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I spent several years looking for the perfect selfhosted solution to this, but ultimately I realized an offline solution was just going to be better. So I started using Obsidian which is as simple or complex as you want with no paywall.
Some of the self hosted solutions I’ve tried were:
I settled on obsidian really quickly as well. And now sync thing + tailscale + obsidian means I am done experimenting and things just work.
Interesting, I might check that out.
You can also get obsidian to sync using the guide here: https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/s/GegPIcBjFg. It's really good.
You might want to list the platform you want to use it on. I'm assuming that you're wanting to access this on a smartphone of some sort?
Ah good point. I edited my post! Android and Web (nice to have is desktop Linux support). Thank you!
I use Logseq with ToDoList plugin to handle task list. Logseq is similar to obsidian but open-source. And to syncronize notes among devices, I use syncthing. No need to selfhost.
+1 on all of this.
Logseq basically saved my mind when I took on a new job where I needed to take a lot of notes quickly, easily and keep track of all the ToDos.
Syncthing keeps my laptop and phone in sync (with my NAS) so I can start notes on my laptop and then finish on my phone.
You can definitely reorder checkboxes, but on Android it's still not quite a smooth experience, but it's ok.
I use Tasks.org with caldav (Radicale) on android and thunderbird on pc, would that work?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.tasks
I see tasks.org supports etesync, which encrypts data. I have never used it though
I also recommand Task.org app to sync tasks with CalDAV and I use raw Markdown files with WebDAV, both using the DAVx5 app for synchronization. For editing Markdown, I prefer minimalist apps that suit my needs. Right now, I find SimpleMarkdown (with disabled telemetry) to be the best choice.
SimpleMarkdown doesn't allow for re-ordering checkbox list items.
I already use Tasks.org :) But that's for specific things.
I like writing list of things. Like groceries, and as I write them, I tend to re-organize them. Having the ability to re-order the items easily helps me tremendously.
Tasks.org can't fill that note aspect. Let alone re-ordering a task.
I see 🙂
I used emacs org-mode before. Can do a lot of stuff on PC, but mobile experience was lacking. And learning curve is crazy
I am currently testing out logseq + syncthing. I don't reorder things much anymore though
Good luck!
Triliumnext can do everything you want. Its pretty damn powerful
Whoa. This actually works pretty close. Although, I am not seeing the ability to drag and drop re-order list items. Which is the big feature I want and need.
I am seeing in their github issues that CKEditor doesn't support it. Thanks for the suggestion though!
I use notesnook but I don't self host, just the app locally. It has an option to insert a task list into the note, and that has drag and drop reordering. It also encrypts at rest, and has text search. Hope that helps your decision.
Thanks! I had tested Notesnook with the official server. It worked the way I want. but it seems their self host server doesn't have that feature. Not obviously tho. Which is really weird, since I'm using the same client app (where I assumed this functionality would live).
That's a very specific and interesting exclusion, weird. Well sorry dude, best of luck finding something that works.
Others have mentioned Syncthing as a sync solution. I'd like to add a couple points:
Syncthing can work fine even for solutions that are intended to use their own sync, provided it's a single-user setup. You're not likely to make simultaneous changes on 2 devices, so collisions are unlikely.
Also for using Syncthing, I recommend Syncthing-Fork for Android - it moves sync conditions into the folder/job rather than global. Very useful when you have jobs you want always syncing, and jobs you want to only sync on wifi and power.
If using iOS there's an ST client called Möbius Sync ($5), developed by a company the financially supports Syncthing.
For Windows, get SyncTrayzor - it makes running and managing ST easier.
Hi quaff!
The app I use for this purpose is called Notally, on android. It supports reordering the checkboxes, but it doesn't do find in page or sync to web (although it can do backup /restore -- I sync the folder with nextcloud and I can access the text files)
That said if you try it, you might love how simple it is and use it for something!
Not sure of your specific needs, but I feel that self hosting (i.e. setting up a proper server) is unnecessary. Just pick a local first program and use it with syncthing.
The usual trio (which may be overkill) are Obsidian (admittedly not open source), Trillium, and logseq.
Have you considered Kanban apps? All of them should support A+C. I've used Wekan and Kanboard. Hope this helps your searching!
What I want is being able to hand draw something quickly in my notes, what's the app that has text and drawings?
One thing I've noticed with note apps is that "simple" and "private" seem surprisingly difficult to get together.
A lot of apps are simple but cloud-dependent, while the local-first ones often become much more complicated than what I actually want from a notes app.
I'd honestly take a boring notes app that just does the basics well over another "second brain" system with 50 features.
it might be worth watching this PR for memos, which adds encryption at rest. I can't vouch for it, as I didn't read the code but I do use memos and might consider this if it's merged.
https://github.com/usememos/memos/pull/5130
This is not E2EE, but I don't think E2EE is that important if you're hosting your own data. And clients can use TLS for encryption in transit.
Can't drag and drop to reorder lists. But it looks cool!
I use Workflowy. Partner and I replaced G Keep with it. It can do A and maybe C.
code editors might have the features you want, and its easy to repurpose a code editor into a notes app.
sync a folder between your devices (syncthing is great for this) and put markdown text files in it. I like to call this folder "Memo" since its like writing letters to myself.
edit the markdown using VS Code (desktop) or Carbon (android). I haven't tested whether Carbon can do this, but I know in VS Code, you can reorder a list with keyboard shortcuts.
click anywhere on a line of text, then hold Alt and press Up arrow, and the text will swap places with the line above it.
edit: Syncthing and Carbon are open source. VS Code has some proprietary code added by Microsoft, but none of it is relevant to your use case, so you may prefer the fork called Codium.
Anytype is awesome!
Emacs and org-mode.
Lots of features, but not simple and a big learning curve is you don't already is emacs.
I don't think that there's a way for it to do drag and drop, either, although it's emacs, so who knows?
Every now and then this question comes up. It's a timeless software engineering conundrum. Kind of like how med students might start to think they have all kinds of diseases and conditions because they're learning all these symptoms.
Software engineers, especially new ones, tend to be heavily biased toward applying technical solutions to non-technical problems. Most never actually grow out of this.
I'll advise what I advise every time someone approaches me or one of my peer groups with this very question:
Get yourself a notebook and a pen.
I'm dead serious, not trolling, and not some kind of technophobe zealot.
When it comes down to it, if you let go of what you think you need in a to-do list app, you'll find that what you actually need is much simpler.
Notebooks are e2e encrypted. Self hosted. Offline. As ephemeral as you like. Indexable for search. Versatile. Take a picture of a page if you really want to. OCR it if you need to.
Pen and paper.
I carry a phone, I'm not carrying a notebook and pen.
I did that 40 years ago.
Plus that list doesn't show up on my laptop or my desktop, other places I'm working.
It's not sortable by date/time, priority or project.
That's terrible advice, and doesn't even meet the basic requirements of the question.
I hear ya. I don't carry a notebook with me, and don't like to fill my pockets. So I appreciate the low tech suggestion, but will have to pass on this!
How about AnyType? It matches your requirements.
Docmost?