Android

Joplin

Stone

Mar 5, 2022 • 2 min read

A few folks online suggested that I review this app. It's open-source, has Markdown and inline image support, linking of notes, tons of sync options, as well as desktop, mobile, and Web apps. I couldn't figure out how to export from the Android app besides sharing the markdown version of a note. Definitely one to check out and watch.

Screenshots

Ugly

Asks for location right out of the gate

Bad

No toolbar
No undo and redo
No WYSIWYG editing
Only 2 fonts (Default, Monospace) and 1 font size
Doesn't automatically save settings when exiting Configuration screen, you have to use save button which is an odd looking button
No inline checkboxes
Does not attach image when sharing a note to email
No sharing as plain text (without Markdown)
No sharing as PDF or HTML (Web and Desktop app has this)
No card view of notes list with image, just list of note titles

Good

Text formatting: bold, italics, ~~strikethrough~~
3 Heading levels
Dark mode
Share as Markdown
Highlight text
Attach text
Easy opt-in to beta program with one-click in Configuration screen
Import from Standard Notes
Export to Joplin Export (JEX) file which is a tar file of Markdown and attachments
To dos (separate from notes)
Cost is not bad $1.99 per month (or 17.88€ per year) for Basic plan

Great

Github-flavoured Markdown
Inline images
Attach PDF, creates a hyperlink to PDF file (not sure if it makes a copy)
Tags on notes (not in them)
Filter notes by tags
View note on Open Street Map
Joplin Web Clipper for Chrome and Firefox to capture Web pages
Plugin support
8 Themes including Solarized Light (and Dark) which I liked
Subscript and Superscript
Geo-location on notes (can be disabled)
Import from Evernote
Publish note (paid)
Synchronize to Joplin Cloud (paid)

Awesome

Open-Source!
End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) when using Joplin Cloud
Documentation, guides readily available and extremely well written
Sync to Joplin Server, Joplin Cloud, File system, WebDAV, Nextcloud, S3, DropBox, OneDrive
Note history up to 730 days (configurable, default is 90 days)