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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Desktop App

jrnl

A simple command-line journal for quick notes and daily logs.

Visit jrnl4.5

  • Rating

    4.5 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    macOS, Linux, Windows

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What is jrnl?

jrnl is a free, open-source journal that runs in your terminal. Type a quick entry without opening another app, tag thoughts with @, search past entries by date or tag, and keep everything in plain text files that you can encrypt with a password.

Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.

Pros: what jrnl does well

  • Log a thought in a few seconds
  • Plain text files with optional encryption
  • Free and open source

Cons: where it falls short

  • Works only in the terminal
  • No built-in sync between computers

Who jrnl is for

People who live in the terminal and want a fast work log or private journal.

Who can skip it

Anyone who prefers a visual notes app.

jrnl alternatives

Not sold on jrnl? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Note-Taking resources

QOwnNotes

Focus: markdown notes and nextcloud. Shares plain text and open source with jrnl. Rated 4.6 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.6Visit

nb

Focus: notes and bookmarks. Shares command line and open source with jrnl. Adds Offline. Same 4.5 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit

zk

Focus: zettelkasten and markdown notes. Shares command line and open source with jrnl. Adds Offline. Same 4.5 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit

cheat

Focus: cheatsheet, reference and terminal. Shares command line and open source with jrnl. Rated 4.4 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit

SiYuan

Focus: second brain, block editor and backlinks. Shares open source and github with jrnl. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.7 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.7Visit

Foam

Focus: notes, wikilinks and backlinks. Shares open source and github with jrnl. Rated 4.4 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit

Free alternatives to jrnl

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

fzf

Focus: fuzzy finder and shell. Shares command line and open source with jrnl. Adds Offline. Rated 4.8 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

ripgrep

Focus: search tool and developer tool. Shares command line and open source with jrnl. Adds Offline. Rated 4.8 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

Atuin

Focus: shell history, terminal and sync. Shares command line and open source with jrnl. Rated 4.7 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit

bat

Focus: file viewer and developer tool. Shares command line and open source with jrnl. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit

fd

Focus: file search and developer tool. Shares command line and open source with jrnl. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit

htop

Focus: process viewer, system monitor and terminal. Shares command line and open source with jrnl. Rated 4.7 (jrnl: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
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