Notes are a special case in self-hosting. Unlike photos or films, they are written every day, from several devices, often offline, and they must stay readable for decades. The choice of application matters less than the choice of format and sync model: these two elements decide whether your notes will still be usable ten years from now.
Three different architectures
The available solutions fall into three families.
1. Clients that sync through a server
The best-known example is Joplin: notes live on every device and are synced through a service chosen by the user. The options include Joplin Server, a WebDAV server or a Nextcloud instance. Joplin offers optional end-to-end encryption, so the server sees only encrypted data. Notes are written in Markdown, although internally they are managed in a database and syncing uses its own format.
Advantages: apps for every system, full offline use, encryption. Disadvantage: to get plain Markdown files back you have to export them.
2. Web application with a database on the server
Trilium Notes, now carried forward by the community through the TriliumNext project, is designed for structured knowledge bases: deep hierarchical trees, notes cloned into several places, attributes, relations and scripts. Memos sits at the opposite end: short, journal-style entries that are quick to add from a phone.
Advantages: a single source of truth, no conflicts between devices. Disadvantage: without a connection to the server, access is limited, and the data lives in a database that must be exported with the application's tools.
3. Synced folders of Markdown files
The simplest and longest-lasting solution: a folder of .md files synced between devices with Syncthing or the Nextcloud client, and edited with any editor. You can use a different editor on each system, because the format is plain text.
Advantages: maximum longevity, no application server, search with any tool. Disadvantage: editing the same file on two devices at once creates conflict copies that must be resolved by hand.
Criteria for deciding
Before installing anything, it is worth answering a few questions.
| Question | If the answer is yes |
|---|---|
| Do I often write offline or on the move? | sync clients or Markdown folders |
| Do I want links, hierarchies and complex attributes? | Trilium |
| Do I mainly need quick notes from my phone? | Memos |
| Do I want to be able to leave the app without exports? | Markdown folders |
| Do I share notes with other people? | solutions with server-side users and permissions |
The exit test
In my work I always apply the same check before adopting a tool: how easy is it to leave? You create twenty or so test notes with images, tables, internal links and task lists, then export everything and open the result with another program. If the images stay linked, internal links work and the formatting is readable, the application is a safe choice.
The main pitfalls concern:
- internal links, which some apps write with their own syntax, different from standard Markdown;
- attachments, saved under automatically generated names that are hard to recognise;
- formatting extensions, such as coloured callouts or advanced tables, which show up as raw text elsewhere.
Security and privacy
Notes often contain more personal information than you would think: work ideas, medical notes, access codes jotted down in a hurry. A few basic rules:
- credentials belong in the password manager, not in notes;
- if the server is reachable from the Internet, end-to-end encryption becomes very valuable;
- backups of the server or folder must be encrypted, because they contain readable text;
- on phones, enable the app lock where available.
Handling conflicts
With any system that syncs files between devices, conflicts happen. They are reduced by a few habits: let the app finish syncing before closing the laptop, avoid editing the same note on two offline devices, and prefer many small notes to one huge note. A single note hundreds of lines long, updated from several devices, is the perfect recipe for conflicts.
Migrating from a commercial service
If you are coming from a commercial note service, you will usually find an export in formats such as HTML, ENEX or Markdown. Before migrating everything, try a sample notebook, check how images, creation dates and tags are converted, and only then import the whole archive. Keep the old service for a few weeks, until the new workflow has settled.
In short
- Format and sync model matter more than the application you choose.
- Joplin combines offline use, encryption and apps for every system; Trilium targets knowledge bases; Memos targets quick notes.
- Synced Markdown folders are the longest-lasting solution.
- The exit test, exporting and opening elsewhere, should be done before adopting a tool.
- Credentials do not belong in notes, and backups must be encrypted.
