www.mechaelephant.com VS org-roam

For me, the idea is sound but the implementation always seems so cumbersome. I want something that separates the data from the display as much as possible, has an easy 'note taking' and has an easy install. One problem I always encounter is that if the interface to add notes has too much friction, I stop using it pretty quickly.

Anyway, so I created something over the weekend called 'notenox' [0]. It creates a a JSON file of relevant information, one JSON file per note, with keywords and a "special" keyword prefix called a 'title' that mimics how I've actually been taking notes (email, so the 'title' mimics an email thread). For display, I consolidate all JSON files into a single JSON file and then have it loaded into the browser with some Javascript to group by title or keyword, along with doing all cross referencing and counting on the client end.

Creating notes is done through the command line, because that's a common way I interact with my computer, with different options to create titles, links, keywords, etc. I'm sure there are many different Zettelkasten implementations out there but they always seem so clunky and cumbersome. It's not hard, so the simple use case should be simple, nor should it proprietary or locked behind a SaaS.

You can see my personal notes in action, if you like [1] (sorry, not mobile friendly!).

[0] https://github.com/abetusk/www.mechaelephant.com/tree/releas...

[1] https://mechaelephant.com/notenox

I keep absolutely everything in a single folder. Saved documents, images, movies, financial records, game saves, it doesn't matter. My hierarchical naming scheme takes care of organization. On the odd occasion I actually need a folder, I just append ".d" to the filename.

I use . as a hierarchy delimiter, so file extensions are just part of the hierarchy, and I can have multiple files with the same name except for the extension. For example, "film.spongebob.png" is a photo of spongebob, "film.spongebob.org" is a note about spongebob, and "film.spongebob.s1.e7" is my favorite episode.

I use org-roam [1] for note-taking and task/time-management. I absolutely require a plain-text system so it either had to be markdown or org-mode. Emacs was the deciding factor, else I would have still been using Dendron [2]

If OneNote is your thing, I'd probably recommend Obsidian [3] over org-roam. Despite it being the greatest program ever created, Emacs is a lot to learn "just" for taking notes.

If you like VS Code, check out Dendron. It's the one that got me into more serious PKMS instead of just chucking notes in a folder all willy nilly.

- [1]: https://www.orgroam.com/

- [2]: https://www.dendron.so/

- [3]: https://obsidian.md/

I'm using org-roam to keep my notes, which generally works well for me. There's one thing I am missing and I'm wondering if I just overlooked it, or whether it simply doesn't exist.

Org-Roam is a Roam-inspired Emacs mode that builds on top of org mode. Every node (aka note) has a unique ID that's different from its name. Every link from node A to node B actually links to the ID, so you can change node B's name without affecting the link. When you're on node B, you can open the Roam buffer and it will show you all of the links that point to that node.

Org Mode. I can export my notes to LaTeX or HTML and keep things tidy in a zettelkasten with org-roam.

Of course, the real power-user move would be to use Emacs with Org-Roam, but you have to be prepared to dive deep into the rabbit-hole. If you don't, it won't be worth it. If you do, you'll be handsomely rewarded. I know because I have, and I can highly recommend it if you like tinkering with and customising your tools. IMO, Doom Emacs is the way to go nowadays.

I'd highly recommend Org-roam. It's what has enabled me to actually start consistently keeping notes (and being able to retrieve/access them later). It's very easy with Org-roam to quickly add new notes, or add information to old notes, and the links/backlinks make (re)discoverability very easy.