Whether you need to note down your thoughts, organize your daily plans, record activities when on the go, etc., using pen and paper is not the most convenient way anymore. There is a variety of lightweight digital tools, known as journal applications, available on the market. For Linux, you can find a journal app for any purpose.
We’ve compiled a list of the top-5 journal apps for collecting, storing and sharing information that can run on the Linux operating system.
What is a journal application?
A journal application is specialized software used for organizing daily activities, recording moments essential for the user, and in general getting rid of informational chaos. It can be a significant working tool that can help you arrange the workflow, or a personal assistant for your private usage. If you need a custom journal solution, turn to a software services company, and they will develop it in compliance with your business requirements. Otherwise, you can select from a variety of ready-made journal applications.
Top-5 journal apps for Linux
The list includes five best journaling applications running on Linux, but actually, there are many more options to choose from.
1. Joplin
Joplin is one of the best applications for taking notes. It has desktop, mobile and terminal versions and is compatible only with Linux, but also with Windows, Android and iOS operating systems. If necessary, you can synchronize notes taken in Joplin between devices and with third-party services, such as OneDrive. The program is free, but it offers a rich set of features.
Using Joplin, you can save almost anything, from simple lists to copies of web pages. In the panel on the left, you can select notebooks, they have a tree structure. In the middle block there is a list of notes, and on the right is a window for viewing and editing. You can sort notes by several criteria: title, update time, etc. The data is available on the devices even without the internet connection. Joplin offers geolocation and multilingual support, which makes records even more convenient and accurate.
2. RedNotebook
RedNotebook is a simple and convenient program that can be used as an organizer or as a diary. In the program, you can create your own entries for each calendar day, view and edit the existing notes. The app supports text formatting, inserting images, inserting links to files. You can also insert ready-made templates into the text.
For each entry, you can add tags. Moreover, when you write your notes, the program automatically generates a cloud of words that you use (similar to a cloud of tags). The RedNotebook interface is quite simple. The main window is divided into three parts. On the left, there is a calendar, a tag cloud, a word cloud and a search bar. On the right, there is a list of tags for the record you are viewing. And in the center, there is the text itself. RedNotebook supports exporting notes to HTML, Latex, PDF and plain text files. In addition, you can create a backup copy of your notes, and it is saved as a .zip archive.
The RedNotebook app is available for Linux, Windows, macOS X. There is also a portable version of the program that does not require installation.
3. Boost Note
Boost Note is a great journaling application for programmers. Although each user should purchase an individual subscription, as a result, you get a common workspace for exchanging ideas. You can have several notebooks, and for each make your own list of users.
You can also synchronize Boost Note with various services, for example, you can get requests from GitHub. The program itself also has version control, and the syntax highlighting is available for many programming languages. This application is available for major operating systems such as Linux, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Arch Linux.
4. Lifeograph
Lifeograph has a simple interface: a toolbar at the top that displays some options; tags you’ve added to entries in the sidebar on the left; the editor interface for the current note; a sidebar on the right that displays notes sorted by date; and a calendar at the bottom.
Lifeograph allows you to add clickable URLs to your recordings, which is useful for research and reference purposes.
5. TagSpaces
TagSpaces is not an ordinary file manager app. In addition to the standard methods of working with files, it offers the use of tags and color labels for searching, filtering and grouping. Thus, you can group files very flexibly, make selections of files from different places in a couple of clicks, and much more.
There are both traditional and smart tags, which can automatically apply the appropriate date and geolocation to your note. Notes can be saved in the HTML and MD formats.