Linux

Have you already tried one of the best note taking apps on Linux?

Markus

Dec 26, 2023 — 3 min read

Note taking apps are some of the simplest things. There's a whole bunch of them on every known platform. Even on calculators!

But let's get to the point. There are a few criteria I need in a good note taking app.

Markdown support. It's a simple formatting format that's widely used.
File based. I don't want to be vendor locked to a database scheme. I want to be able to freely move my notes elsewhere and use them instantly.
Cross-platform syncing, so I could use it on the go on my phone as well
Design. While not really as prioritized, having some eye candy doesn't hurt.

The answer to these criteria? Iotas.

Why Iotas?

Iotas is a Linux note taking app. It does a lot of stuff other note taking apps do. However, there are a few features that stand out from its competitors.

It keeps you focused

It's very simplistic, but it's part of the charm. You open it up and see your most recent notes. Once you start a new note, you're granted a blank slate. You're only limited by how much you know Markdown, as it's essentially a WYSIWYG editor (What You See Is What You Get).

It's actually quite similar to another app - Apostrophe. I find that both do the job very well, and so they're quite even here.

What I like about the simplicity is it negates the bugs stemmed from complexity. I used to use Paper, another note taking app with a gorgeous design. However, it's the bugs that finally hammered the final nail in the coffin.

I've yet to encounter a single bug in Iotas. And I've used it for over a year now.

It makes your notes portable

Have you heard of Nextcloud? It's essentially a massive replacement for Google's ecosystem. Mail, Drive, notes and so on. I don't use it much though, as I find the UI clunky and slow to load.

However, Nextcloud has a dedicated Notes app for your phone. It's fast.

What's awesome is that Iotas syncs your notes to NextCoud very very well. I may be taking notes on my computer and then using them elsewhere on my phone, or vice-versa. It also keeps the general Markdown formatting in sync, making everything nice and organized.

Get started

Iotas is available on Flathub, so it's compatible with all Linux distributions with Flatpak support.

Stay tuned for my NextCloud hosting guide. This way you're completely in control of your notes.

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