Note-taking tools are an important part of every productivity system. As a knowledge worker, it allows me to easily capture ideas and expand on them at a later date. In this article, we will look at some of the more useful note-taking apps in Linux that you can use to streamline your daily workflow.
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1. Anytype
Anytype is a stunning digital organizer similar to Notion that jots notes, compiles text data, and shares it across users and devices. It’s available on desktop and mobile, making it great for users who want a single app for managing their knowledge base.
One of the qualities I like about Anytype is that it doesn’t confine itself to being a note-taking application. Touting itself as “the everything app,” Anytype can adapt to any demand that you might want out of an organizer. For instance, it’s possible to create a group Kanban Board along with a collaborative community page straight inside Anytype.
Aside from that, Anytype also presents itself as an “offline-first” application. It doesn’t use third-party accounts and doesn’t send any data to a remote server. Everything you put inside your Anytype space stays in there unless you explicitly share it to your peers.
2. Notesnook
Notesnook is a sleek note-taking application that prioritizes user privacy and security. It comes with features you’d expect from a note-taking application, such as the ability to tag and link notes, expressive Markdown support, and different note templates.
What sets Notesnook apart, however, is that its entire software stack is free and open-source. From its desktop client to its server backend, you can host every piece of Notesnook on your local network. Personally, I really prefer this over other systems since it allows me to run a Notesnook instance without relying either on its developers or a third-party host.
Lastly, the developers of Notesnook also guarantee that your data is fully encrypted on your local machine. This ensures that malicious actors won’t be able to access your notes even if the computer gets compromised.
On a side note: looking to improve your overall privacy? Check out our guide to securing your Linux machine today.
3. Beaver Notes
Beaver Notes is a minimalist note-taking tool for Linux, Windows, and macOS. Similar to its contemporaries, it supports basic Markdown editing, the ability to group and link notes, along with a good search and archive system.
The key thing that got me interested in Beaver Notes is its snappy and responsive interface. I’ve never had an instance where I felt that I was fighting with the program to do what I wanted. From writing to cataloging, the tool provides intuitive cues, making it ideal for less techie users who want a solid note-taking app.
On top of that, Beaver Notes can also seamlessly blend with your existing file sync solution. With it, you can export encrypted notes or provide a folder where Beaver Notes will dump its files for your sync solution. In my case, this is helpful since I already use rclone to manage my backups in Google Drive.
4. Obsidian
Obsidian is one of the most popular note-taking apps for Linux, with focus on flexibility and extensibility. It’s available on all major desktop and mobile platforms, making it easy to get started with capturing and organizing notes.
One attractive aspect of Obsidian is its ability to use Markdown links to create and associate notes. The program, then, takes these links and builds topic graphs that can give you a more in-depth look at how your notes relate to each other. In my experience, Obsidian was able to help find links between topics that aren’t as obvious to me.
Aside from its powerful linking abilities, Obsidian also houses a large collection of third-party plugins. These range from simple To-Do templates to complex AI integration tools with ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
Good to know: deepen your understanding with Obsidian by checking some of the tricks that you can use with Obsidian today.
5. Org Mode
Unlike the previous entries, Org Mode is not a standalone note-taking application. Instead, it’s a nifty feature that ships with the Emacs text editor. It allows you to convert your plain text files into dynamic digital organizers that can capture notes and manage tasks.
While it’s not a dedicated application, Org Mode still packs a lot of features under the hood. It comes with a calendar system, a table editor, and an export tool that can convert Org files to LaTeX and HTML. As a result, Org Mode is great for managing and compiling notes, as well as a general word processor.
Since Org Mode is a core part of Emacs, it also enjoys a large amount of third-party plugins through the editor’s package manager. In my four years of using Emacs, I was able to shape Org Mode to my specific workflow through these plugins and extensions. For example, olivetti-mode and darkroom allowed me to convert every Org document into a custom focus mode session.
Exploring some of the best note-taking tools for Linux is just the first step in developing your personal productivity system and workflow. Learn how a cheap Raspberry Pi can improve your productivity today.
Image credit: Andrew Neel via Unsplash. All alterations and screenshots by Ramces Red.
Ramces Red –
Staff Writer
Ramces is a technology writer that lived with computers all his life. A prolific reader and a student of Anthropology, he is an eccentric character that writes articles about Linux and anything *nix.
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