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Ask HN: Self-hosted alternative to Apple Notes?

8 points by hosteur ↗ HN
I find myself using Apple Notes more than I really like to. It is just so very convenient to be able to access and edit notes from my phone when I am on the go. However, these notes exist in a closed off world in which I can only access them from my iOS and MacOS devices. Since I also have to use both Linux and Windows devices quite a lot, I am seeking an alternative solution.

Also, I do not like my notes being shared with Apple, so I strongly prefer deploying a self-hosted solution.

What good alternatives are out there?

From a tech standpoint, it should be able to implement the backend fairly simply by having an authentication mechanism, a REST API and a key-value store. This should easily scale to whatever a handful of people in a household could put in it.

The bigger problem is probably the front end: for this to actually work well, there must be a client for MacOS, Linux, and Windows as well as iOS and potentially Android. For bonus points there would be a webinterface and CLI as well...

Has anyone made such solution?

One alternative I have thought of is to just use Signal's "Notes to self" feature. It kinda works, and there are clients for all the needed platforms. However, the limitation is that there is only one "note" in it, and the format is a stream of messages to yourself that you cannot really edit.

14 comments

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stop50
Nextclouds note app is the only thing that comes to my mind.
hosteur
I will definitely check out more about Nextcloud. But I fear it is a bit of a huge service to host an maintain.
stop50
i use the complete installation, so the cost is nearly zero.
mergy
Long time user of owncloud then Nextcloud and have been very very happy. Notes is great as well as many other apps.
sbuk
> I do not like my notes being shared with Apple

They're not. If you're not convinced, make sure that you have advanced data protection enabled.

Anything else with similar functionality is either paid SaaS or more than just notes, which you may or may not find appealing.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec973254c5f/...

ssss11
I use Joplin, using the open source Joplin Server hosted on my nas in docker. I only sync my phone and laptop to it. It works perfectly.

I haven’t enabled encryption on the notes although I think you can do that.

hosteur
> I use Joplin, using the open source Joplin Server hosted on my nas in docker.

Interesting project. I will read up on it. From a first glance on joplinapp.org, it does not seem to mention any way to self-host it the backend.

Although, I did find some forum posts mentioning a joplin server pre-release. Is that what you're running?

Do you know if it is possible to host it natively without docker?

jcynix
> Do you know if it is possible to host it natively without docker?

You can use Joplin with any webdav server, so self-hosting with one's own web server is possible without docker.

madelineosiris
There is no need for a self-hosted option. You could use Obsidian or LogSeq, they have a host of features including Markdown support. They support Android, iPhone/Mac, Linux, and Windows. Both offer cloud options that are encrypted. However both app's cloud features are behind a paywall, and LogSeq's is currently in alpha.
2rsf
With organice you can host your notes on Gitlab for free and the backend becomes "git". You get web apps for Windows, iOS and Android.

https://organice.200ok.ch/