What it is
Joplin is an open-source note-taking app with Markdown and device synchronization. It is available for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS, and also has a terminal application.
The project emerged as a practical alternative to closed note apps: users should be able to access their data, move it between services, and avoid losing notes when changing devices or sync providers.
One important feature is importing Evernote notes from .enex files with formatting, attachments, and metadata. Plain Markdown files can also be imported, which makes migration less painful.
What is inside the repository
The repository contains clients for different platforms, the terminal app, the Web Clipper for saving pages, synchronization documentation, and material around extensions.
Joplin stores notes, notebooks, tags, and metadata in a way that can be synchronized through Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV, or the filesystem. That approach leaves users with a choice of storage method.
How people usually use it
A normal scenario: write notes in Markdown, organize them by notebooks and tags, attach files, then synchronize everything between a phone, laptop, and work computer.
For research or writing, Joplin is useful because a note remains close to ordinary text. It is easier to export, process with scripts, or move to another tool than a closed format owned by one service.
How Joplin keeps a note readable
This Markdown fragment shows why the format is convenient: the text remains readable outside the app, while attachments and metadata can sync separately.
# Meeting notes
- Decision: move project docs to Markdown
- Attachment: roadmap.pdf
- Tags: planning, product
Next step: sync the notebook to all devices.What it feels like in practice
The project’s strength is control over data. Users are not forced to keep all notes in one cloud and can choose a synchronization method that matches personal or work requirements.
Another advantage is the range of clients. A note app becomes useful only when it is present on all main devices, and Joplin covers desktop and mobile systems.
Limits and careful spots
The limitation is that sync flexibility adds responsibility. Users need to know where data lives, how backups work, whether encryption is enabled, and what happens during edit conflicts.
Joplin’s interface and model may feel less polished than fully commercial note apps. In return, it wins where portability, open code, and storage control matter.
Who it fits
The project best fits people who write a lot, collect material, want Markdown, and do not want to hand their entire note archive to a closed service.
In the catalog, Joplin matters as a mature user-facing open application: it solves an everyday task, not just a developer library or tool.