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ProductivityAlternative to OneNoteAlternative to Evernote

Joplin

Open-source note taking and to-do application with end-to-end encryption and cloud sync.

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LicenseAGPL-3.0
GitHub stars56.1k
Last commit1 weeks ago
Tags6 topics
E2eeMarkdownTodoNotesSelf HostedSynchronization
Overview

Why consider Joplin?

Joplin is a secure note-taking and task-tracking app supporting Markdown, math formulas, and attachments. It synchronizes across all devices via Nextcloud, Dropbox, WebDAV, or Joplin Server.

Guided learning

Learn Joplin by building

Practical setup notes, real use cases, and copy-ready examples in one focused guide.

3 min read 10 sections
In this guide10 sections

What is Joplin?

Joplin is an open-source note-taking and to-do application that provides a private, encrypted alternative to commercial note services like Evernote and Microsoft OneNote. It allows users to write notes in full Markdown format, organize content into hierarchical notebooks and tags, embed images, PDF documents, and math equations (KaTeX), and synchronize data seamlessly across desktop and mobile devices.

Joplin uses end-to-end encryption (E2EE) so that your notes remain unreadable to cloud providers and third parties during transit and storage.

Who Is It For?

  • Researchers & Academics: Organizing citations, research papers, mathematical formulas, and literature notes with tag classification.
  • Developers & Tech Writers: Capturing code snippets, system configuration guides, and sprint task lists with syntax highlighting.
  • General Productivity Users: Managing daily checklists, recipes, personal journals, and web clippings across mobile phones and desktop computers.

Key Features

  • Full Markdown note editing with split-view live preview and WYSIWYG editor mode.
  • End-to-end encryption (E2EE) ensuring notes cannot be decrypted without your private master password.
  • Multi-target synchronization: Sync with Nextcloud, Dropbox, WebDAV, OneDrive, S3, or Joplin Server.
  • Official Web Clipper browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge to capture web pages and articles.
  • Native applications available for Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, and a headless CLI client.

Installation and Synchronization Setup

Download the desktop application for Linux, macOS, or Windows from the official website:

bash
1# Linux install script
2wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/laurent22/joplin/dev/Joplin_install_and_update.sh | bash

To synchronize your notes using self-hosted Joplin Server in Docker:

yaml
1version: '3'
2
3services:
4 joplin-server:
5 image: joplin/server:latest
6 container_name: joplin-server
7 environment:
8 - APP_BASE_URL=http://joplin.example.com
9 - DB_CLIENT=pg
10 - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=joplin_secret
11 - POSTGRES_DATABASE=joplin
12 - POSTGRES_USER=joplin
13 - POSTGRES_PORT=5432
14 - POSTGRES_HOST=joplin-db
15 ports:
16 - 22300:22300
17 depends_on:
18 - joplin-db
19 restart: unless-stopped
20
21 joplin-db:
22 image: postgres:15
23 container_name: joplin-db
24 environment:
25 - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=joplin_secret
26 - POSTGRES_DATABASE=joplin
27 - POSTGRES_USER=joplin
28 volumes:
29 - ./postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
30 restart: unless-stopped

Start the server:

bash
1docker compose up -d

In the Joplin desktop app, go to Tools -> Options -> Synchronization, select Joplin Server (or Nextcloud/WebDAV), and enter your server URL and login credentials.

Practical Use Cases

1. Web Research and Article Archiving

A researcher uses the Joplin Web Clipper browser extension to save complete web pages as clean Markdown files directly into a specific project notebook for offline reference.

2. Encrypted Cross-Device Task Management

A project manager maintains daily to-do lists on an Android phone, checks off completed tasks during meetings, and sees updates reflected immediately on their office workstation.

3. Technical Knowledge Base Migration

An engineer exports thousands of notes from Evernote as ENEX files and imports them cleanly into Joplin with all attachments, tags, and formatting preserved.

Troubleshooting and Limitations

  • Large Attachment Sync on Mobile: Initial sync with gigabytes of embedded PDF attachments can take time over mobile connections; set the attachment download mode to "Manual" in mobile settings to fetch files on demand.
  • E2EE Master Password: If End-to-End Encryption is enabled and the master password is lost, encrypted notes cannot be recovered; store your master key in a secure password manager.

Official Resources

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Joplin FAQs

Joplin is listed as a Productivity tool on TiloBox. Review the overview, features, and official documentation on this page to decide whether it solves your specific workflow.

Start with the project's GitHub repository and official website for supported installation and deployment instructions. Test the setup with representative data or a small project before rolling it out more widely.

Joplin is listed under the AGPL-3.0 license. Read the complete license text and the project's notices before using, modifying, or distributing the software.

Production readiness depends on your requirements. Review maintenance activity, security practices, documentation, backup and upgrade procedures, and compatibility with your stack; then validate it in a non-production environment.

Joplin is listed as an alternative to OneNote. Compare the core workflow, deployment model, integrations, and licensing against your must-have requirements before switching.