1y ago

Looking for Notes App for Android & Linux

I am trying to slowly de-Google-ify myself by moving to open source apps, I wanna ditch google notes and evernote. I tried obsidian, standard notes, and joplin, I liked using obsidian on PC and standard notes looks nice on android but obsidian you need to pay to have sync and standard notes doesn't do markdown unless you pay (are plugins only on PC???). Joplin has most features I need but I don't like how it looks/feels on android (haven't tried in PC yet)

Basically what I want the most in a notes app is offline with sync capability for phone and PC, would be nice to make folders for notes like notepads on evernote, and md is a big plus but I can live without it. I would love if I could use something like proton drive for cloud sync and wouldn't mind paying for obsidian if it was cheaper cuz $8 per month is too much for my minimum pay and I didnt see any cheaper plans.

EDIT: If no one has any better suggestions, I am thinking of trying to setup obsidian with syncthing.

47 comments

I actually use Obsidian on my Linux desktop, synced with Syncthing to my Android phone, iPad, home server, etc (have version control also active to keep older copies of notes). Mainly because the volume of notes I do is on the desktop, and I need them for reference everywhere. But I'm not sure Obsidian is best as a phone app (bit busy), but you could test it with a simple UI.

Joplin with Syncthing works well for me.
- You can also self-host a Joplin sync server, which works exceedingly well too.

Because of a different Lemmy post, I'm just now trying out Orgzly. It looks terrific so far, and I think it meets all your needs. It stores everything in plain text, so you just have to sync the text files.
edit: as noptys points out, Orgzly Revived is what you want to use (and what I meant to recommend).
- Interesting, I see Orgzly uses Org mode formatting in plain text - https://orgmode.org/features.html
  
  If you enjoy Orgzly, the updated fork is likely what you want - https://f-droid.org/packages/com.orgzlyrevived/ It has bug fixes, additional features, and is under active development.

Logseq could be another option although I'm unsure about syncing, syncing might be possible via NextCloud/syncthing
- I sync all my notes on Logseq using syncthing between 2 PCs and a phone. Working reliable for 7 months now

Sync Obsidian with Syncthing.
- I do this too and it's awesome

I'm late, but I have Obsidian set up with Syncthing and it works flawlessly. I adore Syncthing and would be lost without it!
Depending on your note taking needs, if Obsidian is too much, you could do the same with Notable/Noteless and Syncthing.
- I'm syncing obsidian with Drive via my Synology NAS
  Basically everything where you can sync files should work.
  The only downside I saw was that I had to reconfigure all clients individually (plugins, themes, template settings etc)
- Yeah, same. It just works™!
  Syncthing is such an awesome app, it basically allows the usage of so many apps which just use plain files instead of the Cloud™. Obsidian, Signal, Aegis Auth, Grayjay to just name a few.

I love how 90% of replies are recommending software that isn't open-source.
- At the very least most of the recommendations are not run my multi billion/million companies like Google keep, notion, and evernote who are always suspicious in what they do on the side.

I am using Joplin with syncthing. I don't need online services for syncthing. My smartphone is the center of this synchronization of notes with three different pc in three different places (I do it with keepssxc database too). I just have to be a bit careful and so I check that the synchronization has been done before writing notes an another device. It's a nice solution for me. The devices are an android smartphone, two linux laptops and a Windows pc. It works.
- Joplin with a WebDAV server (for me it's Infomaniak's kDrive) provides syncing across multiple devices and is pretty much transparent. You should just force synchronize when leaving one of the apps to be sure (kind of like the save button in most programs).
  
  Ok. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into it

Using Obsidian with mega on desktop and FolderSync covering syncing the android side of it. Works fine.
- Obsidian-livesync works very well If you have some self hosting skill / hardware. The sync happens in realtime and is almost like Google docs. Allows excellent sync between all devices
- O do this but with logseq

You can check Obsidian with Syncthing or Anytype.
I think Anytype would or did already release their source code, while obsidian isn't open source but it creates Markdown files which is very nice.
- Came here to say exactly this. I might move to EMacs org mode, but I’m still reliant on devices that offer better gui experiences with Obsidian than a command line based solution using EMacs

anytype.io
- Also an anytype user. I like it both on PC and mobile phone

Sounds like crypt.ee would be a good fit.
- They're allergic to the Shift key.

I was about to suggest obsidian+syncthing when I saw your edit. I'm using the same combo on multiple devices and it's working flawlessly.

I highly recommend:
Web: Nextcloud + Nextcloud Notes App + Qownnotes Sync App
Desktop: Qownnotes and/or vim (or any texteditor of choice)
Mobile: Nextcloud Notes
Main advantage of this software stack over other solutions like joplin is the handling of the notes. Everthing is stored in a simple folder structure in plain markdown text files (*.md). This means if anything breaks, you are always able to read and edit with any text editor on any system! I switched away from joplin because it stores the notes in a database and notes file names are a cryptic string, so if you are not able to load joplin it's very hard to find anything.

Obsidian is great, and I agree the sync is too much. It does work flawlessly but Im going to try Syncthing again after my one year is up.
Another newcomer that is promising is Acreom. Doesnt require an account on PC. Currently does on mobile though. But like Obsidian, it is a pile of markdown files. No weird database silliness like Joplin does.
- Or Logseq is a great Obsidian alternative with no account needed and apps for Linux and Android. You can sync it with Syncthing.
  
  I've tried to like Logseq but with it's outline focused approach, it didn't jive with what I use a pkm for.

I like Notesnook, although it's a bit expensive.

I've tried a lot of different note app. The best seamless solution I've found is Nextcloud + a simple notepad with the ability to autosave text to a txt file.
For example, suitable note-taking apps: Markor, Denkzettel, Lesser pad.
These applications have auto-save and auto-export to txt file. You can also select the Nextcloud folder to upload your notes to the cloud server.

IMO, FOSS doesn't do well with cross platform note taking and task tracking. I find it best to have two separate, but complimentary, workflows for mobile and desktop note taking.
My mobile notes are things like door combinations or pill counts/dosages/spellings, or travel info for longer/complex trips. Things I need at hand and that I can check quickly. I just use the default android app. Or very often just a piece of paper.
I use org roam with git for my computers. These are mostly code snippets, articles, journaling, etc. Things that are involved to the point I would rather wait for a keyboard than work on them with a phone. Same is true for writing on a desk rather than a pad.
I do have a few ways to go between devices:
I can read my computer notes on gitlab if needed
I use Signal Note to Self to keep or send one offs and images. (SUPER handy!)
Firefox syncs tabs
Probably a few others, but I don't take pictures of my computer screen because I'm not an animal.
My workflows are pretty orthogonal, so this works well for me. Your mileage may vary.

You can, in theory, use the notes on ProtonPass. I use Joplin, and regardless of the fact that the UI could be more user Fri, I believe it is currently the best FLOSS option out there.

I use TiddlyWiki via TiddlyPWA. It's an offline-capable PWA with a very quick sync capability. It works beautifully on my phone and desktop. It doesn't have folders, but it does have nestable tags, which works really well for me. I don't think it supports markdown out of the box, but I'm positive you can find a plugin for it. Plugins are crazy simple to install; you just drag and drop a link into you wiki tab and confirm installation.

UpNote is the best non-FOSS option

I have been using the notes feature within Vivaldi and have really liked it. Theres also Appflowy.

You could try Notesnoot, it's very good and open-source.

Trilium

I use TiddlyWiki via TiddlyPWA. It's an offline-capable PWA with builtin sync and encryption. It doesn't have folders but it does have nestable tags. I don't think it supports markdown out of the box, but I'm positive you can find a plugin to use markdown. Plugins are crazy easy to install in TiddlyWiki; you just drag and drop the plugin into your wiki window and confirm the installation.

Quillpad on android + Qownnotes in linux + nextcloud sync

Logseq is worth looking into as well. You'd have the same sync conundrum as Obsidian, and can solve it the same way too.

Joplin with any of the dozen or so sync services it supports out of the box.

So I use the evil Google notes app. Is there a better alternative?

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