Most of the synchronization process is done at an abstract level, and access to external services, such as OneDrive or Dropbox, is done via lightweight drivers. As such, its synchronization is designed without any hard dependency to any particular service. One of my goals when creating Joplin was to avoid being tied to any particular company or service for synchronization.

Joplin is offline-first, so data is always available on the device, even without an internet connection. They are based on open standards and technologies including SQLite and JavaScript for the backend, and Terminal Kit (Node.js), Electron, and React Native for the three front ends. All the applications have similar user interfaces and can synchronize with each other. To that end, I have developed three Joplin applications, all under the MIT License: for desktop (Windows, MacOS, and Linux), for mobile (Android and iOS), and for the terminal (Windows, MacOS, and Linux). I started developing Joplin when Evernote changed its pricing model and because I wanted my 4,000+ notes to be stored in a more open format, free of any proprietary solution. Any number of files, such as images and PDFs, can be attached to a note, and notes can also be tagged. The notes can be edited in Markdown, either from within the app or with your own text editor, and each application has an option to render Markdown with formatting, images, URLs, and more.

It can handle a large number of notes, organized into notebooks, and can synchronize them across multiple devices. Joplin is an open source cross-platform note-taking and to-do application.

Evernote app for laptop