My New Favorite Note-taking App For Macos And Linux Checks This Crucial Box - And It's Free

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Trilum is simply a note-taking app for Linux and MacOS.
• This note-taking apps has tons of features, including section sync.
• Trillium is free to instal and use.

Note-taking apps are a dime a dozen. Go to your device's app shop and you'll find myriad apps for this purpose; immoderate of them are bully and immoderate of them are not.

Many note-taking apps check almost each box, but there's 1 characteristic I want that only a prime fewer offer: section sync. 

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Most note-taking apps connection distant sync by measurement of unreality aliases third-party storage. Although I'm not taking notes of a terribly delicate nature, I do person immoderate notes that I'd alternatively a 3rd statement not person entree to. For example, I person an important task I launched a fewer months ago, and I support respective notes (along pinch a Kanban board) astir that task to support maine moving forward.

I usage nan Trilium note-taking app to thief shape a very ample project.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

It's important to maine that those notes stay private. So, I'd for illustration a section sync arsenic opposed to a unreality aliases third-party sync.

Yes, I recognize that intends I cannot sync my notes erstwhile I'm distant from my LAN, but arsenic soon arsenic I return to my LAN, those notes will sync.

The note-taking app that accomplishes this is Trilium, and it's disposable for Linux and MacOS. There is simply a Windows larboard coming, and there's besides an Android app that is disposable extracurricular of nan Google Play Store. Unfortunately, Google is making it adjacent to intolerable to sideload apps, truthful nan developer of TriliumDroid will person to someway get nan app onto nan charismatic store, aliases it will soon beryllium unusable.

Both nan Linux and MacOS Trillium apps are outstanding and see plentifulness of features, specified as:

• Notes tin beryllium arranged into a heavy tree, and azygous notes tin beryllium placed into respective locations wrong nan tree
• A well-designed WYSIWYG statement editor that supports tables, images, and math
• Note editing notes pinch root code
• Syntax highlighting
• Full matter search
• Note versioning
• Note attributes
• OpenID and TOTP integration
• Synchronization pinch a self-hosted server
• Sharing notes via nan nationalist internet
• Strong per-note encryption
• Sketching diagrams
• Relation maps, nexus maps, and mind maps
• Geo maps, including location pins and GPX tracks
• Touch-optimized
• Built-in acheronian taxable and personification themes
• Evernote and Markdown import and export
• Web Clipper
• Customizable UI
• Built-in calendar

The large logic I adopted Trilium is nan section sync server, which isn't difficult to group up, but it does return immoderate Linux magic to make it work. Essentially, you instal nan sync server, create a systemd record for it, and enable/start nan service. Once that's taken attraction of, you nexus your clients to nan server and you're bully to go.

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Then there's nan AI chat feature, which is presently successful beta. I've tried to get this to activity pinch my section Ollama lawsuit (which purportedly supports it), but person had nary luck pinch it. There is simply a clear informing that nan characteristic is successful beta, truthful I expected this.

Another characteristic that I for illustration astir Trilium is that it uses a tabbed interface, which intends I tin person arsenic galore notes unfastened arsenic needed. Add to that nan expertise to nexus notes pinch attributes (think tags), and Trilium becomes a earnestly awesome note-taking tool. 

Another outstanding characteristic is nan protected convention option, which allows users to encrypt notes, ensuring that only those pinch nan correct password tin entree them. To encrypt a note, you first commencement a protected convention (clicking nan shield icon successful nan near sidebar), type nan password you group erstwhile you installed Trilium, unfastened nan note's basal properties, and click "Protect note."

Protecting a statement pinch encryption is elemental utilizing Trilum.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

Once you're done pinch nan protected session, click nan shield icon, and nan protected statement will only beryllium accessible by typing nan password.

Also: Standard Notes mightiness beryllium nan champion note-taking app connected nan market

As bully arsenic it gets

I've tried truthful galore note-taking apps and, for me, Trillium tops them all. And erstwhile you harvester each of nan features pinch nan truth that it's open-source, it's arsenic bully arsenic it gets for note-taking. 

If you want to springiness Trilium a try, you'll find binary installers for Linux (.deb and .rpm) and MacOS connected nan GitHub releases page.

Keep successful mind that if you want to adhd nan sync server, you person to guarantee that nan server and customer apps are each nan aforesaid merchandise number. Currently, nan astir up-to-date merchandise is 0.98.1. If those merchandise numbers don't match, nan sync functionality will not work.

I would highly urge that you springiness Trilum (and nan sync server) a try. I'm assured that you'll adopt it arsenic your default.