It looks like the Automators crew has settled on Obsidian as the note taking, zettlekasten, and all-around personal knowledge tool for now. I’m looking to make the leap, but Joplin is still out there, beckoning me with its FOSS model. How does The Collective here feel about the pro/con on these two tools?
My brief take
- Obsidian’s best feature is its use of plain text files, whereas Joplin uses a database to hold & sync notes, and requires you to “sync” to a local filesystem path if you want the files.
- Joplin stores its metadata using database internals, whereas Obsidian uses YAML frontmatter.
- Joplin seems to have more built-in features, but obsidian seems to have more plugins.
- Joplin seems to talk to more file & note sync services.
I’m guessing the first two are the big items, right? Being able to access markdown files directly, and having the metadata stored in plain text in each markdown file makes working on that pice of information easier, and also accessible by other programs like DEVONThink.
I guess I’ve made my own argument to go with Obsidian, despite my desires to stick with FOSS tools wherever possible. Are there any Joplin fans who have a different view?