{"slug": "joplin", "name": "Joplin", "category": "notes", "category_name": "Notes and knowledge", "description": "Open-source note-taking app with Markdown notes, end-to-end encryption, and sync across desktop and mobile.", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 14, "warners": 1, "score": 5.586, "rising": -0.31, "first": "2025-11-12", "latest": "2026-10-28", "why": "Liked as an Evernote replacement with free sync through your own cloud drive or WebDAV server, and as a private notebook you can script and self-host.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 6, "compare": 2, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1], "listed": true, "loved": ["Evernote replacement", "Bring-your-own sync"], "caveat": "Complexity", "short_quote": "I migrated to Joplin, stopped paying for my obscenely expensive plan ($$$ per year) and haven't looked back.", "icon": true, "domain": "joplinapp.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://joplinapp.org/", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["Joplin"], "verdict": [{"text": "Liked as an Evernote replacement", "cites": [{"id": 801056336, "item_id": 50066021, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50066021", "by": "lubujackson", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin", "excerpt": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin after I got an email saying my (absurd) $149 annual subscription was going to switch to a $249 one. Spent a half hour picking Joplin, configuring OneDrive as the sync DB and finding and running a backup script that let me dump and reload a decade of notebooks. Then I went to finally cancel the beautiful app they destroyed with greed, only to see that the previous tier of pri", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "\"Today we're laying off a large part of the Airtable team \""}, {"id": 781567905, "item_id": 48847994, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847994", "by": "ethagnawl", "date": "2026-07-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I migrated to Joplin, stopped paying for my obscenely expensive plan ($$$ per year) and haven't looked back.", "excerpt": "Whatever they are, they let Evernote devolve into a buggy pile of crap -- especially on Android. I migrated to Joplin, stopped paying for my obscenely expensive plan ($$$ per year) and haven't looked back.", "context": "", "use_case": "notes", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "What is Bending Spoons? The little-known AOL and Vimeo owner that's now public"}, {"id": 749296288, "item_id": 46831018, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46831018", "by": "octorian", "date": "2026-01-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I actually use Joplin, which I switched to after deciding I needed to dump Evernote.", "excerpt": "Do I hoard notes/links? Yes. Do I struggle to turn them into actions? No. Do I struggle to keep them organized for later reference? All the time. Do I use Obsidian? No. I actually use Joplin, which I switched to after deciding I needed to dump Evernote. And before then (and somewhat simultaneously with), I used a pile of disorganized text files (sometimes shared via DropBox).", "context": "", "use_case": "notes and links", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "Ask HN: Do you also \"hoard\" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?"}]}, {"text": " with free sync through your own cloud drive or WebDAV server", "cites": [{"id": 764128096, "item_id": 47758006, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47758006", "by": "saxelsen", "date": "2026-04-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Shout out to Joplin (https://joplinapp.org/), which I use on a daily basis.", "excerpt": "Shout out to Joplin (https://joplinapp.org/), which I use on a daily basis. It does most of what Obsidian does but has a free sync version where you just use your cloud drive as the storage. The main thing missing, from what I've found, is that it does do the \"notes mind map\". But I never really found that useful.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking with cloud drive sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "An Introduction to Obsidian"}, {"id": 801056336, "item_id": 50066021, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50066021", "by": "lubujackson", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin", "excerpt": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin after I got an email saying my (absurd) $149 annual subscription was going to switch to a $249 one. Spent a half hour picking Joplin, configuring OneDrive as the sync DB and finding and running a backup script that let me dump and reload a decade of notebooks. Then I went to finally cancel the beautiful app they destroyed with greed, only to see that the previous tier of pri", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "\"Today we're laying off a large part of the Airtable team \""}, {"id": 800253891, "item_id": 50015868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50015868", "by": "jo-m", "date": "2026-10-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "- Joplin notes sync webdav server", "excerpt": "- Syncthing - Readeck (bookmarks) - Traggo (time tracking) - Joplin notes sync webdav server - Cartomancer (GPX tracks) And some other small personal tools. https://github.com/jo-m/fluffy/tree/main/fluffy", "context": "", "use_case": "notes sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}]}, {"text": ", and as a private notebook you can script and self-host.", "cites": [{"id": 776251232, "item_id": 48515702, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48515702", "by": "stavros", "date": "2026-06-13", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Joplin with a small script I wrote.", "excerpt": "This isn't so much of a blog post, though. For this format, I like keeping a notes site (mine is at https://notes.stavros.io/), where I publish small tips and things I want to remember, and figure someone else might need at some point. I use Joplin with a small script I wrote.", "context": "", "use_case": "notes site publishing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Using the Epson Perfection V39 II Scanner on Ubuntu"}, {"id": 800824064, "item_id": 50051504, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50051504", "by": "chr15m", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Joplin note-taking app LLM integration for searching, creating, summarizing notes.", "excerpt": "Things I use the private inference machine on my local network for: - Running queries on bank transaction data to figure out our home budget, savings and spending rates, etc. I don't want this data in the hands of AI companies. - Joplin note-taking app LLM integration for searching, creating, summarizing notes. This is my private notebook and I don't want it leaking. - Termux based phone assistant. I can use voice to", "context": "", "use_case": "private notes with LLM", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 800190513, "item_id": 50011907, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50011907", "by": "0x262d", "date": "2026-10-08", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I will probably move my Joplin and Wallabag hosting there soon, currently paying for both.", "excerpt": "I use the free-tier Oracle server, but: Nextcloud. Minecraft server. I will probably move my Joplin and Wallabag hosting there soon, currently paying for both. I tried running a Valheim server there, but ran into bugs emulating it with FEX, unfortunately.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking hosting", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaint is that it feels complicated or over-engineered", "cites": [{"id": 786470224, "item_id": 49154389, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49154389", "by": "lilerjee", "date": "2026-08-03", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I found they are too complicated, bloated, not easy to organize notes", "excerpt": "I used Joplin, Sphinx doc for many years ago, but I don't use them recently. I found they are too complicated, bloated, not easy to organize notes, not easy to access across devices, not flexible, no manual sorting, etc. I like simple, concise, flexible and practical note-taking or bookmark management app. So I have created my own note-taking app Metaessen [1] for 2+ years. Now I am just using my own app and pure tex", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Note-Taking and Personal Knowledge Management"}, {"id": 734393313, "item_id": 45899582, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45899582", "by": "NoboruWataya", "date": "2025-11-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Joplin to keep notes and already I feel like that is an over-engineered solution", "excerpt": "Personally, being somewhat technically inclined I find there is rarely much of a reason to pay for the ongoing use of software. The large majority of software I use is open source and self-hostable. The JetBrains IDEs are good enough that I would consider paying for them, if programming was my livelihood (and I didn't have an employer to pay for them). But programming is just a hobby for me so I'm not inclined to pay", "context": "hobby programmer", "use_case": "note taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "You will own nothing and be (un)happy"}]}, {"text": ", and one commenter finds its file format less open than Obsidian's.", "cites": [{"id": 770978529, "item_id": 48186158, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48186158", "by": "humanfromearth9", "date": "2026-05-18", "stance": "compare", "quote": "its file format is definitely more open than Joplin's.", "excerpt": "Obsidian may not be open source, but its file format is definitely more open than Joplin's. Which is why I switched to it. Synchronizing with Syncthing works well enough both on desktops and smartphones.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Files.md \u2013 open-source alternative to Obsidian"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Evernote replacement", "summary": "Several commenters left Evernote for Joplin over price and quality and did not look back.", "quotes": [{"id": 801056336, "item_id": 50066021, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50066021", "by": "lubujackson", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin", "excerpt": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin after I got an email saying my (absurd) $149 annual subscription was going to switch to a $249 one. Spent a half hour picking Joplin, configuring OneDrive as the sync DB and finding and running a backup script that let me dump and reload a decade of notebooks. Then I went to finally cancel the beautiful app they destroyed with greed, only to see that the previous tier of pri", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "\"Today we're laying off a large part of the Airtable team \""}, {"id": 781567905, "item_id": 48847994, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847994", "by": "ethagnawl", "date": "2026-07-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I migrated to Joplin, stopped paying for my obscenely expensive plan ($$$ per year) and haven't looked back.", "excerpt": "Whatever they are, they let Evernote devolve into a buggy pile of crap -- especially on Android. I migrated to Joplin, stopped paying for my obscenely expensive plan ($$$ per year) and haven't looked back.", "context": "", "use_case": "notes", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "What is Bending Spoons? The little-known AOL and Vimeo owner that's now public"}, {"id": 749296288, "item_id": 46831018, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46831018", "by": "octorian", "date": "2026-01-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I actually use Joplin, which I switched to after deciding I needed to dump Evernote.", "excerpt": "Do I hoard notes/links? Yes. Do I struggle to turn them into actions? No. Do I struggle to keep them organized for later reference? All the time. Do I use Obsidian? No. I actually use Joplin, which I switched to after deciding I needed to dump Evernote. And before then (and somewhat simultaneously with), I used a pile of disorganized text files (sometimes shared via DropBox).", "context": "", "use_case": "notes and links", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "Ask HN: Do you also \"hoard\" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?"}]}, {"label": "Bring-your-own sync", "summary": "Sync works free through your own cloud drive, OneDrive, a home network, or a WebDAV server.", "quotes": [{"id": 764128096, "item_id": 47758006, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47758006", "by": "saxelsen", "date": "2026-04-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Shout out to Joplin (https://joplinapp.org/), which I use on a daily basis.", "excerpt": "Shout out to Joplin (https://joplinapp.org/), which I use on a daily basis. It does most of what Obsidian does but has a free sync version where you just use your cloud drive as the storage. The main thing missing, from what I've found, is that it does do the \"notes mind map\". But I never really found that useful.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking with cloud drive sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "An Introduction to Obsidian"}, {"id": 801056336, "item_id": 50066021, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50066021", "by": "lubujackson", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin", "excerpt": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin after I got an email saying my (absurd) $149 annual subscription was going to switch to a $249 one. Spent a half hour picking Joplin, configuring OneDrive as the sync DB and finding and running a backup script that let me dump and reload a decade of notebooks. Then I went to finally cancel the beautiful app they destroyed with greed, only to see that the previous tier of pri", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "\"Today we're laying off a large part of the Airtable team \""}, {"id": 800253891, "item_id": 50015868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50015868", "by": "jo-m", "date": "2026-10-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "- Joplin notes sync webdav server", "excerpt": "- Syncthing - Readeck (bookmarks) - Traggo (time tracking) - Joplin notes sync webdav server - Cartomancer (GPX tracks) And some other small personal tools. https://github.com/jo-m/fluffy/tree/main/fluffy", "context": "", "use_case": "notes sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}]}, {"label": "Scriptable and private", "summary": "Users connect it to their own scripts, transcription, and local LLMs while keeping notes private.", "quotes": [{"id": 776251232, "item_id": 48515702, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48515702", "by": "stavros", "date": "2026-06-13", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Joplin with a small script I wrote.", "excerpt": "This isn't so much of a blog post, though. For this format, I like keeping a notes site (mine is at https://notes.stavros.io/), where I publish small tips and things I want to remember, and figure someone else might need at some point. I use Joplin with a small script I wrote.", "context": "", "use_case": "notes site publishing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Using the Epson Perfection V39 II Scanner on Ubuntu"}, {"id": 800824064, "item_id": 50051504, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50051504", "by": "chr15m", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Joplin note-taking app LLM integration for searching, creating, summarizing notes.", "excerpt": "Things I use the private inference machine on my local network for: - Running queries on bank transaction data to figure out our home budget, savings and spending rates, etc. I don't want this data in the hands of AI companies. - Joplin note-taking app LLM integration for searching, creating, summarizing notes. This is my private notebook and I don't want it leaking. - Termux based phone assistant. I can use voice to", "context": "", "use_case": "private notes with LLM", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 800254641, "item_id": 50015915, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50015915", "by": "chr15m", "date": "2026-10-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "transcribes and adds to my Joplin notebook on my laptop", "excerpt": "I have so much personal automation and small web apps running on my VPS, laptop, and on my phone it's hard to know where to start. - laptop, phone (termux), Linux VPS, and home inference machine can all see each other on the same Wireguard network via the VPS. - Todo list web app for our family shopping list. Used daily for many years now. - Personal daily updating dashboard with important numbers I care about, life ", "context": "home tinkerer", "use_case": "notes and blog pipeline", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}]}, {"label": "Self-hosting", "summary": "Commenters run Joplin sync or hosting on their own servers.", "quotes": [{"id": 800190513, "item_id": 50011907, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50011907", "by": "0x262d", "date": "2026-10-08", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I will probably move my Joplin and Wallabag hosting there soon, currently paying for both.", "excerpt": "I use the free-tier Oracle server, but: Nextcloud. Minecraft server. I will probably move my Joplin and Wallabag hosting there soon, currently paying for both. I tried running a Valheim server there, but ran into bugs emulating it with FEX, unfortunately.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking hosting", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 800253891, "item_id": 50015868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50015868", "by": "jo-m", "date": "2026-10-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "- Joplin notes sync webdav server", "excerpt": "- Syncthing - Readeck (bookmarks) - Traggo (time tracking) - Joplin notes sync webdav server - Cartomancer (GPX tracks) And some other small personal tools. https://github.com/jo-m/fluffy/tree/main/fluffy", "context": "", "use_case": "notes sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 746107794, "item_id": 46631737, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46631737", "by": "31337Logic", "date": "2026-01-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Joplin to journal my vacation (which then synchs to my home network).", "excerpt": "I love Organic Maps for offline navigation and exploration. They even download wiki articles about popular tourist attractions! The other app I use is Briar for communications. It's surprisingly handy. You can use it on existing wifi networks but also mesh your own network with Bluetooth. Joplin to journal my vacation (which then synchs to my home network). Oh, and of course Wireguard!", "context": "", "use_case": "travel journal", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What travel apps do you use while traveling?"}]}, {"label": "Daily driver", "summary": "One commenter uses it daily and says it does most of what Obsidian does.", "quotes": [{"id": 764128096, "item_id": 47758006, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47758006", "by": "saxelsen", "date": "2026-04-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Shout out to Joplin (https://joplinapp.org/), which I use on a daily basis.", "excerpt": "Shout out to Joplin (https://joplinapp.org/), which I use on a daily basis. It does most of what Obsidian does but has a free sync version where you just use your cloud drive as the storage. The main thing missing, from what I've found, is that it does do the \"notes mind map\". But I never really found that useful.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking with cloud drive sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "An Introduction to Obsidian"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Complexity", "summary": "Some find it too complicated, bloated, or over-engineered for simple note-taking.", "quotes": [{"id": 786470224, "item_id": 49154389, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49154389", "by": "lilerjee", "date": "2026-08-03", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I found they are too complicated, bloated, not easy to organize notes", "excerpt": "I used Joplin, Sphinx doc for many years ago, but I don't use them recently. I found they are too complicated, bloated, not easy to organize notes, not easy to access across devices, not flexible, no manual sorting, etc. I like simple, concise, flexible and practical note-taking or bookmark management app. So I have created my own note-taking app Metaessen [1] for 2+ years. Now I am just using my own app and pure tex", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Note-Taking and Personal Knowledge Management"}, {"id": 734393313, "item_id": 45899582, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45899582", "by": "NoboruWataya", "date": "2025-11-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Joplin to keep notes and already I feel like that is an over-engineered solution", "excerpt": "Personally, being somewhat technically inclined I find there is rarely much of a reason to pay for the ongoing use of software. The large majority of software I use is open source and self-hostable. The JetBrains IDEs are good enough that I would consider paying for them, if programming was my livelihood (and I didn't have an employer to pay for them). But programming is just a hobby for me so I'm not inclined to pay", "context": "hobby programmer", "use_case": "note taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "You will own nothing and be (un)happy"}]}, {"label": "Organization limits", "summary": "One former user found notes hard to organize, with no manual sorting and awkward cross-device access.", "quotes": [{"id": 786470224, "item_id": 49154389, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49154389", "by": "lilerjee", "date": "2026-08-03", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I found they are too complicated, bloated, not easy to organize notes", "excerpt": "I used Joplin, Sphinx doc for many years ago, but I don't use them recently. I found they are too complicated, bloated, not easy to organize notes, not easy to access across devices, not flexible, no manual sorting, etc. I like simple, concise, flexible and practical note-taking or bookmark management app. So I have created my own note-taking app Metaessen [1] for 2+ years. Now I am just using my own app and pure tex", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Note-Taking and Personal Knowledge Management"}]}, {"label": "File format", "summary": "One commenter switched to Obsidian because its file format is more open than Joplin's.", "quotes": [{"id": 770978529, "item_id": 48186158, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48186158", "by": "humanfromearth9", "date": "2026-05-18", "stance": "compare", "quote": "its file format is definitely more open than Joplin's.", "excerpt": "Obsidian may not be open source, but its file format is definitely more open than Joplin's. Which is why I switched to it. Synchronizing with Syncthing works well enough both on desktops and smartphones.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Files.md \u2013 open-source alternative to Obsidian"}]}, {"label": "Sync merges", "summary": "One commenter does not think Joplin attempts automatic file merges during sync.", "quotes": [{"id": 764142163, "item_id": 47758885, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47758885", "by": "philips", "date": "2026-04-13", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I don't think any of the popular alternatives like logseq or joplin even attempt to do automatic file merges", "excerpt": "I love Obsidian, have written a popular plugin, and my wife and I use it for TODO lists and various planning. However, every few weeks the official Obsidian sync makes an absolute mess of our shopping list (which has fairly frequent edits and deletions across our laptops and phones). I have no idea how to fix it. This thread shows other users having the exact same issue as us: https://forum.obsidian.md/t/obsidian-syn", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "An Introduction to Obsidian"}]}], "who": [{"by": "chr15m", "context": "home tinkerer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50015915", "date": "2026-10-09"}, {"by": "NoboruWataya", "context": "hobby programmer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45899582", "date": "2025-11-12"}], "tags": ["for Evernote switchers", "self-hostable", "for privacy-minded users", "for tinkerers and automation"], "use_cases": ["note-taking", "private notes with llm", "notes and blog pipeline", "notes sync", "note-taking hosting", "notes"], "compared": [{"slug": "evernote", "name": "Evernote", "co": 3, "switched_from": 3, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "obsidian", "name": "Obsidian", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "wireguard", "name": "WireGuard", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "syncthing", "name": "Syncthing", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49985548", "title": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47729694", "title": "An Introduction to Obsidian", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50273171", "title": "Emacs Turns 50", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50062076", "title": "\"Today we're laying off a large part of the Airtable team \"", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49084324", "title": "Note-Taking and Personal Knowledge Management", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48799966", "title": "What is Bending Spoons? The little-known AOL and Vimeo owner that's now public", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1, "compare": 1}, "2026-05": {"compare": 1}, "2026-06": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {"warn": 1}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"neutral": 4, "recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 804385511, "item_id": 50274094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50274094", "by": "cyrialize", "date": "2026-10-28", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I sometimes venture out to other apps (like Joplin, Obsidian, Apple Notes, Apple Reminders, etc)", "excerpt": "About 10+ years ago I found a guide on Helm [0] and a guide on Org-mode [1] when I was just getting into Emacs. This helped me move on from using Spacemacs to making my own configuration. I no longer use Helm (I'm doing Vertico/Orderless/Consult), but I've stuck with Org-mode since then. I sometimes venture out to other apps (like Joplin, Obsidian, Apple Notes, Apple Reminders, etc), but Org-mode just works best for ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Emacs Turns 50"}, {"id": 801056336, "item_id": 50066021, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50066021", "by": "lubujackson", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin", "excerpt": "I finally switched from Evernote to Joplin after I got an email saying my (absurd) $149 annual subscription was going to switch to a $249 one. Spent a half hour picking Joplin, configuring OneDrive as the sync DB and finding and running a backup script that let me dump and reload a decade of notebooks. Then I went to finally cancel the beautiful app they destroyed with greed, only to see that the previous tier of pri", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "\"Today we're laying off a large part of the Airtable team \""}, {"id": 800824064, "item_id": 50051504, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50051504", "by": "chr15m", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Joplin note-taking app LLM integration for searching, creating, summarizing notes.", "excerpt": "Things I use the private inference machine on my local network for: - Running queries on bank transaction data to figure out our home budget, savings and spending rates, etc. I don't want this data in the hands of AI companies. - Joplin note-taking app LLM integration for searching, creating, summarizing notes. This is my private notebook and I don't want it leaking. - Termux based phone assistant. I can use voice to", "context": "", "use_case": "private notes with LLM", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 800254641, "item_id": 50015915, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50015915", "by": "chr15m", "date": "2026-10-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "transcribes and adds to my Joplin notebook on my laptop", "excerpt": "I have so much personal automation and small web apps running on my VPS, laptop, and on my phone it's hard to know where to start. - laptop, phone (termux), Linux VPS, and home inference machine can all see each other on the same Wireguard network via the VPS. - Todo list web app for our family shopping list. Used daily for many years now. - Personal daily updating dashboard with important numbers I care about, life ", "context": "home tinkerer", "use_case": "notes and blog pipeline", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 800253891, "item_id": 50015868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50015868", "by": "jo-m", "date": "2026-10-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "- Joplin notes sync webdav server", "excerpt": "- Syncthing - Readeck (bookmarks) - Traggo (time tracking) - Joplin notes sync webdav server - Cartomancer (GPX tracks) And some other small personal tools. https://github.com/jo-m/fluffy/tree/main/fluffy", "context": "", "use_case": "notes sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 800190513, "item_id": 50011907, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50011907", "by": "0x262d", "date": "2026-10-08", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I will probably move my Joplin and Wallabag hosting there soon, currently paying for both.", "excerpt": "I use the free-tier Oracle server, but: Nextcloud. Minecraft server. I will probably move my Joplin and Wallabag hosting there soon, currently paying for both. I tried running a Valheim server there, but ran into bugs emulating it with FEX, unfortunately.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking hosting", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"}, {"id": 786470224, "item_id": 49154389, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49154389", "by": "lilerjee", "date": "2026-08-03", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I found they are too complicated, bloated, not easy to organize notes", "excerpt": "I used Joplin, Sphinx doc for many years ago, but I don't use them recently. I found they are too complicated, bloated, not easy to organize notes, not easy to access across devices, not flexible, no manual sorting, etc. I like simple, concise, flexible and practical note-taking or bookmark management app. So I have created my own note-taking app Metaessen [1] for 2+ years. Now I am just using my own app and pure tex", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Note-Taking and Personal Knowledge Management"}, {"id": 781567905, "item_id": 48847994, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847994", "by": "ethagnawl", "date": "2026-07-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I migrated to Joplin, stopped paying for my obscenely expensive plan ($$$ per year) and haven't looked back.", "excerpt": "Whatever they are, they let Evernote devolve into a buggy pile of crap -- especially on Android. I migrated to Joplin, stopped paying for my obscenely expensive plan ($$$ per year) and haven't looked back.", "context": "", "use_case": "notes", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "What is Bending Spoons? The little-known AOL and Vimeo owner that's now public"}, {"id": 776251232, "item_id": 48515702, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48515702", "by": "stavros", "date": "2026-06-13", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Joplin with a small script I wrote.", "excerpt": "This isn't so much of a blog post, though. For this format, I like keeping a notes site (mine is at https://notes.stavros.io/), where I publish small tips and things I want to remember, and figure someone else might need at some point. I use Joplin with a small script I wrote.", "context": "", "use_case": "notes site publishing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Using the Epson Perfection V39 II Scanner on Ubuntu"}, {"id": 770978529, "item_id": 48186158, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48186158", "by": "humanfromearth9", "date": "2026-05-18", "stance": "compare", "quote": "its file format is definitely more open than Joplin's.", "excerpt": "Obsidian may not be open source, but its file format is definitely more open than Joplin's. Which is why I switched to it. Synchronizing with Syncthing works well enough both on desktops and smartphones.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Files.md \u2013 open-source alternative to Obsidian"}, {"id": 764142163, "item_id": 47758885, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47758885", "by": "philips", "date": "2026-04-13", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I don't think any of the popular alternatives like logseq or joplin even attempt to do automatic file merges", "excerpt": "I love Obsidian, have written a popular plugin, and my wife and I use it for TODO lists and various planning. However, every few weeks the official Obsidian sync makes an absolute mess of our shopping list (which has fairly frequent edits and deletions across our laptops and phones). I have no idea how to fix it. This thread shows other users having the exact same issue as us: https://forum.obsidian.md/t/obsidian-syn", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "An Introduction to Obsidian"}, {"id": 764128096, "item_id": 47758006, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47758006", "by": "saxelsen", "date": "2026-04-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Shout out to Joplin (https://joplinapp.org/), which I use on a daily basis.", "excerpt": "Shout out to Joplin (https://joplinapp.org/), which I use on a daily basis. It does most of what Obsidian does but has a free sync version where you just use your cloud drive as the storage. The main thing missing, from what I've found, is that it does do the \"notes mind map\". But I never really found that useful.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking with cloud drive sync", "switched_from": "", "story": "An Introduction to Obsidian"}, {"id": 749296288, "item_id": 46831018, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46831018", "by": "octorian", "date": "2026-01-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I actually use Joplin, which I switched to after deciding I needed to dump Evernote.", "excerpt": "Do I hoard notes/links? Yes. Do I struggle to turn them into actions? No. Do I struggle to keep them organized for later reference? All the time. Do I use Obsidian? No. I actually use Joplin, which I switched to after deciding I needed to dump Evernote. And before then (and somewhat simultaneously with), I used a pile of disorganized text files (sometimes shared via DropBox).", "context": "", "use_case": "notes and links", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "Ask HN: Do you also \"hoard\" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?"}, {"id": 746107794, "item_id": 46631737, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46631737", "by": "31337Logic", "date": "2026-01-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Joplin to journal my vacation (which then synchs to my home network).", "excerpt": "I love Organic Maps for offline navigation and exploration. They even download wiki articles about popular tourist attractions! The other app I use is Briar for communications. It's surprisingly handy. You can use it on existing wifi networks but also mesh your own network with Bluetooth. Joplin to journal my vacation (which then synchs to my home network). Oh, and of course Wireguard!", "context": "", "use_case": "travel journal", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What travel apps do you use while traveling?"}, {"id": 734393313, "item_id": 45899582, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45899582", "by": "NoboruWataya", "date": "2025-11-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Joplin to keep notes and already I feel like that is an over-engineered solution", "excerpt": "Personally, being somewhat technically inclined I find there is rarely much of a reason to pay for the ongoing use of software. The large majority of software I use is open source and self-hostable. The JetBrains IDEs are good enough that I would consider paying for them, if programming was my livelihood (and I didn't have an employer to pay for them). But programming is just a hobby for me so I'm not inclined to pay", "context": "hobby programmer", "use_case": "note taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "You will own nothing and be (un)happy"}]}