Are you somebody who units objectives and meets deadlines usually on account of unbalanced schedules or who must take notes to your research or analysis however is apprehensive about your privateness whereas utilizing any random app? You’ll be shocked to find out about some feature-packed open-source purposes that tackle your wants.
Often, the code of any note-taking app is proprietary and hid; you don’t see how the creator or the group makes use of your knowledge. However some software program or purposes make their supply publicly accessible; anybody can learn, modify and improve it.
Advantages of Open Supply Word-Taking Software program
- A lot of the open-source not taking software program supply options like wealthy textual content, creating spreadsheets, markdown assist, monitoring schedules, and knowledge sync.
- Some apps enable saving photographs and audio and even taking notes handwritten notes and turning them digital utilizing text-recognition software program.
- Whereas a closed supply prices extra and has zero transparency, open-source software program is cheaper and has extra flexibility, high quality, and safety.
We’ll focus on the very best open-source note-taking apps that can assist you keep organized:
Joplin
Joplin is a free-to-use, open-source note-taking software program with a wonderful Person Interface. The creator of this app, Laurent Cozic, made this app to make exporting notes simpler and to entry them securely in a number of methods. This app might be your best option for individuals who do numerous analysis and need to hold their notes organized in a single place.
Key Options:
- It can save you photographs, pdf information, math expressions and diagrams, and even audio information as notes with Joplin.
- Joplin helps the Wealthy Textual content or Markdown to retailer notes, making it completely readable.
- It comes with Net Clipper, saving any internet web page with a single click on.
- You’ll be able to entry your notes out of your pc, cellphone, or pill by synchronizing with numerous cloud providers like Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
- Joplin helps sharing notes with an URL.
- It gives end-to-end encryption to forestall knowledge breaching.
- Joplin is accessible on Home windows, IOS, macOS, Linux, and Android.
- It’s fully ad-free and light-weight.
It is a wonderful piece of software program that can make you’re keen on taking notes with its wide selection of options.
Memos
Memos is a self-hosted, free, open-source note-taking app specializing in privateness, safety, and reliability. The creators of the Memos app used a mixture of Go, React.js, and SQLite structure, making it light-weight too. They declare to maintain it free eternally and received’t cost a penny in any type.
Key Options:
- Its privacy-focused strategy is the primary function that differentiates it from different apps.
- It saves all of the notes in plain notes and never in HTML; it additionally helps many markdown syntaxes.
- Its total package deal is light-weight.
- You’ll be able to customise the server identify, icon, description, customized system model, execution script, and extra.
- All of the codes of Memos are available on GitHub, making it really open supply.
Memos might be an unparallel decide if you wish to strive an entire open-source note-taking app.
Logseq
Logseq is one other privacy-focused app like Memos that gives tags and wiki-style hyperlinks as a substitute of a folder construction to retailer notes. You’ll be able to simply create a documentation yard of your ideas and duties and make them future-proof with Logseq. The app is fully free to make use of; nonetheless, it accepts donations.
Key Options:
- Logseq gives Linked Searchj, Queries, and Search to evaluate and retrieve your notes.
- It options Flashcards that aid you to memorize issues.
- You’ll be able to define your ideas and concepts utilizing Block References with Logseq.
- As a researcher, you’ll be able to hold monitor of your sources utilizing built-in Zotero integration.
- Logseq’s built-in process administration system manages duties, together with priorities, scheduling, and deadlines.
- To create your wiki, you’ll be able to construction info and search it again utilizing Properties, Namespaces, Linked References, and Queries.
- Logseq is accessible on MacOS and Home windows; the cellular model will come out quickly too.
- It gives 150+ plug-ins and 50+ these that make it extremely customizable.
- You’ll be able to entry your notes offline.
If you’re in search of a private information administration app, Logseq is a worthy choice to advocate, and it doesn’t price you something.
Customary Notes
Customary Notes is an all-in-one answer for taking notes, organizing information, and storing them securely. This piece of software program is a privateness king that gives an additional layer of safety. It means that you can sync your notes throughout your gadgets and entry them seamlessly.
Key Options:
- Customary Notes gives XChaCha20-Poly1305 end-to-end encryption, one of many strongest types of encryption obtainable. You’ll be able to defend your word with passcodes to entry them.
- It gives paid plans providing Two-Issue Authentication, nightly e mail, and cloud backup to your account, enhancing safety.
- You’ll be able to create nested folders from tags you may have used in your notes.
- It options pinning essential notes and archiving to put aside.
- It gives to import and export notes with ease.
- It’s obtainable on iOS, Android, internet browsers, macOS (Intel), macOS (Apple Silicon), Home windows, and Linux. So syncing throughout gadgets is simple with Customary Notes.
Customary Notes locations Privateness on the prime. Its free normal plan has sufficient juice to satisfy your note-taking wants.
Notabase
Notabase is a free, dependable note-taking software program that lets you construct a private information base by connecting your information and forming concepts. You’ll be able to hyperlink your different notes with them everytime you take notes to make your thought extra highly effective. It’s designed for individuals who take notes often and wish a excessive stage of group.
Key Options:
- It has options like inside hyperlinks, tags, hashtags, and nesting notes to prepare. You by no means lose or discover it laborious to seek out any info you famous with Notabase.
- It includes a clutter-free UI with a tree-view file browser and split-pane home windows.
- It gives a WYSIWYG editor that makes writing and modifying notes simple.
- It’s really open supply with a public roadmap.
- You’ll be able to sync your notes to the cloud and entry them on a number of gadgets.
- It options importing and exporting notes anytime.
Notabase is a wonderful selection for writing paperwork or managing initiatives. It might additionally assist summarize and write journals or manuals.
Notesnook
Notesnook is one other easy, safe, end-to-end encrypted app that lets you jot down notes, set reminders, and entry them throughout the platforms with its user-friendly UI. The app obtained open-sourced just lately within the final quarter of 2022.
Key Options:
- Notesnook has the uncommon XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2 military-grade encryption algorithms that make it uncompromising concerning privateness.
- With options like word locking, PDF exports, group by way of notebooks, subjects & tags, word sharing with Monograph, embedding photographs and movies to the word, making a to-do checklist, including hyperlinks and tables, markdown editor, and extra Notesnook is a powerful and highly effective note-taking app.
- You’ll be able to coloration your notes with one faucet.
- It means that you can export notes in PDF, HTML, Markdown, and Plain Textual content codecs.
- You’ll be able to create and restore backups and set automated backups.
- It gives a darkish mode that helps in taking notes at night time.
You’ll be able to obtain and set up it free of charge; it gives a professional model at $6.99 per 30 days.
Simplenote
If you’re in search of a minimal, simple, open-source note-taking app, Simplenote is a superb possibility. You’ll be able to depend it as a substitute for a hardcopy pocket book. In contrast to different note-taking apps, it’s primary in nature by supporting solely textual content notes. However being primary is its primary power; it makes the app uncluttered and distraction-free.
Key Options:
- It gives a easy UI that anybody can study to navigate very quickly.
- You’ll be able to sync and again up your notes throughout your gadgets.
- Sharing any instruction or to-do checklist, publishing your content material to the net, or sharing it with an URL is elementary with Simplenote.
- It gives options like tagging, key phrase highlighting, markdown formatting, fast looking out with tags, and extra.
- You’ll be able to pin your notes and defend them with a passcode.
- Simplenote is accessible on all main platforms, equivalent to IOS, Android, MacOS, Home windows, and Linux.
Simplenote is totally free to make use of.
QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is open-source, plain-text notepad that’s fully free. It gives markdown choices and lots of different superior choices to jot down your notes and manage them simply.
Key Options:
- You’ll be able to import your notes from Evernote and Joplin utilizing QOwnNotes.
- It helps Nextcloud and ownCloud integration to sync your content material throughout a number of gadgets. Alongside, you’ll be able to share, again up, and get better your notes utilizing cloud servers.
- You’ll be able to customise the interface.
- QOwnNotes is written in C++ and well-optimized.
- It gives a spellchecker to appropriate spellings and a browser extension so as to add notes from any webpage, take screenshots and handle bookmarks.
- It comes with scripting assist.
- It gives darkish mode.
- Utilizing your cellular, you should utilize the QOwnNotes internet app to insert photographs in your word.
- It’s obtainable in 60 completely different languages.
- It’s obtainable for FreeBSD, Linux, MacOS, and Home windows.
General, being a plain-text note-taking app QOwnNotes helps manage neatly. The functionalities of this app make it a much better various.
μPad
μPad is a sophisticated, markdown-based, open-source note-taking software program that gives clean group of all of your notes. Considered one of its distinctive choices is that it means that you can take handwritten notes and make sketches. This can be a light-weight but highly effective various.
Key Options:
- μPad gives a white canvas to attract sketches, do handwriting and take notes seamlessly.
- Fast Hashtags and due dates make organizing your notes easy.
- It helps Markdown Editor.
- It means that you can import your notes from Evernote. You’ll be able to import markdown information too.
- It gives to sync your content material throughout gadgets with server-side AES-256 encryption.
- You’ll be able to share your notes.
- It means that you can embed pdf information in your notes.
- It comes with client-side end-to-end encryption to take care of privateness.
- μPad app is accessible for Home windows, macOS, Linux, and any internet browser.
All these options come freed from price with μPad.
Laverna
Laverna is a sturdy JaavaScript open-source app that comes with a Markdown Editor. It includes a easy and clear UI. It gives a number of options that cater to all of your related wants.
Key Options:
- It gives a Markdown Editor that lets you take notes quicker with its dwell markdown preview.
- It means that you can set tags to your notes to handle your notes effectively.
- It includes a distraction-free mode that offers you a tidy expertise shifting the main focus fully on taking notes.
- It gives code highlighting to spotlight any piece of code.
- You don’t have to register to make use of Laverna. You’ll be able to hold the anonymity and nonetheless use the app.
- It gives Dropbox & RemoteStorage account integration and means that you can entry your content material on any gadget.
- It means that you can hold the notes to your self solely by enabling encryption.
- You’ll be able to export and import your notes.
Laverna is totally free to make use of.
Infamous
Infamous is one other new, offline-first, hierarchical open-source note-taking app constructed on GTK and python. It comes with a neatly designed UI which you’ll lead by your keyboard, and a minimal function set. Alongside taking notes in plain textual content, It gives a sophisticated Markdown Editor.
Key Options:
- It means that you can nest your notebooks and helps tags to prepare your content material higher.
- You’ll be able to create a number of varieties of notes, equivalent to Index Pages, Todo lists, Sticky Boards, and extra with Infamous.
- Infamous shops your notes regionally; you’ll be able to entry them even when offline and sync them as soon as you might be again on-line. It options auto-save.
- It optimizes productiveness by offering keyboard navigation, model management, and full-text search.
- It has a strong Markdown Editor with HyperMD to offer inline Markdown previews.
- It options instantaneous sync and saves immediately no matter you kind.
- The app is accessible on the Linux desktop and the net.
The app is totally free to make use of.
Closing Phrases
You’ll be able to’t go unsuitable selecting any of those apps we listed above; all of it depends upon what you’re in search of and which meets your necessities. All of those apps include distinctive options; we advocate you look intently at what every of them gives and check out some to get hands-on expertise to seek out the one which fits your necessities.
You may additionally discover prime note-taking apps and AI notes taking instruments to digitalize your notes.