A few weeks ago I posed a question about a note-taking app to beat Vim, Markdown and Git. So far, that winner is Joplin.
I’d tried Joplin once or twice but bounced off of it for one reason or another. The UI is a little less compelling than other native apps, I’d like a bit more between-note linking features, but after a couple of weeks of sticking with it, it’s growing on me.
- Joplin is cross-platform, so I can use the same app on whatever desktop OS I want.
- It also has a good iOS app with sync, so I can jot down a quickie note on my phone for later. And share links to Joplin.
- Sync is offered as a paid option, or you can bring your own. I’ve tried both, decided to pony up for the Joplin Cloud option.
- Has Markdown support, which is sufficient for my needs.
- Has a plugin ecosystem, though I haven’t explored that much as of yet.
- It’s open source.
- Does PDFs, photos, etc.
- Offers a web clipper extension.
I’m not entirely sold on Joplin’s todo features. Todoist seems to be one of the most popular. Google Tasks would probably be fine except that you’re limited to that sidebar view and apps/extensions that extend that model are blocked from integrating with my organization’s Google Workspace, so those are a non-starter. Why Google hamstrings Tasks so badly is beyond me. (Why Google makes many of the choices it does with its apps is beyond me…)
Anyway - it’s Joplin for now, after trying Obsidian and a half-dozen other apps. If you have any tips, tricks, suggested add-ons or other helpful advice around Joplin (or todo apps), I’m all ears.