Hi I wanted to know if anyone here is using Standard Notes (https://standardnotes.com/) as their daily driver for taking notes.
Is it fully open source (the server and the client)? How well does it work for note-taking?
I looked at it and did some reading of others experiences, and it looked like a huge pain. I opted for Joplin and haven’t looked back. I self host Joplin server for sync via docker and it’s rock solid.
I love that the client is available on any platform. Is the client a little ugly, and clunky? Yes, but for me it’s not so ugly and clunky that I’ll give up a fully open source self hosted e2ee notes solution.
I’ve been self hosting Joplin in some form for something like six years. Once a year or so I scope out the other options and as of yet I haven’t found another notes solution that I’m willing to switch to.
My solution is Silverbullet.md on web, syncthing + native markdown editor (Markor on Android). - yes sincthing is still very well alive on android, there is at least one android client still actively developed AFAIK.
Because Joplin is (IMHO) slow and does not store notes in plain markdown but its own format, even if it’s called .MD, it’s not markdown.
Also, silverbullet.md is really something unique, worth trying even if a bit more nerdy.
Joplin is a better way to go.
To add to this, I have tried Obsidian notes which is super highly recommended by many. I also have tried self hosting Bookstack for logging my notes etc… But every time I tried it, nothing ever matched what I could do with Joplin which was exactly as what other said, rock solid and I have yet to run into any device which can’t handle the client. I will say that the launch time on the one on my machine (Arch Linux) is a bit slow, but after it’s launched, it’s very easy to bring up and use as needed. :)
What was wrong with obsidian?
The self hosted live sync plugin has been rock solid between my windows, Linux and android clients.
I used to use Standard Notes for a while (didn’t self-host the server) but for various reasons switched over to Joplin, syncing the data between devices with Syncthing.
I did for a while but they made it such a pain to use it that way, so I ditched it and went back to Joplin.
For example, Standard notes was working fine, then one day an update broke my self-hosted setup. When I finally fixed it (it took days), I noticed the editors I used no longer worked either. I got tired of fixing and fighting to keep it working.
Joplin’s editor sucks (on mac), but at least the app reliably stays working and syncing.
