My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file

• Joplin

  771 42,770 9.9 TypeScript

  Joplin - the secure note taking and to-do app with synchronisation capabilities for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.

I've had great success with using Joplin for this, with Syncthing as a sync backend. Works well across OSes; I use it on Linux, macOS, Windows and Android.

https://joplinapp.org/

• TEF

  1 0 - TypeScript

  TOGoS's Entry Format

I use a format[1] that's _slightly_ more structured, in that files are divided into explicit entries with headers to indicate whatever metadata I want, and I also use this same format for storing other information (metadata about my music[2], workshop projects, orders, whatever).

Other than that, same, bro.

[1] https://github.com/TOGoS/TEF

• SurveyJS

  surveyjs.io sponsored

  Open-Source JSON Form Builder to Create Dynamic Forms Right in Your App. With SurveyJS form UI libraries, you can build and style forms in a fully-integrated drag & drop form builder, render them in your JS app, and store form submission data in any backend, inc. PHP, ASP.NET Core, and Node.js.

  

• github-orgmode-tests

  245 147 4.8

  This is a test project where you can explore how github interprets Org-mode files

Obligatory reference to Emacs Org-Mode [1].

Author's approach is basically Org-Mode with fewer helpers.

Org-mode's power is that, at core, it's just a text file, with gradual augmentation.

Then again, Org-Mode is a tool you must install, accessible through a limited list of clients (Emacs obviously, but also VSCode), and the power of OP's approach is that it requires no external tools.

[1] https://orgmode.org

• obsidian-dataview

  110 6,253 8.4 TypeScript

  A data index and query language over Markdown files, for https://obsidian.md/.

Since at least 2012 I've also been using a text file format from http://todotxt.org/ and more recently I wrote a program that takes a crontab-like list to pre-generate entries on a daily, by-day-name (every Sunday for example), and I also pull in a list of holidays from gov.uk, so they are also populated.

[^1]: (https://github.com/blacksmithgu/obsidian-dataview)

• todo.txt-cli

  55 5,471 2.9 Shell

  ☑️ A simple and extensible shell script for managing your todo.txt file.

  

Since at least 2012 I've also been using a text file format from http://todotxt.org/ and more recently I wrote a program that takes a crontab-like list to pre-generate entries on a daily, by-day-name (every Sunday for example), and I also pull in a list of holidays from gov.uk, so they are also populated.

[^1]: (https://github.com/blacksmithgu/obsidian-dataview)

• notes

  8 120 0.0 Shell

  A zero dependency shell script that makes it really simple to manage your text notes. (by nickjj)

I've been doing something similar for ~20 years at: https://github.com/nickjj/notes

    - Running `notes` will open this month's notes for YYYY_MM.txt

• textnote

  3 175 6.1 Go

  Simple tool for creating and organizing daily notes on the command line

I love the idea of using plain text files for note taking and task tracking. As others have commented on specific tools and workflows that make this easy for them to stick with, I thought I'd add mine. I use textnote [0], which is a tool I built for exactly this workflow but is hopefully flexible enough to accommodate many of the similar processes mentioned here. It simply opens a plain text file in your terminal and provides lightweight tooling for tracking by date and rolling up previous notes into archives if desired.

Thanks for opening another great discussion of plain text note taking as a productivity tool!

[0] https://github.com/dkaslovsky/textnote

• InfluxDB

  www.influxdata.com sponsored

  Power Real-Time Data Analytics at Scale. Get real-time insights from all types of time series data with InfluxDB. Ingest, query, and analyze billions of data points in real-time with unbounded cardinality.

  

• todo

  1 1 3.1 TypeScript

  TypeScript monorepo powered 'todo' system (by ErikAugust)

I made a Node CLI that captures everything in a flat JSON file:

https://github.com/ErikAugust/todo/blob/main/applications/cl...

• quickadd

  38 189 5.3 Python

  Parse natural language time and date expressions in python (by Acreom)

  

there's a much better way providing simplicity with full data ownership and real tasks out of the box in daily documents https://acreom.com

• Text_Bookmarklet

  5 10 7.5 HTML

  Bookmarklet to take and save notes locally

I ended up at the same point after a lot of trying and failing but wanted a _few_ extra features than notepad offers. It's also important to me to be able to take notes in a browser.

I do use logseq/obsidian in my better moments, but having another faster system is so helpful for a number of reasons.

I have been building [my own text bookmarklet](https://github.com/pwillia7/Text_Bookmarklet) that I use for this.

• markwhen

  35 3,337 5.4 HTML

  Make a cascading timeline from markdown-like text. Supports simple American/European date styles, ISO8601, images, links, locations, and more.

  

Looks like markwhen[0]. When making it, which initially started out as a strictly timeline-making tool, I realized it is essentially a log or journal language - write a date, any date, and add some stuff to it. Good for notes, blogging, a calendar, etc etc.

[0] https://markwhen.com

• notesutils

  3 198 0.0 Python

  Utilities for extracting notes from Notes.app. This repository is lightly maintained and mainly exists to serve as documentation and starting point for your own scripts.

• mac_apt

  2 716 7.6 Python

  macOS (& ios) Artifact Parsing Tool

• apple_cloud_notes_parser

  5 364 8.6 Ruby

  Parser for Apple Notes data stored on the Cloud as seen on Apple handsets

• apple_cloud_notes_pa

  3 - -

• frame

  6 16 6.6 C

  Personal DB to help maintain focus on long-sequences of tasks. (by lelanthran)

> Hey, I've realized the same thing (that my workflows are stack-based) awhile ago, but didn't get to the point of writing a tool yet. Dare to share?

Sure, but because I'm only using it for myself, you're going to have to compile it yourself if you want (for now, anyway).

Originally designed to be CLI app, I find I only use the GUI these days (also in the repo).

Start here in case this is not for you: https://github.com/lelanthran/frame/blob/master/docs/FrameIn...

> Also, which approach you use to efficiently store and re-store relevant context information? I often find that intricate but important details are lost during context switch.

Everything is stored in a hierarchical DB, AKA the filesystem :-)

Each 'frame' is a directory with a specific set of files, and the directory name serves as the name of the frame. At any given time, a metainfo file in the root points to the currently active frame.

• hn-search

  1,618 524 2.9 TypeScript

  Hacker News Search

  

I feel like this post gets posted to HN every few months.

Not as frequently as that, but a bit:

https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

• today

  2 4 7.0 Shell

  Create daily notes (by alabhyajindal)

I made something similar for myself. It even has the same name!

https://github.com/alabhyajindal/today

• xit

  24 1,030 0.0

  A plain-text file format for todos and check lists

I use the same system but with highlighting/formatting of https://xit.jotaen.net

I even learn how to create a plugin for the IntelliJ IDEA and created one for highlighting this format (love idea hotkeys and workflow).

• WorkOS

  workos.com sponsored

  The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS. The APIs are flexible and easy-to-use, supporting authentication, user identity, and complex enterprise features like SSO and SCIM provisioning.

  

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