HelixNotes is completely free, open source, with no bloat. Your notes should be yours.
So we made sure they are. https://helixnotes.com/
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Seems quite good - I’ve tried a LOT of MarkDown editors over the years, but until quite recently, I’d stuck with Zettlr for a long time. I’ve recently reinstalled my laptop, which made me look for alternatives to some software, and I’ve been playing round with MarkText for the last few days, which seems nice.
HelixNotes is definitely good - if I had to drop MarkText, I think I could get on well with it. I like that they have a debian repository, so I can keep it updated with the usual system update software. I downloaded the AppImage as a quick test, but it didn’t work because it was compiled against an old version of glibc.
The only thing I don’t like so far is the format toolbar is at the bottom of the editor screen, and I haven’t found a way to move it.
Looks like a cool project, anyone here try it and have an elivator pitch on why this over Joplin?
Is this obsidian2?
Looks cool… but as an Obsidian user, i’m uncertain as to the depth of the differentiators. Open source sure, but obsidian has served me well and is lightning fast to open even with all core plug-ins enabled plus several community plug-ins. Nearly all of which are optional anyway.
Obsidian also has quite a moat in terms of third-party functionality enhancements with very feature rich examples like Xcalidraw.
They also offer an end to end encrypted synchronization service that works better than file based synchronization services like iCloud, and a publish service that also works well.
No casting of aspersions, but as a former fortune 500 decision-maker for enterprise software in the millions, I have a tendency to critically think about why X vs Y for my personal stack as well. Counterpoints welcome!
Enshitification.
If they were really committed to keeping it “for the users” they would open source it.
The fact that they haven’t means they are keeping in their back pockets enshitification to drive more users to paid options in case their current investment dries up.
I love FOSS and Obsidian is literally the only close-sourced software in my stack, but open source is not necessary to prevent enshittification, not if you have interoperability. As long as data is stored in md files, if the obsidian team makes bad moves people can pack up and migrate to logseq or other competitors. While the 3rd party plugins add enhancements that might bog down switching, many of those plugins are open source and could be ported.
Was AI used in the process of making this app, and if so, how? I have personal issues with using ‘vibe-coded’ software. This looks very, very nice, so I figured I’d ask.
Thanks for asking. Yes, we use AI as a tool in our workflow. The difference between our workflow and ‘vibe coding’ is that we can catch and fix problems. We’re not just shipping whatever an AI produces and hoping it works.
If - hypothetically - you were trying to convince me that this is better than Notesnook, what would your pitch be?
Since you’re using Notesnook, I’m guessing you strongly care about your privacy and data security. Notesnook encrypts your notes before they leave which is great, but with HelixNotes, there’s nothing to intercept in the first place. Your notes live on your device. You decide if they ever go anywhere. In addition to that, HelixNotes is free with no account creation.
I guess I should specify that I’m selfhosting Notesnook, so the data never leaves my personal device ecosystem, and the central sync server is a big plus for me. No account required either (apart from the ones I create on the server I control).
Is there an option to make check boxes for shopping lists? I cant find one.
Edit - yes there is. I found it.
Is this the Google Keep replacement we’ve all been waiting for?
Naw no decent widget on android
This looks like the slightly less bloated Logseq/Obsidian I’ve been dying for!
Genuinely curious what bloat does Obsidian come with? But yeah my first thought too was FOSS Obsidian
Electron runtime in general. It seems all of the popular cross platform note taking / knowledge garden apps are electron.
I long so much for a native version that I started learning QTQuick to do just this.
Please, please, add forgejo integration for sync provider.
Oh, hey, I saw your repo is stall for months and I thought your project go south. So you finally satisfied with your gui speed after rewritten? Good to see you make it, congrats. Already find a job? You should really design a good plugin sys with py, to expand more interactive data type. Let me know if you want to hear more.
Just downloaded it and opened it and the first thing it does is to ask me for a “notes folder” with .md files, which I don’t have. I just wanted to try it by writing notes.
Try creating a blank folder and open it that way. Does it let you in after that?
Excellent. Thank you. But using an online AI provider to me seems against the stated goals. I know online is the preferred option for most people, but you should provide them alongside connecting to a local server.
It says it supports ollama (local)
AI Actions
Improve writing, summarize, translate. Runs locally with Ollama, or use your own API key. Your data stays yours.
Nice to see a Tauri app around here !
I’ve been using Joplin on my phone and laptop with WebDAV sync to my NAS. Have plans to update to Joplin server so can share notes with the Baroness.
Iirc Joplin has a Nextcloud plugin so Nextcloud can be the self hosted cloud storage. I’ve been meaning to set it up
As someone who used NC with Joplin for a long time, I wouldn’t recommend it. I prefer syncthing now, much simpler to manage and find your files vs it being nested in a big clunky NC instance.
I’ve using Joplin for more than a year now and it’s awesome.
i upgraded to using Joplin from my old notes app that was not as robust.
i absolutely love Joplin and it’s really great for organization as well.
simple and effective.
Been using Joplin with self hosted server for years and it’s been great. It’s not the prettiest app, but it’s been the stickiest for my needs.
