Like (almost) everyone here, I've gone through a lot of note-taking apps in the market. I ended up with a setup of alternating between Obsidian and Logseq, just like the OP at one point.<p>I like Obsidian a lot. The text editor-like, but not quite a text editor experience seemed like the sweet spot for me. Among all of the apps I tried, it probably has the best reading experience, especially for long-form writings. But then I realized that it didn't really get me to write more notes, and it now acts more like a catalogue for things that I found online. It's just not <i>that</i> different from writing notes in your go-to text editor, and if VSCode couldn't make me write more notes, then neither would Obsidian.<p>I tried out Logseq later on, and the experience was the complete opposite. The app got me to dump my brain <i>very</i> quickly; writing notes actually became quite addicting. The problem is I hardly ever got back to re-reading my notes. I just never got used to the workflow of jumping through links and reading blocks that look hastily patched up together.<p>Wish I could find a way to make a reading experience as pleasant as Obsidian, and the writing experience that's as engaging as Logseq. A this point, though, I'm sort of stuck with these two.
I recently dived more into obsidian (coming from Bear) and I must say I really like it so far.<p>I'm not using the personal knowledge management bit too much yet, but as a note taking app it's great.<p>Moreover, the plugin ecosystem (which I've just started exploring) is excellent!<p>I.e. there's a plugin for downloading highlights from your Kindle books, which also creates referencable refs for each highlight and lets you easily embed them in other notes. Cool stuff.<p>It's also impressive that most plugins work on the mobile app too.
I've followed a similar path to the author. Tried Notion, loved until it went down for 8 hours without offline support, and then moved to Obsidian with github sync without any plug in.<p>But time and time again I keep asking myself why. In the end, Sublime (or vim) actually is just enough for how I use Obsidian.<p>The only thing missing is a good reference management system; linking my own notes seems like trying to solve the wrong problem; all I really need is to keep track of <i>what</i> sparked those ideas/notes, and then I don't necessarily need to keep track of my thoughts;if they were meaningful I will deduce it from those references anyway.<p>So I just went back to Zotero for reference management. Quick notes can just go in to a big text file and then refactored later. (bonus for spaced repetition)<p>Obsidian is a nice app but it feels like it's a product solving the symptoms (wrong priorities in note taking) rather than a tool to support healthy habit
For those looking for an Obsidian like tool for commercial usage, check out Foam[0]. It covers most of the core Obsidian features and it's implemented as a VS Code extension with all of the advantages that entails. Of course, you won't have access to the Obsidian extensions and I do miss the live preview feature and the Android app but it's way more than serviceable.<p>[0]: <a href="https://github.com/foambubble/foam" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/foambubble/foam</a>
I've tried quite a few notes apps, Standard Notes is the one I always end up going back to. Obsidian is a solid choice though. The main issue I have is that notes apps always try to grow into full-on documentation or collaboration platforms. That's not only unnecessary, but it always over-complicates the most basic operations which is what you do most of the time.<p>Some of the time, I am tempted to go back to my original system which was just a local git repo full of Markdown files and opening the folder in Atom / VS Code.<p>The main reason I use Standard Notes at all is the encrypted backups to email and sync across devices. I don't think there's much more functionality required other than a decent Markdown editor for note-taking.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has bounced around between note apps with varied success. I too have settled mostly on Obsidian, especially for work. The Markdown support is excellent and I am finding some useful plugins.<p>I do still use a mix of Apple Notes and Standard Notes for personal note taking. As the author mentioned, using Obsidian for both personal and work feels a bit cumbersome - especially in my case since I can't use the same Google Drive for both due to corporate policy.
I've moved from Evernote to Obsidian this year and like it so far. It reminds me of code editors, it was clearly inspired by them.<p>The markdown notes and attachments are just plain files on my disk, they can be backed up and synced across devices. On Windows and iOS the iCloud sync works well. The notes are available offline on my phone which is a must-have feature.<p>I don't use many plugins, but it's great that the app is extendable like that. I've written a small syllable counter plugin myself and it was pretty easy to find my way around. Unfortunately the official docs are... lacking, so poking around other people's code was the best way to see what's what.
I find just using something (logseq for me) and turning it into a habit is so much more effective than worrying it's not quite right and trying to optimize by finding the perfect note taking app. Can it handle markdown? Can I search? Can I sync across devices and store it encrypted at rest? Good enough.<p>It's very similar to the people who constantly fiddle with dotfiles but never starting / finishing a project. There's this anxiety in doing that we cope with by doing <i>adjacent</i> things and fooling ourselves into believing we'll eventually do the actual thing.
Guys, if you want to do - "but my favourite is x", please spend some time going into why it works for you and why it can work for others in general. Also kindly mention their presentation stack on desktop and phone.
I also switched between some of those apps for quite some time until i found Trilium Notes. <a href="https://github.com/zadam/trilium" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/zadam/trilium</a>
It's open source and you can self host it to be available through web browser for the time you're at work and don't want the files to be local.
It's very stable so far and has all the features i need.
Since this touches more regular note taking apps such as Evernote and OneNote I would like to give a shout out to Joplin. After using Evernote for 10 years or so I figured out that this would be the year I switched.
First impression of Joplin is very good! Both desktop client and app seems fast, much much faster than Evernote. Setup of "self-hosting" against a S3 bucket was easy enough (had an issue with S3 URL needing region, something that was not mentioned in the docs).<p>It does not have all the fancy functions of Evernote (and rest of the apps mentioned in this thread), but for just keeping a collection of notes it seems to cover the basics I need (notebooks, good search, markdown support, easy synch across clients etc).
I’ve gone through most of the notable note taking apps. About a decade ago, I tried to use Tinderbox[0] but it didn’t stick. I attribute that mostly to assuming it would provide some structure.<p>Recently, after giving up on Obsidian, I went back to Tinderbox. This time I read the creator’s book (The Tinderbox Way) and it clicked. The programmability with agents, note prototypes, and so on really works well with what I’m doing. Linking is simple, much like roam or Obsidian.<p>It’s pricy and it has a bit of a steep learning curve but if you push through, it’s really powerful.<p>[0]: <a href="http://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/" rel="nofollow">http://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/</a>
I find Roam Research to be the the most zen note-taking app. The database takes a lot of mental overhead away and just allows me to write, and I know I won't have to deal with files and folders at all. You could mount a Logseq graph in a location where it isn't easily accessible to other programs and yourself, and restrict the permissions to read-only expect for the 'Logseq' user, so that you think about the plumbing less often. And the new sync that they're adding will make it all even more zen. Syncing with cloud services or using Syncthing gives me a bit of anxiety over data loss.
I use Dendron daily for work. The main value it provides for me is a shortcut to create a daily journal note, and a quick organizational structure. That’s it. I don’t do anything fancy with it, but just this simple functionality is enough for me. VSCode search works well enough to search daily notes.<p>I find the biggest benefit for me is that it’s low friction to record things that I otherwise wouldn’t.<p>I have started some organization, but things that I want others to know end up elsewhere like Confluence.<p>I’d love to use something like Dendron in my personal life as well but I would need it to work from my phone, and be easily shared with my wife.
Here's my current PKM app rundown, from my own notes on the subject:<p># NotePlan 3<p>Pros: Native, and so nice to use.<p>Cons: Bottom line: the author doubled the subscription price in the upgrade from version 2 to 3, and is experimenting with doubling the price again to $120/yr. Few plugins.<p># Obsidian<p>Pros: Tons of useful plugins. Huge community support.<p>Cons: Lacking daily notes like NotePlan and Logseq. Not native.<p># Logseq<p>Pros: Data entry is very ergonomic.<p>Cons: As of 2022-07, still regularly seeing updates that fix data loss. Moving toward proprietary sync service? Not native.<p># iA Writer<p>Pros: Native. Great UI. Already paid for it. One-time purchase.<p>Cons: Lacks daily notes. Just recently added wiki links. No backlinks. No plugin API or Shortcuts support. No Mermaid.js diagrams.
I have been using Notesnook[0] for over a year (mostly because its encrypted and private) and it has helped me tremendously. Obsidian is too text-editor-esque for me. I haven't tried Logseq or Dendron though.<p>I actually like how Notesnook forces you to keep your organization at 2 levels. Restricting at first it helped me simplify my workflow a lot and finding things is a breeze since I know it can't be more than 2 levels deep. For some reason I can't wrap my head around interlinking; hierarchy based organization is good enough for me.<p>Taking notes doesn't need anything else.<p>Aside: the recent news about Notesnook going open source[1] has gotten me really excited. This might actually turn out to be a notes app I stick to. Let's see where the winds blow...<p>[0] <a href="https://notesnook.com/" rel="nofollow">https://notesnook.com/</a><p>[1] <a href="https://github.com/streetwriters/notesnook" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/streetwriters/notesnook</a>
I've been on logseq for a while now and while I do genuinely recommend it, it is not without its issues. On recent versions I've faced issues where the page I'm typing on gets completely deleted. I end up having to go into Dropbox's web interface to restore that page. I'm fairly certain this issue is due to Dropbox and Logseq interacting with each other in a weird way, but regardless it has brought me a lot of headaches. Looking forward to them finally releasing their own syncing solution.<p>Other than that, the main issue I struggle with in these PKM/Zettelkasten style note taking apps is discoverability. I write down a lot of notes, but it is hard for me to find my way back to them. The benefit of hierarchy-based notetaking systems, where things get placed in folders and subfolders, is that at least I can get a big picture of my database at a glance. I've yet to find a nice way of doing this in logseq and its cousins.
SimpleNote works very reliably for me (including sync across devices) and always loads quickly, including on mobile devices. I find the most important thing for note taking is just the ability to quickly get stuff out of my head and browser tabs, including only when mobile is available.<p>SimpleNote is missing organizational features (just has tags), but their search works well and it seems enough for personal use. Most of the new note taking apps are tackling organizational knowledge sharing and are bloated (slow and resource intensive) for the personal use case. I do use coda.io for organizing knowledge with tabular data.
I've become increasingly convinced that the best format for note taking for me is plain Markdown, with a metadata header. Then I can bring my own editor that matches my needs in the moment.<p>For example, if I want to do some long-form writing, I can open my directory of notes in iA Writer. If I want to grep the files, I can jump to the command line.<p>Any note app that enforces more of a structure (requiring lists in Markdown, or with its own idiosyncratic naming scheme) is just lock-in, and within a year or two I'll be on to another app.<p>Full disclosure, I'm developing a very minimal iOS/Mac/commandline app with this philosophy.
I like dendron's dot.namespace.hierarchy, human browsable flat file system.<p>But even VSCode can be slow and buggy, loaded with plugins from being used for other things. It would crash on large notes.<p>So I implemented the file naming scheme in my own folder, and have it open in Atom. Shift-Ctrl-F can search through all notes. Done.<p>All this linking of notes, creating a "knowledge graph", having a schema... is extra. It requires more effort than benefit I've EVER practically received. It's a cool hobby, and I love to organize things. But I'm trying to spend less time fiddling with tools these days.
This article does address my main gripe with Obsidian:<p>> But for me, I don't use the mobile app much often. (...) The only thing I need is to capture a thought quickly.<p>I don't use the mobile app often _because_ the only thing I need to do is capture a quick thought, and it isn't very good at that. I'm still figuring out a setup with QuickAdd + Advanced URL + Tasker, but it'd be better if this was built into Obsidian's mobile app.
These programs will not help you organize your thoughts; they work if you have already organized them. Some seem to think the causation goes otherwise.
As this thread is mostly about alternatives and reflecting why they work or not, my 2 cents and 2 apps:<p>- Drafts - super fast native MacOS app that just lets you start writing text and care about "where to put it" later. I relaized that most of the "notes" or texts become either obsolete or abandoned (Draft removes them after 30 days, I think) and the task of "oh where do I put this in my knowledge tree or folder" becomes a burden. I use Drafts daily for basically everything (even writing this comment in Drafts (will copy it into NH once finished) :)<p>- MarginNote3 – speaking of a second brain, after trying most of the apps discussed here, I relaized that most of my knowledge lately comes from publshed papers and I need to somehow organize them, search, link and structure highlights, often across multiple documents. MarginNote is in the market of PDF readers-for-study, but it has pretty well integrated study mind-map concept and I found it working much better for me than one global "second brain" with notes.
I have used both Obsidian and Logseq, and right now, I'm trying out Dendron and liking is so far, especially for my developer log (technical notes).<p>I like Obsidian for its community and plugins, Logseq for its ability to allow spontaneous brain dumping and dendron for its hierarchical notes and discoverability.
I use QOwnNotes (desktop) Markor (Android) combo. Both are snappy, low frills Markdown editors/viewers/browsers, that let you set a basedir with an arbitrary hierarchy under it.<p>Flexible and no lock in whatsoever. I use something else to sync the dir and it works like a charm!
I've experienced similar frustrations with notetaking apps.<p>I'm now working on a tool similar to "Obsidian, Logseq and Dendron".<p>It came as a frustration of previous tools(I've used ALL of them). They're either not flexible enough, not light enough, not powerful enough, not portable enough etc.<p>So I made: <a href="https://github.com/ilse-langnar/notebook/" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/ilse-langnar/notebook/</a><p>It combines both studying/references. So it's a flashcard(I don't user Supermemo algo tho) + Notetaking. It's also built on a standard so you can develop commandline/mobile/toaster app that is compatible.
Since this is one of those "well, I use [x]" type threads, I have finally settled upon <a href="https://www.inkdrop.app/" rel="nofollow">https://www.inkdrop.app/</a> – it's sort of like the VS Code of notetaking, very extensible and tweak-able, but simple on the surface. The developer is pretty cool too and does some of the best screencasts I've seen. It's less optimized for the "linking" approach often used by second brain tools (which I don't seem to get along with anyway) but there are addons to do some of it.
Logseq is the one.<p>I consider it the spiritual successor to emacs org-mode.<p>- outliner<p>- open source and free<p>- 100% offline (good for notes at bigcorp)<p>- flat files + git<p>- plugin marketplace (like vscode)<p>- Good Mobile App<p>Only current downside is some issues with cross device syncing, but that’s coming out soon.<p>You need a commercial license to use obsidian at work FYI.
The only app that has ever worked for me is Bear. I can just hit CTRL + B and start typing..<p>It has reliable sync using iCloud, markdown, nested tags, integrates in the browsers for clips, supports images and is pretty fast.<p>The big downside is that it's for OSX only but since I'm always in the Apple ecosystem (and have my iPad/iPhone with all the time me anyway), it's perfect for me. There is a web app in the works as well AFAIK but it's a long time coming..<p>Bonus points: use the Nebo app on iPad with the Apple pencil to sketch and export to Bear.<p>If you are on OSX, I highly recommend it!
I use Notable on Linux and Noteless on Android, with Foldersync for automatically syncing. I tried Obsidian, and prefer Noteless' interface, where I can see all notes just reverse sorted by modification time. Both have a tag view.<p>In addition, there's the excellent vim plugin <a href="https://github.com/Alok/notational-fzf-vim" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/Alok/notational-fzf-vim</a> that allows fuzzy search of notes in vim.
I’ve been hoping to be able to use multiple apps and sync between the ones that use text files. It seems like this may be wishful thinking. Obsidian and Logseq don’t appear compatible from the article based on Logseq adding things?<p>I have a link saved to sync Noteplan 3 (Apple ecosystem only) with Obsidian. I have my Noteplan folder indexed with DEVONthink (Apple ecosystem only) so that syncs up. Having Logseq sync up would be cool too.
I went down the rabbit hole only to realize that none of them provide better tooling for organizing scattered thoughts. Now I just use Obsidian's Daily Notes and embrace the fact that no one can provide better note organization, though it still annoys me that it takes seconds to open the app despite the fact that I didn't install any plugins and turned off most of the features that were unnecessary to me.
Oh man, I can relate.<p>I am currently evaluating Joplin.<p><a href="https://joplinapp.org/" rel="nofollow">https://joplinapp.org/</a>
I'm not too fond of hierarchy in note-taking because the hierarchy isn't fixed. Dendron use `python.data.bool` and `java.data.bool` as an example, but sometimes I only think in the reversed way: `bool.data.python`.<p>Hierarchies are good, but we should dynamically generate them from content, not hardcode them as filenames.
Obsidian is my current favorite. Especially since its a neat and clean app with notes in markdown format <a href="https://ashishb.net/all/why-i-prefer-obsidian-for-taking-notes/" rel="nofollow">https://ashishb.net/all/why-i-prefer-obsidian-for-taking-not...</a>
I am try to unify my note taking/planning in one place.<p>I use Google Sheets and Keep. Sheets because I can dump photos, use formulas, paste links and Keep for jotting down some quick thoughts.<p>Can anyone recommend something similar? I would like to move everything to the same app where I could sync with my server of choice.
I’ve wanted to jump to something sexier for a long time but finding data deep in my notes is so fast on Evernote. It’s also the only way I’ve found to stay in eats sync btw laptop and iPad.
Is there a reliable way to import OneNote notes into one of these markdown-ish apps like Obsidian or Logseq?<p>[I found one OneNote -> Obsidian script a few years ago but it was very buggy.]
How does this beat my markdown + vim + git stack? Granted I don't have Zettelkasten or fancy referencing features with this but I can always do a simple grep.