I need a better code journaling app than Evernote.
Bob Walsh

Bob Walsh @bobwalsh47hats

About: Builder of FreelancerCashFlow; Fullstack Developer, HubSpot Expert & Content Manager. Code in Rails/js/Vue with a little serverless thrown into the mix. Love JAMStack.

Location:
San Rafael, CA
Joined:
Aug 1, 2019

I need a better code journaling app than Evernote.

Publish Date: Sep 27 '19
8 11

Thanks to a series here Why you should keep a Code Journal | Code Journaling pt 1 of 4 - DEV Community 👩‍💻👨‍💻 I've been seriously reconsidering how I work.

I start the day with a new note in Evernote. As the day progresses, I enter little tidbits of knowledge I took me way to long to google (ex. Netlify, the build command for a nuxt project has to be nuxt generate).

But Evernote is a horrible notetaking/journaling environment for a developer.

So, any recommendations for a good digital notetaking Saas?

Comments 11 total

  • Christian Ransom
    Christian RansomSep 27, 2019

    Hi Bob,

    What is it about Evernote that you don't like or don't think is good for a developer? What kind of features are you looking for that Evernote doesn't have?

    • Bob Walsh
      Bob WalshSep 27, 2019
      1. turn my URLs into slack-like cards, so I can get some sense of what I "bookmarked",
      2. Give me a better mechanism for linking pages in notebooks.
      3. Better tagging UX
      4. Better markdown support.
      5. the Evernote web clipper is kind of a blunt instrument - more control.

      That's off the top of my head. Any suggestions?

      • Christian Ransom
        Christian RansomSep 27, 2019

        Well I did recently see someone on another post comment about jupyter. I've haven't tried it out but it looks very interesting.

        jupyter.org/

        • Bob Walsh
          Bob WalshSep 27, 2019

          jupyter.orgIt is, took a look at the Ruby example. But not compelling enough to make the switch...

  • James dengel
    James dengelSep 28, 2019

    I've found a simple solution to this for myself.

    github.com/GitJournal/GitJournal

    It keeps all the notes in git, so everything is in searchable, dated, and simple and can enter it from my phone, whether I am at a computer or not.

    It's no enterprise level but suits me just fine.

    • Bob Walsh
      Bob WalshSep 28, 2019

      Hi James,

      Good find - a lot closer to what I want: my data in my repo, a mobile app, easy modification. Still need a few things: a simple way to "bookmark" a URL in Chrome (Evernote web clipper).

      Thanks for the suggestion: anything I can do for you?

      • Vishesh Handa
        Vishesh HandaJan 5, 2020

        Hi Bob. I'm the creator of GitJournal and happened to stumble upon this post. Please feel free to shoot me and email if there is someway I can improve it to better suit your needs.

        The WebClipper feature might take a while.

  • Paweł Kowalski
    Paweł KowalskiSep 28, 2019

    I like Notion (notion.so)

    • Bob Walsh
      Bob WalshSep 28, 2019

      Notion is interesting but disorganized. It's a catch-all, not a structured approach - In my opinion.

  • Bob Walsh
    Bob WalshSep 30, 2019

    Thanks John - how are you doing your journaling on a day-to-day basis?

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