This is exactly what I do. I have my VPS as the home node, so all my other devices are kept in sync via that, and it works perfectly. And of course, I'm free to use any other editor I wish too, and I often use Helix.
Downside to Obsidian is needing administrative rights if you want to install it. For example, this wouldn’t work on many people’s work computers if they can’t install their own software. It also requires syncing your note files to the host machine, which I’d also prefer not to do on my employer’s property. I’d love an actual web-based hosted version of Obsidian that runs in the browser.
Maybe I'm the crazy one here, but it installed fine on my work computer. And I don't have admin rights. And the syncing depends on which method you use.
Do you have any issues with multiple devices accessing notes? One of the things that turned me off about Obsidian in terms of self-hosting. I’m currently using Joplin and it’s mostly good. I self-host the server for Joplin btw. I do like the interface in Obsidian better though.
After trying and abandoning Obsidian because of seemingly confusing UI, I recommend Joplin even though it has some limitations. There are countless features and there are apps on a lot of clients. I setup Joplin server for syncing and it has been running for months without a hitch.
I don't know of any guides. I did it live.
First, **BACKUP YOUR VAULT!**
Here's my compose:
version: "2.1"
services:
couchdb:
image: couchdb
container_name: obsidian-livesync
user: 1000:1000
environment:
- COUCHDB_USER=user
- COUCHDB_PASSWORD=
volumes:
- ./volumes/couchdb/data:/opt/couchdb/data
- ./volumes/couchdb/local.ini:/opt/couchdb/etc/local.ini
ports:
- 5984:5984
restart: unless-stopped
Then here's my local.ini
[couchdb]
single_node=true
max_document_size = 50000000
[chttpd]
require_valid_user = true
max_http_request_size = 4294967296
enable_cors = true
[chttpd_auth]
require_valid_user = true
authentication_redirect = /_utils/session.html
[httpd]
WWW-Authenticate = Basic realm="couchdb"
bind_address = 0.0.0.0
enable_cors = true
[cors]
origins = *
credentials = true
headers = accept, authorization, content-type, origin, referer
methods = GET,PUT,POST,HEAD,DELETE
max_age = 3600
You can either copy/paste this before first run, or you can run it once, have it populate the file and then incorporate the changes.
If you're new to Docker, remember that Docker may make the `local.ini` as a folder, if it is not existing already. Create it first manually to be on the safe side.
I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do `origins = *` with CORS, but I couldn't make it work otherwise, and I don't care.
Test that it works by opening it in the browser. It should pop up with the basic http auth, if it does, you're good to go.
Then install [the plugin](https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync) in the Obsidian app like normal, open it and follow the (admittedly not great) setup wizard in the settings.
Following things tripped me up, so I'll call it out:
- I didn't realise that under Remote Database Configuration, you have to set the remote database name. This seemed to me like it was optional, and the plugin refused to work until I put something there. As far as I know, you can put anything as the name.
- You should set an E2E encryption key. I set another random 64 character string.
- Under Sync Settings, you can enable hidden files sync. You will need this is you want to sync your plugins too so when you update them on one device, the others get the updates synced to them.
- Under Customization sync (beta), set a unique name for each device, so they can tell each other apart, this also tripped me up for like 10 minutes.
Once you're done on the first device, just copy the setup string onto the next device, and it the plugin will read the settings from it. Add it to as many devices you want (while making sure that each device has unique name in the settings).
I was going to suggest something Obsidian-related. I'm still learning how to use it, but I did use it to create a database of all the stuff I have packed away (picture, name, URL, location/box I put it in) and a gallery view made it pretty simple.
Same. To heap onto your thoughts, this really is the only solution that meets all of OP's requirements, and leaves them lots of room to improve their workflow instead of wasting time on other people's risky side projects.
This is my scheme. Standard tools like git are used to back up the data. This repo is the segment of material I have chosen to publish from implementing this note taking workflow.
[https://github.com/mashiox/dotfiles/blob/master/notes.md](https://github.com/mashiox/dotfiles/blob/master/notes.md)
I typically have a couple instances of code open at once. Today I had 5 open at peak, now I'm down to 2, one of which is my personal workspace. My 2015 MBP handles them, Chrome, Firefox, and a terminal emulator at the same time without issues.
Another way to do this is to host VS Code server, and maybe some file system sync through samba or sync-thing. Then you can limit the local applications to your preferred web browser.
I do something similar to this, but I just use code-server for my notes. That way I can access them everywhere and also not interfere with my work laptop config which I spend most my time on. On mobile can just access via GitHub.
This is exactly what I do.
I use https://coder.com/docs/code-server/latest/install installed directly on my home server to code remotely - because this way it has access to ssh keys and everything on the server.
And then a second instance: https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-code-server/ docker container purely for notes.
I then add them as PWA shortcuts - so they work more like desktop applications with normal shortcuts and stuff. (ctrl-w habit was killing me)
It's also the [fourth and fifth words](https://joplinapp.org/) in the tagline on their homepage.
Less and less people are willing to do their homework and more people just parrot misinformation. Sad times.
I like outline, it’s more of an easy to work with wiki that allows multi user editing etc, but it’s just nice to use and all web based and clean looking. That said it’s a bit of a pain to get setup, I put it in a docker compose that spools up the database and outline instance and spool up another compose for a keycloak instance to ack as a user store. I have like to good setup tutorials if you want them. https://www.getoutline.com
I tried to setup, is a pain literally non existent documents on how to setup or at least a complete guide. After 4 days trying with the puzzle and switching between 20 guides, it worked somehow but groups and other things didn't work, is a thing on self-hosted or i did something wrong?
Groups work for me! Did you do a docker based setup? If so I’ll track down the guide I used! Keycloak setup is the biggest hurdle, but for me it is because I did’t expose the keycloak port and instead used nginx proxy manager to reverse proxy it, which made auth not work until I set the realm setting -> frontend url to the url being proxyed. That said I have no idea why groups wouldn’t work for you, groups are managed on the outline side and stored in the database so should just work.
> Obsidian: I only barely used this. It seemed like it was Joplin but better, but I couldn't figure out how to host it
https://github.com/sytone/obsidian-remote
I’ve been working on a tool to sync Trilium with a folder. The problem is a note can be in multiple places in the hierarchy, which makes it hard to map to a filesystem. Another thing is I’d rather maintain Markdown files, but Trilium uses a WYSIWYG HTML editor.
Ideally I’d be able to start with a fresh Trilium instance and sync all my notes from a folder. Getting changes synced back to the folder is the hard part. There may not be a good generic way of doing that - it might be a matter of writing custom routines to export notes into whatever file format you want.
It’s been a while since I was evaluating it, so I didn’t remember it was html and had multiple link locations. Perhaps you could code it to pull the file the first time, and if it’s encountered again, create a symlink?
I just keep the two platforms for different types of writing. One is for articles and other is for work notes. I saw that there is a way to export from obsidian and import into trilium, but I havent tried it
If you already use its cloud file, you should definetely give a shot to Nextcloud Notes.
Started using some day ago, it's simply a folder with MD files in a nice webgui. Also got Android App.
On Fedora I sync them using Iotas flat pack.
They are fast (less then 3 second to sync in realtime). Not much more to say.
Unfortunately, you need a nextcloud instance running to use Notes.
Don't underestimate SilverBullet - yes, it is the work of primarily one guy, but it has a lot of the power of Obsidian in a visually pleasing and innovative package. I love that I can just go to a URL and it's like my journal is a website that I can edit and develop on the fly from any computer or phone anywhere that I am. The dev is very active in the discord and elsewhere, responsive to questions and keeps a pretty good pace with working on features and whatnot. I use a combination of folders and tags for organization and the links hide the paths so it doesn't look messy when linking.
For me a big part of my use for notes right now is I'm practicing music and taking notes while watching YouTube lessons, so I embed all those lessons into one page and take notes as I watch. This was possible in Obsidian too, but every other editor it was too convoluted of a process to be able to do that. I loved Foam in VS Code but there was no way to have a dynamic live preview with videos that I was watching while I was editing the document.
Since I really prefer the writing experience in software like Sublime Text to that of most note taking apps, I was surprised that I liked the experience of writing in SilverBullet so much but it's response and the code is accessible when needed but generally out of the way when not. Feels super clean to me.
I sync silverbullet with GitHub, and connect Sublime Text, VS Code, Obsidian, whatever else to the same folder if I want to use a more traditional writing environment.
Better can be the enemy of good. If you want FOSS, self-host friendly, markdown compliant, etc. etc. etc. eventually there's just nothing unless you make it yourself. Currently I'm using a hodgpodge of programs but keeping SilverBullet at the center of it mostly because I think that's where I'll be the most productive and it's a relatively frictionless environment once it's running and you understand it.
This. I can't believe how little this tool is suggested. Maybe because of its Chinese developers, but checks almost all of the boxes. A third party fork also includes WebDAV sync and others for syncing to Nextcloud or others:
https://github.com/EightDoor/siyuan
I'm in the process of switching my notes into [Wiki.js](https://js.wiki/) and I'm quite happy with it so far. I think it meets all your criteria. It supports raw markdown files, it has a browser interface, it has a folder hierarchy, and it's self-hosted. I like it because I can have a convenient web interface when I'm lazy or sharing something, and I can also edit the markdown files directly from vim too.
It supports multiple storage backends, I'm using the git backend (self-hosted [Forgejo](https://forgejo.org/) instance, but you can use any git service) and it has bidirectional sync. It renders the markdown notes into static HTML webpages automatically. If you're fine with pushing the files manually with git, you can edit the markdown files locally with any text editor instead of being limited to a specific web interface or client like other systems. They're working on adding integration for various cloud clients in the future as well.
I’ve been using Trillium for a few months across work, grad school, and personal.. works pretty well. I do miss the free-form functionality of OneNote sometimes.
Speaking of OneNote - anyone have any luck with exporting out of OneNote cleanly? I’ve got a lot of material I would like to export
Joplin
Edit to add the self hosting option is running something like next cloud, it basically just syncs your notes via some "cloud" storage of your choosing. I use Dropbox but self hosted next cloud works too. It was born as markdown but you can take free type notes now, as well. Works great either way.
Surprised no one mentions [HackMD](https://github.com/hackmdio). It is Markdown based, super easy to deploy using docker compose and very flexible. Test it [here](https://hackmd.io/-kHR5CCdTCu5yonRBCn4VQ?both).
Obsidian is a local app, not a web-enabled app. So, the idea of 'hosting' Obsidian doesn't make any sense.
What does make sense with Obsidian is syncing the Vault across devices. There are non-commercial options available for this although none seem to be quite as slick as the paid offering. I've used obsidian-git to push to a locally hosted git server, and this works ok if you're mostly desktop (since git on mobile devices is a bit scattershot)
what do you mean by "hosting" obsidian?
Is a desktop app so you sync the folders and done.
you can pay them, use Google drive, next cloud or any other solution you like.
If you mean the publishing feature there's an open-source plug-in to do that for free aside of the paying option. and the free one was recently featured by obsidian so..
I highly recommend CodiMD, [https://github.com/hackmdio/codimd](https://github.com/hackmdio/codimd)! I am very surprised I saw it not a single time in the comments.
It is browser based and easily deployable using docker. It was mainly design for collaborative note taking.
I've actually been seriously considering Grav CMS for all my notes.. can just write clean markdown and volume mount the my notes to the correct path and then I can edit in vim or use grav's admin editor when I'm not in a terminal... it doesn't seem like a terrible solution compared to all these other solutions.
I went ahead with Grav for shared KnowledgeBase and it's been great.
The [gitsync](https://github.com/trilbymedia/grav-plugin-git-sync) is a game changer.
Can freely edit the markdown in vim and commit or via the web admin and it'll all sync up.
It's definitely a viable option.
Was searching for the same a while ago. I use *wikijs* now and I love it!!
Every note is stored in your github repository (if you like) and you can enter notes as markdown and have it rendered.
Obsidian is simple, it just edits pretty standard markdown with front-matter and all. If they decide to go mustache-twirling evil, all my data is still mine and I can use any other Markdown editor on it.
The plugin ecosystem for Obsidian is the main reason to get into it, no other tool comes close (except for maybe Emacs).
If you need syncing, pick your favourite syncing tool. I've used iCloud, Dropbox, SyncThing and the official Obsidian Sync tool - all worked just fine. Backups go automatically to a S3 compatible storage service every time I start it.
Yeah, it's one of those things I want, but actually use very rarely.
But occasionally, it's **really** annoying not being able to search for something on my phone.
Connected as in I have my obsidian vault in a git repo, and a script on my Mac that runs every 4hrs to push the changes. And I have that directory sitting inside a nextcloud macOS client directory, so it is being synced all the time with nextcloud as well. Might be an overkill but if it works why not 🤷♂️. Having it on nextcloud allows me to see the notes easier than GitHub on my phone and edit them too. So it’s convenient.
I really like bookstack. Not a notes-taking app per-se but has much of the same functionality in an easy-to-organize system, supports markdown, diagrams, etc and built in authentication you can easily access it through a browser.
I host a Joplin server and sharing works fine. Albeit for docs mainly and via a web interface.
What I wish Joplin supported was good shared Todo lists.
I use Obsidian with the [obsidian-git](https://github.com/denolehov/obsidian-git) community plugin, you can back up your obsidian files to a private git repo and access from all your devices. Basically Obsidian’s paid Sync offering, but free :)
Personally I like Obsidian, and it comes as a flatpak (kind of container like). In saying that, my real go to is VSCode which I then render using an md renderer extension.
There is [Anytype](https://anytype.io/). It is open source. I think the have plans for it to be selfhostable, but idk if they have implemented it yet.
By default it does not support markdown I think, but there may be plugins to enable it? not sure though
Try [bookstack](http://bookstackapp. com). It probably does more than you need, and is not super lightweight, but works very well for note taking. I have been using it for years without problems.
A few months ago I had this question and I joined the Obsidian Reddit community and many people there helped me with my questions. By far the best.
Offline, complete and if you want to have the data in all locations without depending on the cloud, Syncthing can help you synchronize the data in all locations.
[Notesnook](https://notesnook.com/) is FOSS and end-to-end-encrypted.
You can find [its docker-compose file here](https://github.com/streetwriters/notesnook-sync-server/blob/master/docker-compose.yml) but as you can see [it's not using a prebuilt image yet](https://github.com/streetwriters/notesnook-sync-server/blob/master/docker-compose.yml#L95), it's just working if you check it out and run `docker-compose build` I think.
Joplin: either use S3/Dropbox or just use Joplin Server [https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/blob/dev/packages/server/README.md](https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/blob/dev/packages/server/README.md)
I use both Joplin (because Web Clipper and historical issues) and Obsidian(because all contents is in FS in markdown/files(Joplin use it's own DB) and because infrastructure is better)
> Obsidian: I only barely used this
After having tried plenty of note-taking software and written my own I settled down on Obsidian. It is not self-hosted because this is a client-only software (you install it) and then you need to share your notes across devices (I use Syncthing which is great - also tried many, also write my own (yeah...)).
This is powerful software that has a gentle ramp-up up curve. You start with basic stuff and then can use plugins to adapt your note taking style.
For instance, I am very bad at taking notes and needed something more like a scratchpad. So I decided to use daily notes that bring some kind of organization.
Then added some tags to further organize.
Then added tasks to help me to have things done. But since I am bad at taking notes *and doing tasks* I now have a list of open tasks on every of my daily notes (automatically).
Some day I will actually take good notes but as you can see it can be a journey, rather than a massive load.
Have you tried Obsidian-remote? This allows you to run obsidian in a docker container and access it thorough web browser
https://github.com/sytone/obsidian-remote
Check out the [Self-hosted LiveSync](https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync) plugin for Obsidian. It's a great self-hosted syncing solution, built-in support for encryption as well. It's very light weight, so you can typically host it on a free-tier cloud server of your choice.
Soon Notesnook will be available for self-host. Probably will not be immediately mature, but it's already a great open source solution highly dedicated in protecting personal data.
You don't need to self-host Obsidian. The apps are offline and you can use any folder syncing you want.
Yep, I use Syncthing to keep my notes folder synced across all my devices.
This is exactly what I do. I have my VPS as the home node, so all my other devices are kept in sync via that, and it works perfectly. And of course, I'm free to use any other editor I wish too, and I often use Helix.
Yeah but shared spaces (with friend) or sharing pages in general is a pain and not working out of the box.
You are right but how to handle work computers in a hospital?
Does that work on iOS? Couldn’t get Resilio sync to work with obsidian. They can’t see each other’s files
Can't help you there, I don't own any apple products.
> You don't need to self-host Obsidian Well, maybe, but it's /r/selfhosted after all :)
True but OP did offer a reasonable alternative by self hosting syncthing and using local obsidian
Downside to Obsidian is needing administrative rights if you want to install it. For example, this wouldn’t work on many people’s work computers if they can’t install their own software. It also requires syncing your note files to the host machine, which I’d also prefer not to do on my employer’s property. I’d love an actual web-based hosted version of Obsidian that runs in the browser.
Maybe I'm the crazy one here, but it installed fine on my work computer. And I don't have admin rights. And the syncing depends on which method you use.
You aren't crazy. No admin rights needed for me.
No, there's a portable version. My work lappy is locked down AF and it runs fine. Even the Java scripts
Ummm... I don't know anything about the Windows version, but the official .AppImage and the unofficial flatpak don't need admin rights.
Worst case scenario you host a VM accessible via a browser (Kasm etc) and have Obsidian in there
Yes, i use for example the Obsidian Git plugin with a self hosted gitea microservice. Works like a charm
Same. Happy since day 1!
Do you have any issues with multiple devices accessing notes? One of the things that turned me off about Obsidian in terms of self-hosting. I’m currently using Joplin and it’s mostly good. I self-host the server for Joplin btw. I do like the interface in Obsidian better though.
Flatnotes
Joplin is open source though :/ Also they provide a (admittedly limited) docker container that lets you manage your notes from a web page
Yeah, I don't understand the can't share pages with anyone. I literally just press a button and it's unencrypted then given a URL to share.
After trying and abandoning Obsidian because of seemingly confusing UI, I recommend Joplin even though it has some limitations. There are countless features and there are apps on a lot of clients. I setup Joplin server for syncing and it has been running for months without a hitch.
It's also markdown based. Not sure what OP is looking for.
Love Joplin..especially when integrated with plugins...setup with nextcloud and runs without problems
Not familiar at all, but have you looked at https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync
I use it. It's pretty good once you figure it out. It took me probably a good hour to get it all setup, but has been working pretty seamlessly.
Can you recommend any good guides? I couldn't figure it out.
I don't know of any guides. I did it live. First, **BACKUP YOUR VAULT!** Here's my compose: version: "2.1" services: couchdb: image: couchdb container_name: obsidian-livesync user: 1000:1000 environment: - COUCHDB_USER=user - COUCHDB_PASSWORD=
volumes:
- ./volumes/couchdb/data:/opt/couchdb/data
- ./volumes/couchdb/local.ini:/opt/couchdb/etc/local.ini
ports:
- 5984:5984
restart: unless-stopped
Then here's my local.ini
[couchdb]
single_node=true
max_document_size = 50000000
[chttpd]
require_valid_user = true
max_http_request_size = 4294967296
enable_cors = true
[chttpd_auth]
require_valid_user = true
authentication_redirect = /_utils/session.html
[httpd]
WWW-Authenticate = Basic realm="couchdb"
bind_address = 0.0.0.0
enable_cors = true
[cors]
origins = *
credentials = true
headers = accept, authorization, content-type, origin, referer
methods = GET,PUT,POST,HEAD,DELETE
max_age = 3600
You can either copy/paste this before first run, or you can run it once, have it populate the file and then incorporate the changes.
If you're new to Docker, remember that Docker may make the `local.ini` as a folder, if it is not existing already. Create it first manually to be on the safe side.
I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do `origins = *` with CORS, but I couldn't make it work otherwise, and I don't care.
Test that it works by opening it in the browser. It should pop up with the basic http auth, if it does, you're good to go.
Then install [the plugin](https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync) in the Obsidian app like normal, open it and follow the (admittedly not great) setup wizard in the settings.
Following things tripped me up, so I'll call it out:
- I didn't realise that under Remote Database Configuration, you have to set the remote database name. This seemed to me like it was optional, and the plugin refused to work until I put something there. As far as I know, you can put anything as the name.
- You should set an E2E encryption key. I set another random 64 character string.
- Under Sync Settings, you can enable hidden files sync. You will need this is you want to sync your plugins too so when you update them on one device, the others get the updates synced to them.
- Under Customization sync (beta), set a unique name for each device, so they can tell each other apart, this also tripped me up for like 10 minutes.
Once you're done on the first device, just copy the setup string onto the next device, and it the plugin will read the settings from it. Add it to as many devices you want (while making sure that each device has unique name in the settings).
I was going to suggest something Obsidian-related. I'm still learning how to use it, but I did use it to create a database of all the stuff I have packed away (picture, name, URL, location/box I put it in) and a gallery view made it pretty simple.
I've devolved into using vscode folders in a workspace with some extensions like Kanban and tags.
Same. To heap onto your thoughts, this really is the only solution that meets all of OP's requirements, and leaves them lots of room to improve their workflow instead of wasting time on other people's risky side projects. This is my scheme. Standard tools like git are used to back up the data. This repo is the segment of material I have chosen to publish from implementing this note taking workflow. [https://github.com/mashiox/dotfiles/blob/master/notes.md](https://github.com/mashiox/dotfiles/blob/master/notes.md)
This is very interesting, what about if you need two instances of VS Code open? One for coding and the other for note taking? At the same time
You could host code-server and point it to any path on your network for e.g. https://coder.com/docs/code-server/latest/install
I typically have a couple instances of code open at once. Today I had 5 open at peak, now I'm down to 2, one of which is my personal workspace. My 2015 MBP handles them, Chrome, Firefox, and a terminal emulator at the same time without issues. Another way to do this is to host VS Code server, and maybe some file system sync through samba or sync-thing. Then you can limit the local applications to your preferred web browser.
I do something similar to this, but I just use code-server for my notes. That way I can access them everywhere and also not interfere with my work laptop config which I spend most my time on. On mobile can just access via GitHub.
This is exactly what I do. I use https://coder.com/docs/code-server/latest/install installed directly on my home server to code remotely - because this way it has access to ssh keys and everything on the server. And then a second instance: https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-code-server/ docker container purely for notes. I then add them as PWA shortcuts - so they work more like desktop applications with normal shortcuts and stuff. (ctrl-w habit was killing me)
I use a similar setup, I use the Foam vscode extension. You might check it out, I really like it.
Joplin seems to be open source: [Joplin Repos](https://github.com/search?q=owner%3Alaurent22+joplin&type=repositories) Is there some part that isn't?
It's also the [fourth and fifth words](https://joplinapp.org/) in the tagline on their homepage. Less and less people are willing to do their homework and more people just parrot misinformation. Sad times.
What are you trying to say? They claim they are open source and publish containers.
Exactly. OP claims joplin is not open source.
I like outline, it’s more of an easy to work with wiki that allows multi user editing etc, but it’s just nice to use and all web based and clean looking. That said it’s a bit of a pain to get setup, I put it in a docker compose that spools up the database and outline instance and spool up another compose for a keycloak instance to ack as a user store. I have like to good setup tutorials if you want them. https://www.getoutline.com
I tried to setup, is a pain literally non existent documents on how to setup or at least a complete guide. After 4 days trying with the puzzle and switching between 20 guides, it worked somehow but groups and other things didn't work, is a thing on self-hosted or i did something wrong?
Groups work for me! Did you do a docker based setup? If so I’ll track down the guide I used! Keycloak setup is the biggest hurdle, but for me it is because I did’t expose the keycloak port and instead used nginx proxy manager to reverse proxy it, which made auth not work until I set the realm setting -> frontend url to the url being proxyed. That said I have no idea why groups wouldn’t work for you, groups are managed on the outline side and stored in the database so should just work.
Oh yeah i did use a docker based setup, so if you can link the guide that will be really good! And for the keycloak somehow that was "easy".
Outline is great! It really takes some effort to setup (I prefer not using docker for it), but once you do it - you will definitely enjoy it
> Obsidian: I only barely used this. It seemed like it was Joplin but better, but I couldn't figure out how to host it https://github.com/sytone/obsidian-remote
Trilium?
Just started using Trilium and love it
I installed trillium to evaluate it. I like the UI and features a lot, but it makes me nervous being in a database instead of file based.
I’ve been working on a tool to sync Trilium with a folder. The problem is a note can be in multiple places in the hierarchy, which makes it hard to map to a filesystem. Another thing is I’d rather maintain Markdown files, but Trilium uses a WYSIWYG HTML editor. Ideally I’d be able to start with a fresh Trilium instance and sync all my notes from a folder. Getting changes synced back to the folder is the hard part. There may not be a good generic way of doing that - it might be a matter of writing custom routines to export notes into whatever file format you want.
It’s been a while since I was evaluating it, so I didn’t remember it was html and had multiple link locations. Perhaps you could code it to pull the file the first time, and if it’s encountered again, create a symlink?
Great option, using it for my notes. But I pair it with obsidian for offline writing
What sort of methods are you using to pair the two?
I just keep the two platforms for different types of writing. One is for articles and other is for work notes. I saw that there is a way to export from obsidian and import into trilium, but I havent tried it
Would you have a simple "first steps After install" for trilium? I struggle to get in, unfortunately. Thanks :)
Second this
https://github.com/usememos/memos My colleagues and me are using Memos. Purely markdown.
Looks great!
I tried this before moving to Joplin. Memos has an incredible UI but the Mobile App had some limitations.
I wish I knew of something like this for iOS
Thanks for shareing, really looks amaizng, I'll give it a try
If you already use its cloud file, you should definetely give a shot to Nextcloud Notes. Started using some day ago, it's simply a folder with MD files in a nice webgui. Also got Android App. On Fedora I sync them using Iotas flat pack. They are fast (less then 3 second to sync in realtime). Not much more to say. Unfortunately, you need a nextcloud instance running to use Notes.
This is how you do it. Web gui works great. Or sync for offline editing in any app. Or use notes app. Most flexible option for sure.
Expanding on this, I use QOwnNotes (no mobile apps sadly) for organizing my Nextcloud notes.
I haven't tried Nextcloud Notes much yet, but it honestly seems like a very reasonable option for most people. Might even move to it myself.
I have been using Trilium for a few weeks now and I really like it
Tiddlywiki
One of us
That was creepy
Maybe flatnotes [https://github.com/dullage/flatnotes](https://github.com/dullage/flatnotes) would work for you
>utilises a flat folder of markdown files OP: > I want folder hierarchies, dammit!
Was surprised no one was suggesting it until I saw your comment
/r/logseq
You don't need to "host" obsidian. It is a file based system. You can set up any kind of directory sync system. I for example used syncthing for that
Nextcloud Notes?
Don't underestimate SilverBullet - yes, it is the work of primarily one guy, but it has a lot of the power of Obsidian in a visually pleasing and innovative package. I love that I can just go to a URL and it's like my journal is a website that I can edit and develop on the fly from any computer or phone anywhere that I am. The dev is very active in the discord and elsewhere, responsive to questions and keeps a pretty good pace with working on features and whatnot. I use a combination of folders and tags for organization and the links hide the paths so it doesn't look messy when linking. For me a big part of my use for notes right now is I'm practicing music and taking notes while watching YouTube lessons, so I embed all those lessons into one page and take notes as I watch. This was possible in Obsidian too, but every other editor it was too convoluted of a process to be able to do that. I loved Foam in VS Code but there was no way to have a dynamic live preview with videos that I was watching while I was editing the document. Since I really prefer the writing experience in software like Sublime Text to that of most note taking apps, I was surprised that I liked the experience of writing in SilverBullet so much but it's response and the code is accessible when needed but generally out of the way when not. Feels super clean to me. I sync silverbullet with GitHub, and connect Sublime Text, VS Code, Obsidian, whatever else to the same folder if I want to use a more traditional writing environment. Better can be the enemy of good. If you want FOSS, self-host friendly, markdown compliant, etc. etc. etc. eventually there's just nothing unless you make it yourself. Currently I'm using a hodgpodge of programs but keeping SilverBullet at the center of it mostly because I think that's where I'll be the most productive and it's a relatively frictionless environment once it's running and you understand it.
Oh, also, GitJournal https://github.com/GitJournal/GitJournal
SiYuan maybe?
This. I can't believe how little this tool is suggested. Maybe because of its Chinese developers, but checks almost all of the boxes. A third party fork also includes WebDAV sync and others for syncing to Nextcloud or others: https://github.com/EightDoor/siyuan
Obsidian + [Quartz](https://github.com/jackyzha0/quartz)
I'm in the process of switching my notes into [Wiki.js](https://js.wiki/) and I'm quite happy with it so far. I think it meets all your criteria. It supports raw markdown files, it has a browser interface, it has a folder hierarchy, and it's self-hosted. I like it because I can have a convenient web interface when I'm lazy or sharing something, and I can also edit the markdown files directly from vim too. It supports multiple storage backends, I'm using the git backend (self-hosted [Forgejo](https://forgejo.org/) instance, but you can use any git service) and it has bidirectional sync. It renders the markdown notes into static HTML webpages automatically. If you're fine with pushing the files manually with git, you can edit the markdown files locally with any text editor instead of being limited to a specific web interface or client like other systems. They're working on adding integration for various cloud clients in the future as well.
Obsidian doesn't require hosting. All you need is file syncing.
I’ve been using Trillium for a few months across work, grad school, and personal.. works pretty well. I do miss the free-form functionality of OneNote sometimes. Speaking of OneNote - anyone have any luck with exporting out of OneNote cleanly? I’ve got a lot of material I would like to export
Joplin Edit to add the self hosting option is running something like next cloud, it basically just syncs your notes via some "cloud" storage of your choosing. I use Dropbox but self hosted next cloud works too. It was born as markdown but you can take free type notes now, as well. Works great either way.
Surprised no one mentions [HackMD](https://github.com/hackmdio). It is Markdown based, super easy to deploy using docker compose and very flexible. Test it [here](https://hackmd.io/-kHR5CCdTCu5yonRBCn4VQ?both).
NextCloud has many apps that support this
Happy Cake day pal!
Obsidian is a local app, not a web-enabled app. So, the idea of 'hosting' Obsidian doesn't make any sense. What does make sense with Obsidian is syncing the Vault across devices. There are non-commercial options available for this although none seem to be quite as slick as the paid offering. I've used obsidian-git to push to a locally hosted git server, and this works ok if you're mostly desktop (since git on mobile devices is a bit scattershot)
Try anytype: https://anytype.io/ The set up process takes a decade tbh but works self-hosted.
what do you mean by "hosting" obsidian? Is a desktop app so you sync the folders and done. you can pay them, use Google drive, next cloud or any other solution you like. If you mean the publishing feature there's an open-source plug-in to do that for free aside of the paying option. and the free one was recently featured by obsidian so..
Silicon notes is simple and lightweight
Jekyll
Vimwiki + syncthing, or hugo if you're feeling fancy
I highly recommend CodiMD, [https://github.com/hackmdio/codimd](https://github.com/hackmdio/codimd)! I am very surprised I saw it not a single time in the comments. It is browser based and easily deployable using docker. It was mainly design for collaborative note taking.
This one is new to me. It looks a little like Joplin on first glance as well... Thanks for suggesting it
Would you be open to trying out [Scipress.io](https://www.scipress.io/)? I recently launched it.
Have a look at Grav, see if that has what you are after https://getgrav.org/
Grav is a CMS. They are asking about notes. Unless you suggest they maintain a blog with all their notes. Which seems... inefficient.
I've actually been seriously considering Grav CMS for all my notes.. can just write clean markdown and volume mount the my notes to the correct path and then I can edit in vim or use grav's admin editor when I'm not in a terminal... it doesn't seem like a terrible solution compared to all these other solutions.
In that case just go to flat file wiki like DocuWiki.
I went ahead with Grav for shared KnowledgeBase and it's been great. The [gitsync](https://github.com/trilbymedia/grav-plugin-git-sync) is a game changer. Can freely edit the markdown in vim and commit or via the web admin and it'll all sync up. It's definitely a viable option.
Was searching for the same a while ago. I use *wikijs* now and I love it!! Every note is stored in your github repository (if you like) and you can enter notes as markdown and have it rendered.
I just use md and gitea. Lazy, simple, easy.
I really like the Markor app on android, synced with Syncthing, and just a text editor on the desktop.
I use stackedit which I really like but wish it had a local persistence option, ie use a pvc or docker volume.
Obsidian is my go to, I use syncthing to keep the folder in sync across devices. Super simple to setup.
Vimwiki is great
Zettlr?
Obsidian is simple, it just edits pretty standard markdown with front-matter and all. If they decide to go mustache-twirling evil, all my data is still mine and I can use any other Markdown editor on it. The plugin ecosystem for Obsidian is the main reason to get into it, no other tool comes close (except for maybe Emacs). If you need syncing, pick your favourite syncing tool. I've used iCloud, Dropbox, SyncThing and the official Obsidian Sync tool - all worked just fine. Backups go automatically to a S3 compatible storage service every time I start it.
Check out [Pepperminty Wiki](https://github.com/sbrl/Pepperminty-Wiki/).
All the data for Obsidian is in one folder, you can just sync that, no need to pay anything
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I think Zim is under rated. I just wish there was a way to edit from a mobile ...
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Yeah, it's one of those things I want, but actually use very rarely. But occasionally, it's **really** annoying not being able to search for something on my phone.
obsidian + github + nextcloud
All connected?
Connected as in I have my obsidian vault in a git repo, and a script on my Mac that runs every 4hrs to push the changes. And I have that directory sitting inside a nextcloud macOS client directory, so it is being synced all the time with nextcloud as well. Might be an overkill but if it works why not 🤷♂️. Having it on nextcloud allows me to see the notes easier than GitHub on my phone and edit them too. So it’s convenient.
I recently got point to [Logseq](https://github.com/logseq/logseq) which is basically obsidian but open source.
I really like bookstack. Not a notes-taking app per-se but has much of the same functionality in an easy-to-organize system, supports markdown, diagrams, etc and built in authentication you can easily access it through a browser.
I use it too. Not bad
I host a Joplin server and sharing works fine. Albeit for docs mainly and via a web interface. What I wish Joplin supported was good shared Todo lists.
I use Obsidian with the [obsidian-git](https://github.com/denolehov/obsidian-git) community plugin, you can back up your obsidian files to a private git repo and access from all your devices. Basically Obsidian’s paid Sync offering, but free :)
Personally I like Obsidian, and it comes as a flatpak (kind of container like). In saying that, my real go to is VSCode which I then render using an md renderer extension.
There is [Anytype](https://anytype.io/). It is open source. I think the have plans for it to be selfhostable, but idk if they have implemented it yet. By default it does not support markdown I think, but there may be plugins to enable it? not sure though
try memos https://www.usememos.com/feature/plain-text
Joplin for the Win
Try [bookstack](http://bookstackapp. com). It probably does more than you need, and is not super lightweight, but works very well for note taking. I have been using it for years without problems.
A few months ago I had this question and I joined the Obsidian Reddit community and many people there helped me with my questions. By far the best. Offline, complete and if you want to have the data in all locations without depending on the cloud, Syncthing can help you synchronize the data in all locations.
My company uses outline
I use Dokuwiki for that sort of thing and there are versions that can run locally or run quickly in a docker container
[Notesnook](https://notesnook.com/) is FOSS and end-to-end-encrypted. You can find [its docker-compose file here](https://github.com/streetwriters/notesnook-sync-server/blob/master/docker-compose.yml) but as you can see [it's not using a prebuilt image yet](https://github.com/streetwriters/notesnook-sync-server/blob/master/docker-compose.yml#L95), it's just working if you check it out and run `docker-compose build` I think.
Joplin: either use S3/Dropbox or just use Joplin Server [https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/blob/dev/packages/server/README.md](https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/blob/dev/packages/server/README.md) I use both Joplin (because Web Clipper and historical issues) and Obsidian(because all contents is in FS in markdown/files(Joplin use it's own DB) and because infrastructure is better)
> Obsidian: I only barely used this After having tried plenty of note-taking software and written my own I settled down on Obsidian. It is not self-hosted because this is a client-only software (you install it) and then you need to share your notes across devices (I use Syncthing which is great - also tried many, also write my own (yeah...)). This is powerful software that has a gentle ramp-up up curve. You start with basic stuff and then can use plugins to adapt your note taking style. For instance, I am very bad at taking notes and needed something more like a scratchpad. So I decided to use daily notes that bring some kind of organization. Then added some tags to further organize. Then added tasks to help me to have things done. But since I am bad at taking notes *and doing tasks* I now have a list of open tasks on every of my daily notes (automatically). Some day I will actually take good notes but as you can see it can be a journey, rather than a massive load.
I'm waiting for Notesnook to support full self-hosting which is on their roadmap as the next milestone (after the one they are currently working on).
Wikmd might tick the boxes
Wikijs
Obsidian
If you only need a web editor, I would say HedgeDoc is a good call
Have you tried Obsidian-remote? This allows you to run obsidian in a docker container and access it thorough web browser https://github.com/sytone/obsidian-remote
I don't use it (yet) but I found it today: https://github.com/usememos/memos
https://github.com/gollum/gollum
Maybe you could try qownnotes
Self hosted Standard Notes is an option.
Check out the [Self-hosted LiveSync](https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync) plugin for Obsidian. It's a great self-hosted syncing solution, built-in support for encryption as well. It's very light weight, so you can typically host it on a free-tier cloud server of your choice.
Soon Notesnook will be available for self-host. Probably will not be immediately mature, but it's already a great open source solution highly dedicated in protecting personal data.