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Self hosted Google Keep alternative

Any recommendations for a self hosted note taking app that runs on everything with a screen and is designed for multi device usage?

Also a modern, powerful and puristic UI would be a must have to compete with Keep.

I am looking for this app every now and then but am always disappointed by the choices.

I recently tried Joplin on Android, but was very dissatisfied with the usabilty.

The FOSS self hosted alternatives for smart home and porn are better than the commercial ones, can't be that hard for notes, can it?

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110 comments

  • That's a fantasy I'm afraid. Just use Keep.

    • Why's that? Keep looks and feels like a pretty basic note taking app, I don't even see any of the usual google "secret sauce" that would make it better, smarter, or more embedded... what is it about keep that you find inimitable?

      • Of all the open source note apps I tried over a year ago, they didn't seem that great. I'm also not interested in self hosting.

        I like that Keep let's you quickly create lists, let's you add images, you can markup images, you can pin notes, search is fast and it all backs up to the cloud seamelessy. And I can result access it on any device.

        In general I think there's a lot to be said for Google services. Drive is great, put anything in there and have it everywhere and easily share.

        Photos is indispensable because it's so tig byhtly integrated with Android: take a photo and instantly it's backed up to the cloud. No worry about losing my phone because my memories will be in the cloud.

        I use Calendar all the time to manage events and reminders and it works perfectly. Also syncs to my calendar on Mint perfectly. It's fast, easy to use, let's you get in and out.

        Google Messages now uses RCS which is great, is designed very well, and you can also send and receive messages from the web if you want. Plus it integrates nicely with Phone, Meet and Contacts.

        It's really hard to beat. And this is all free, although I pay €20 a year for the larger storage plan.

        You can replicate this in Nextcloud but then you need to self host, set up incoming open ports, sorry about being ddoss'd or hacked, have either a large HDD or external HDD which may fail at any time. And it won't integrate with Android as well.

        I get people's concern with privacy but I don't think it's as big a deal as people make out and end up throwing the baby out with the bath water.

        • I think you got lost because self-hosting is very much the point of this community :)

          The Keep features you enumerated are pretty rudimentary, and none of that requires the sheer engineering power of a Google to be delivered securely and effectively. Take something like quillpad for instance, it shares a lot of UI paradigms with Keep, but expands in every direction to make the note taking experience and keeping them organized better. So indeed, Google Apps as a captive ecosystem is hard to beat, but resisting the urge to put all your eggs in their basket has some enormous perks which people with experience value a lot.

110 comments