Joplin alternative needed

Hi guys! I think I’m over Joplin. Don’t get me wrong, it’s simple, it works, but… why is it Postgres db…. I have the server on a small box with like 250 GB of space and backing it up with kopia to Backblaze with free 10 GB, so I’m a bit storage cautious.

With each snapshot, it seems like a good chunk of the database changes, even when I don’t use Joplin that day. That results in kopia backing up those changed files, and backups keep growing. Right now the Joplin database is like 200Mb, BUT when I export the notes from the app… all of them weigh 2Mb… including images. Yes there is versioning of notes, but they shouldn’t be that big after one-two months lol.

I know I know, I’m being a bit weird about it, but I’m getting daily notifications about backups and I see how they grow each day.

Anyway, do you have any alternatives that have an app on iOS and on Linux? Or should I just use Apple Notes in the browser? Thanks

EDIT: The answer was easier than I thought. Just don’t back it up, it’s synced which means each device has a copy of it anyway so there is not really need for it, thanks @vvv !

Gutless2615,

Yeah the lack of actual .md files is what killed Joplin for me. Obviously not FOSS but there are self hosted options for Obsidian.

kristoff,

What is your ‘deleted files’ policy? How long do you keep them? I had a similar issue but then found out that the nextcloud cron-process wasn’t running so files in the ‘deleted files’ folder where never really deleted.

ikidd,
@ikidd@lemmy.world avatar

Use Nextcloud AIO mastercontainer, set up joplin with Nextcloud sync (which is webdav). Use the builtin backup function in Nextcloud AIO container to backup nextcloud and the files it contains that are your joplin notes (and anything else you use nextcloud for).

I even use Nextcloud for its Gpoddersync app to keep my podcast subs/progress from Antennapod.

code,

Joplin server also will use a file based storage instead of the db. And db then is only used for users

I use joplin as i share notes and collaborate with my wife. Obsidian etc dont do that. Id love to be on obsidian as i really like it but sharing notebooks is mandatory

Squizzy,

This is why I’m moving to Joplin too

letsgo,

Oops I thought you were going to be ragging on an early jazz genre.

gazby,

If you’re after some help with the WebDAV part I set it up for myself recently and would be happy to help adapt my stuff to your stack (mine is Apache + compose, but would be about just as easy with anything else). Reply here or DM any time 💯

And good on you for being turned around on your original premise and being so gracious about it in the comments mate 👍

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

Awesome, thanks! For now I’ll stay on the db without backups. Joplin saves copies to other devices so if something fails, I still have the other devices :)

DichotoDeezNutz,
@DichotoDeezNutz@lemmy.world avatar

I’m going to start developing my own alternative, is there any features that you really need/want?

I was planning on making this self hosted via docker with the option to save to Google drive.

github.com/ssebs/PadPal-Server

Voroxpete, (edited )

Here’s what I would be looking for;

  • Decent mobile app (more than happy to pay for this if it’s a one time fee)
  • Bonus for a OneNote / Evernote style Android widget. Being able to scroll through and quickly select from my most recent notes in the OneNote widget is really helpful.
  • WYSIWYG editor on mobile and desktop (why in God’s name does every Foss notes app insist I use a markdown language?) with bullet points, numbered lists, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, and headings.
  • Checklists (as in, ability to add checkboxes to notes)
  • Ability to create an arbitrarily deep folder structure
  • Tags would be nice
  • Import from popular apps like OneNote, Evernote, or Joplin is basically essential at this point. A lot of us have way too fucking many notes to move by hand.
DichotoDeezNutz,
@DichotoDeezNutz@lemmy.world avatar

Most of those are on the to-do list! I definitely like the Google keep style widget but want better UX when typing out bullet lists.

Thanks for the suggestions

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

Please don’t follow joplins folder/notes view. It’s so stupid that folders and notes are in different panels on the left. Just make it a normal list.

I like joplin for its simplicity. No bells and whistles like obsidian.

Docker container would be awesome, but I don’t care for Google drive personally :) If you make the notes folder a volume I can bind to that would be great, as long as they’re normal files haha

TCB13,
@TCB13@lemmy.world avatar

why is it Postgres db…

Why on earth are you using that? Just use WebDAV, you’ll only be required to have some WebDAV server such as Nginx and it will sync GB of notes without issues. joplinapp.org/help/apps/sync/webdav/ medium.com/…/build-a-webdav-server-with-nginx-866…

I would’ve NEVER ever moved to Joplin if it wasn’t able to sync with WebDAV. I’m not into having a special daemon running on a server for that task, makes zero sense.

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

I need to look into webDAV then :D

TCB13,
@TCB13@lemmy.world avatar

Yes you do ahaha

azron,

This is the way.

Cyber,

Logseq. That is all. (Oh, and syncthing…)

nobloat,

Is Logseq FOSS ?

Cyber,

Yep:.

github.com/logseq/logseq

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

I find their paradigm… different and not entirely sure if I like it yet, need to look into it more :)

fossphi,

Do you mind expanding a bit on how you use joplin? I’m curious about the difference you found compared to logseq

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

I use it just as a simple as possible, instructions on how I setup backups, important thing about container’s config, etc etc. I find it easier to just have a folder “Server” and put each container in a separate note or folder. It’s too much thinking about tags, links, pages and all in logseq, notes seem all over the place.

Unlearned9545,

Connect it to a DAV server and you dont have to learn a new software.

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

Gotta learn about that DAV thing everyone is talking about ig haha

aniki,

Why are you not using the built-in backup system?

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

If you mean the ‘export’ function, it’s not really the same as I’d have to do it manually every time

atzanteol,

I think you need to learn more about how databases work. They don’t typically reclaim deleted space automatically for performance reasons. Databases like to write to a single large file they can then index into. Re-writing those files is expensive so left to the DBA (you) to determine when it should be done.

And how are you backing up the database? Just backing up /var/lib/postgres? Or are you doing a pg_dump? If the former then it’s possible your backups won’t be coherent if you haven’t stopped your database and it will contain that full history of deleted stuff. pg_dump would give you just the current data in a way that will apply properly to a new database should you need to restore

You can also consider your backup retention policy. How many backups do you need for how long?

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

You are right, I should. They are a bit more complicated than I anticipated, and apparently I’m doing everything wrong, haha. I have backups set up to go 2 years back, but I’m checking backblaze occasionally to check, so it shouldn’t be an issue. I have two months so far lol Thanks for the write-up :)

knF,

Did you know that you can use Joplin on a standard webdav server? Basically it just takes up the space of the data itself. I have it on a Caddy server and works like q charm synching between Windows and Android client

observantTrapezium,
@observantTrapezium@lemmy.ca avatar

Came here to say just that. The WebDAV synchronization target is great.

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

Yeah, I’m yet to play around with WebDAV or learning what it actually is haha Will look into it, thanks :)

fenndev,
@fenndev@leminal.space avatar

Have you looked into either Obsidian or Logseq?

Obsidian is not open source, but uses Markdown for notes just like Logseq. Very popular overall.

krash,

I second obsidian. I was on the verge to jump onto logseq, but found its way of handling notes to be… different. I also felt a dislike of anytype where I don’t really have control over my notes. Obsidian clicked with me from the start and felt right. So I went with it, even though it’s not FOSS (which is usually a hard requirement from me).

helenslunch,

How do you self-host Obsidian?

Opisek,

I also switched from Joplin to Obsidian after about half a year. There’s an open-source plugin that lets you self-host a syncing server.

What I found paradoxical is how easy it is to mod and write plugins for Obsidian compared to Joplin. I would’ve thought that modifying the open-source candidate would’ve been easier, but nope.

jaykay,
@jaykay@lemmy.zip avatar

Yeah, I’ve been on Obsidian before, but self-hosted syncing on iOS is a bit finicky.

I’ve heard good things about Logseq, but it’s certainly a waaay different approach to notes. I’ll have to read more about it. Thanks :)

ikidd,
@ikidd@lemmy.world avatar

Literally every note app uses markdown. I’m not sure why people point at that for Obsidian like it’s a unique feature.

Father_Redbeard,
@Father_Redbeard@lemmy.ml avatar

Not every one stores the files as plain text files in markdown format like Obsidian. Logseq does I believe, but Joplin stores it all in database files which require an export should you decide to leave that app in favor of a other. With Obsidian you just point the new app at the folders full of .md files and away you go. That was the main selling point for me.

ikidd, (edited )
@ikidd@lemmy.world avatar

I don’t know where you’re getting that from. Here is my Joplin folder on my NC server, stuffed with md files from my notes. There are some database driven references in them if you do things like add pictures, and obviously the filename is a UID format, but it’s markdown all the way, baby.

Father_Redbeard,
@Father_Redbeard@lemmy.ml avatar

Have you looked at the contents of those md files? In addition to creating its own hexadecimal file name, it appends the text with a bunch of metadata info. If you were to then take that folder of notes to any other markdown editor like Obsidian, it would be a mess to organize. That is why I’m a stickler for file format agnosticism. There is no vendor lock in and more importantly, no manipulation of the text filenames or contents.

Screenshot of my phone copy of the Obsidian vault directory as an example:

Obsidian md

indigomirage, (edited )

Can you not just backup the pg txn logs (with periodic full backups, purged in accordance with your needs?). That’s a much safer way to approach DBs anyway.

(exclude the online db files from your file system replication)

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • selfhosted@lemmy.world
  • localhost
  • All magazines
    •
    Loading…
    Loading the web debug toolbar…
    Attempt #