Open-source Journey alternatives

jrnl is a journal application for the command line. You use it to create, search and view entries without leaving the terminal, which suits people who live in a shell and want to capture thoughts or notes quickly.

Entries live in readable plain-text files, with AES encryption available as an option. Typing a sentence after the command creates a new entry, and natural-language prefixes such as yesterday are interpreted as the timestamp. The text up to the first sentence ending becomes the title and the rest the body, and in the journal file each entry is saved with a bracketed date and time. Calling jrnl without text opens a prompt, or you can configure an external editor.

The project is written in Python, licensed under GPL-3.0, maintained by a small group of volunteers and supported by financial backers. Full documentation is available on its website. It suits developers and writers who want a private, scriptable journal in plain files.

Journiv is a self-hosted journaling application for people who want to keep their writing private on their own server. It includes mood tracking, prompt-based journaling, media uploads, analytics and advanced search in a clean, minimal interface, and it is aimed at the homelab and privacy-minded crowd.

The project is in beta, and the README warns that breaking changes may still occur and that regular backups are important. A single Docker command starts a minimal version, but media processing, import and export require a Redis or Valkey broker and a Celery worker, so the full Docker Compose file is recommended. React is now the default interface, with an older Flutter interface temporarily available at a legacy path.

Journiv is installed with Docker and served from a single FastAPI origin. The README warns that plain HTTP is only for isolated trusted networks and recommends HTTPS for anything reachable from the internet. The repository lists its licence as other, so check the terms. It suits people who want a private alternative to cloud journaling apps and are comfortable running a small stack.

GitJournal is a note-taking app focused on privacy and data portability. It stores all notes in a standard Markdown format with an optional YAML header, and keeps them in a Git repository of your choice, whether that is GitHub, GitLab or a custom provider you host yourself.

Because the notes are plain files in Git, you control where they live and can edit them with other tools. The README lists import paths from Google Keep, Day One Classic, Narrate and Simplenote, which helps people migrate from existing apps. The app is mobile first and is written in Dart, and the topics also mention journaling and knowledge management.

GitJournal is open source, with code by its main author under AGPL-3.0 and code from other contributors under Apache-2.0, a split chosen so the app can be distributed on the Apple App Store without a contributor license agreement. Documentation and translations use a Creative Commons license.

Linked is an Electron desktop app for daily journaling. It gives you a place to write down thoughts and things you want to remember, organized by day, so your head is free for deeper thinking. The interface is intentionally minimal to keep distractions away.

Each day holds as much text as you like, with several text styles plus todo, list and code blocks. You can search across all days, switch between dark and light mode, move around with keyboard shortcuts, and use the interface in multiple languages. Notes are stored as plain files in a folder under Documents, so they stay on your computer and remain yours.

Linked is built with Vue and Tailwind CSS and licensed under GPL-3.0. The maintainers say it will always be free and open source and accept sponsorships, and the roadmap lists linking days, a month overview, day ratings and cross-device sync, none of which are described as available yet. It suits people who want a simple local journal.