garbage (not find the note despite you typing in the EXACT word in the note), if you don't pay attention you can "accidentally" create offline notebooks (so not accessible from your other devices), people tend to lose overview quite quickly if they are not super organized note takers and religiously use good naming schemes (the bad search adds to that). I only ever tried it out for a couple of weeks myself, but I am an Admin at an MS-centric SMB and the users come to me with this kind of stuff all the time. For my own use, it already failed at creating text normally: The "feature" that lets you click ANYWHERE on the screen to create text (even overlapping) is utterly annoying to me.
Matt, have you looked at Cherrytree? Colin over at PCTLC uses it and does show it in some of his videos. It looks like it has lots of what you're looking for. Not sure, it might not... Lol
I installed it and is way more than I would use as I don't really do note apps.
Good luck on your choice!
LLAP 🖖
what about notion what's wrong with that one or obsidian? obsidian is insanely amazing but has a tiny bit of learning curve while notion i think the only downside its that you have to be online for it to work no offline usage.(edit: honestly I think you will really appreciate notion because its are free for personal use.)
Those are more knowledge bases than note taking applications and have a few too many features for me. Notion is great, though.
Obsidian > notion for suuure
@@ransan Syncthing is easy to work with
+1 for Obsidian. I disagree that it's more of a knowledge base application. It comes with most things disabled, and you just enable what you want. I pay for sync but mostly to support them. It's very easy to sync via a Nextcloud, Dropbox, etc. Notesnook seems extremely limited especially for someone who prefers a keyboard-driven workflow and wants to be able to add images. Obsidian even has vim mode Matt!
Thanks for the content btw. I might check this out. Taking a break from setting up my wm on Gentoo. First time doing all that.
Have you ever tried org mode on Emacs? Is there a reason you do not want to write your notes in it?
org mode is one of the things that keep me stuck with Emacs
Joplin is really good if you use a free dropbox account to sync
Google Keep is regularly updated, last update was in September.
I haven't noticed any new features in years.
@@TheLinuxCast I don't need any, is good for me (except is from Google 🤮).
What do you think of DeepNotes?
I liked the video because I like all of your videos during the opening shot, just to support you Matt 😁, but I have to echo a couple of other people here on Obsidian. It's as powerful or as minimal as you need it to be, without putting things behind a paywall. To each their own though!
have check obsidean?
*Did you try Turtl* ?
notenook just errors on signup but still takes my email address lol... then it says my password is incorrect after i verify, then i reset and it just fails??? im gonna keep using notejot lol
You videos now come into my feed way late. I have to search to get them...
what is your distro and WM sir?
I'm using fedora and i3-gaps
@@TheLinuxCast noob question. It works with Wayland or you had to install x11
@@warnaoh i3(-gaps) is X11; it's wayland alternative is Sway;
@@TheLinuxCast Thank you
Just use Obsidian. If you think it is missing any sort feature then most likely someone has made a community plugin for it.
Love obsidian but it's closed sourced
Add a code block inside a call-out that contains characters and the parser breaks your code block and callout 😅
Need something better than obsidian for development notes.
I've come to prefer Logseq these days.
can i get template in notesnook?
Seems like a less feature rich Joplin that you have to pay for..
I'm fine with Obsidian on Linux and Markor on Android, synced with syncthing 🤷♂
Electron and React Native 😐
Evernote does not have a Linux client. This is definetely worth to check.
Joplin
I've never been able to get this to run fast on my machine, IDK why
Joplin works great for my needs
@@TheLinuxCast try with flatpak. also what about standard notes?
Looks like they want your money. I'm just so done with apps that suck you in with "We're free!!!" and then try to get money out of you.
Have you heard the good word of org-mode?
The fact that Notesnook cannot handle markdown links or highlighting is what makes this a no go for me. Why have half ass markdown support?
I agree
Expensive?????? Besides free what is cheaper with the same features??
joplin, obsidian, just to name a couple.
Do you like Joplin?
Sync Obsidian with Git.
I was thinking about your idea sync to git and it sounds great, of course in a private git repo
Why not use standard notes ?
what do you meanby standerd notes?
with paper and pen?
@@vaisakh_km standard notes is an open source note taking app like Joplin. It has a free version with automatic sync and encrypted notes by default and 2fa. Paid version has extras like extensions for a variety of stuff. I use the free version on my Linux, Mac and iPad. There is a flatpak for it too.
@Frank Diepmaat Notesnook is another alternative you might try. Standard notes have not crashed on me yet - but I don’t deal with large files
Joplin CLI.
hate to be that guy but u want emacs with org-mode and then magit to sync it for free to a private git repo. you can do images, html links , u get tags if u add org-roam and all free 😁
If features are hidden behind a paywall this is anything but FOSS.
@John Faulkner Even then I'd call the open source nature of it into question: Phoning home means there is a server handling requests, meaning a server backend, meaning proprietary closed source code. The actual software on your system might be open source but that doesn't get you far if it still requires servers to run properly.
I specifically commented that it's not FOSS because the notes in the video say it's a "FOSS alternative".
As far as I'm concerned, if I have to subscribe to an app and pay a monthly fee to do something as simple as note-taking, I'd say thanks but no thanks.
@@Finkelfunk It’s server code is open source as well.
No thanks
I followed your advice and I downloaded the app. After downloading the app, it was apparent that it seems to be in a beta stage. Would you include that information in your future videos? I expected an app that was ready to use as my daily productivity app. Despite that, I've subscribed to Notesnook & I look forward to the app improving over time.
I didn't see where it was in beta. They moved it out of beta when it went open source. Did you download a beta version, maybe? It's also possible I missed it.
@@TheLinuxCast No, I do not think it is a beta, but it is incomplete. They do not have reminders or links for the notes, or a spell checker. Also, their OCR is not up and running. I thought these features would be available when a customer subscribes to an app.
On the other hand, they do respond quickly to questions and there is a lively discussion on Discord. That helps because Evernote is slow to respond when you submit a ticket. In fact, Notesnook exposes some of the features that Evernote lacks.
The ironic part is that I love the way this app is designed and they post a roadmap for their future improvements. For the time being I am going to continue my subscription. I think this can become my alternative if Evernote goes belly up.
Interesting. I don't really need stuff available away from my computer too often, and I just write notes in text files and I can always ssh and use vim. But this will definitely be useful to people who want the graphical method. For me, to search my notes, I just do find ~/.notes/ ... | xargs -0 grep -Hil ... and I can find whatever I'm looking for. I should probably write a shell script and make it easier to use. Maybe someone else would find that method works for them?
yes only thing that turn me off from it is screen shots, i need easier way to add screen shot... yes i know i can use md format and write a script to take screen shot with scrot and place it in a relative folder can copy the path to clipboard and add the path to vim... but that's exactly what i am doing with obsidean
then all good stuffs like backlinks works, i can edit files both with vim and obsidean and i can sync with git or syncthing or just can ssh to machine just like you said
vimwiki
nuff said
NotesNook is the shinest turd ✨💩 in a vast toilet 🚽clogged 🪠with other crappy 💩 note taking apps.
Hopefully Notenook going open source will result in a community driven fork, kinda like the relationship between Firefox and Librefox. The options for free users are terrible, but still better than other note apps.
I hope our society progresses enough in the next decade that we may have a good free notes app.
Zim wiki. Orange pi with xfce4
Here are 2 more for you to try:
1. Obsidian
2. Logseq
@V3SPR or use syncthing for free.