Show HN: Journelly for iOS: like tweeting but for your eyes only (in plain text)
xenodium.comOn iOS, I've flip-flopped back and forth between a bunch of note-taking and journaling apps. None would stick.
My initial attempts at building such an app faded just the same, until I realized I wanted the same level of low-friction posting and browsing offered by social media apps, but for my quick notes. Not social, just easy posting, search, and a familiar feed.
This is how Journelly came to be. I like to describe it as: tweeting, but for your eyes only (fully offline and in plain text).
If you’re an Org markup user, you’ll be delighted to know it’s powered by unicorns under the hood.
If you’re a Markdown fan, please get in touch! I’m recording interest for journelly + markdown at xenodium.com. The more requests I get, the sooner I’ll get Markdown support out the door.
Hope you like the app!
I've been a user of Day One for some time, but your proposition is very interesting nonetheless. I love the fact that the data is a file. I'm going to see if it's possible to migrate one way or another...
@xenodium is almost single-handedly creating the possibility of org-mode being as cross-app usable as markdown, and I _heartily_ appreciate it.
On iOS there's also Beorg [1], which I used briefly.
The problem that org-mode and Markdown face is that they are fairly minimal. It's common to use plugins, that aren't supported everywhere. This kills portability, which is a core "selling point".
I have seen it happen it Obsidian and Logseq - but even GitHub has a slightly altered Markdown spec.
[1] https://www.beorgapp.com
I know what you mean, though at least today, this isn't as much of an issue for Org.
Org markup is fairly rich. Journelly is my 4th Org app on iOS. Neither has required additional syntax/plugin to cover my use-cases.
I would say maybe it's the opposite for Org. My apps implement a subset of Org features and, because its plain text, the user experience degrades fairly gracefully.
edit: This doc still blows my mind https://doc.norang.ca/org-mode.html
Nice you hear it. Thank you!
$20? Just once? This is the best pricing scheme I’ve been for an app this year!
Not sure what country you're visiting from, but it's USD $14.99. One time only.
edit: typo
Thank you for not going down the subscription route!
I'm much more willing to buy a $15 app if it feels like it has legs even if I may give up with it after a month or two than to possibly lock myself into a much smaller amount forever.
The amount I'm willing to pay on the app store only goes up if the app is _also_ open source.
It is indeed $19.99 here in Canada.
While a one-time fee seems preferable from a customer-standpoint, I personally prefer annual subscription fees. It allows for a potentially lower initial cost, making it more accessible to potential customers, but--more importantly--provides an obvious recurring revenue model for the author, hopefully implying on-going development. Ideally you would retain access to the app if your annual subscription lapses, but could receive upgrades after reviving your subscription. Whenever there is a one-time fee for an "average" app (no offense intended), I always wonder how the author can afford to keep updating it in the future.
Thank you. This is encouraging to hear from a potential user. There may be a middle ground where new features are sold separately (specially feature requests). Having said that, everything you get today with v1 will remain covered by what you paid for the app. No rug-pulling ever to force folks into a subscription.
It is how Beorg does it - they have a subscription covering everything, but users can also buy singe features. However, I imagine that at some point the coding will get quite complex - developer has to build a couple of feature toggles and ensure that they work well in every imaginable combination.
Congratulations on the launch! It looks very polished and easy to use.
Coincidentally, I've come up with same idea independently with my own journaling app with a social media interface (Minders). I've seen at least a couple of other apps that go for this kind user experience, which is fun, as there's lots of ways to tackle this type of app. For me, I put in some ideas consistent with social media that may or may not work (still figuring it out), like being able to "retweet" earlier posts, quote them, and reply to them, so it's kind of like having a conversation with yourself across time.
I've found that the social media-like UI really does help with recording quick notes to myself. It seems to promote more browsing than, say, a list of notes, and hashtags make it fun to jump around and see related notes, etc.
Best of luck on your app!
Both apps appeal to me. I really like the UI in the screenshots of Minders. OP's Journelly has a leg up in two very important ways for me though, both addressed in your FAQ: it has a flat payment model (though it's an option on yours too), and it has export ability. They latter is paramount; I know my paper journals will be around in 50 years, barring a fire or something, but who knows what apps and computers will even look like then.
Thanks for checking it out! I'm going to update that FAQ right now since Minders does offer a one-time payment now and also does let you export for archiving (JSON, text, and PDF).
Awesome!
Thank you! Minders looks lovely! Been thinking about the space for a little while https://xenodium.com/an-ios-journaling-app-powered-by-org-pl... Amazing to see how we both arrived to a similar approach cross-pollinating social with notes/journaling. Nice work!
Nice to see this on HN from the app creator. Intrigued to try it (vs BeOrg) after seeing coverage at irreal, one of my usual emacs oriented blogs.
https://irreal.org/blog/?p=12894
> Nice to see this on HN from the app creator
Glad to hear!
> Intrigued to try it (vs BeOrg)
Both apps speak org on iOS. It just so happens the apps offer different targeted experiences. While Beorg is perhaps more geared toward task lists and calendars, Journelly focuses on short and quick notes.
I use it a lot for saving links for all sort of things like movies, music, videos, restaurants. You can share from letterboxd, shazam, youtube, google maps, etc. into Journelly. You get link previews in the app and in the case of youtube, play from app.
Congrats on the launch!
An application I use for a similar “tweeting but for your eyes only” experience is Memos and the MoeMemo’s app. My main reason for using memos is being able to self-hosted the server and I can use it in the browser and the app.
links:
https://github.com/usememos/memos
https://github.com/mudkipme/MoeMemos
I second this. Memos was really useful for me before I switched to Joplin, though there was some UI issues with the mobile web interface when I used it (Moe Memoes is new to me, though!). Additionally, Memos is libre software, which Journelly doesn't seem to be.
I really like the app, it’s a nice idea, I’m actually started using it for journalling! One thing that would be great – when I stick a hashtag in, it would be really good if it gave me the last five or the most common in a pop-up menu, just to make sure I spell them correctly.
It's a popular feature request. It's coming.
Also, and I guess this may be another common feature request, it would be great to have a newest at the bottom of the page rather than the top ;-) although I’m guessing that this is to do with performance given it's a single file?
> I guess this may be another common feature request, it would be great to have a newest at the bottom of the page
I only received one other request for this. Was it you? ;-)
Joking aside, top-newest seems to fit very well with the familiarity of microblogging feeds, which has been a selling point.
Cracking ! :-)
Like the idea of the app. However, the upper part of the interface (text entry page) seems to be a hair too big for the screen on my iPhone 14 Pro. I can't see the First letter of the Month or the last half of the Cancel button. Not sure what the first button is below the text box. Can only see the last half of it.
Please get in touch through the app feedback menu. Happy to investigate and fix.
This looks very nice but $15 oof. I use logseq ios + mac app (with db in icloud) and it has been serving me well and is free.
I really struggled to settle on pricing, but landed on this as one-off payments are far more desireable than where apps are gravitating to (subscriptions).
ps. I've now gone full-time indie and hoping to make a living off my projects.
edit: typo
$15 is cheap. Probably unsustainably cheap being a one-time purchase.
It always surprises me when people who know how hard it is to make and support great software, complain about a price like $15.
It’s $15 but I don’t get to try it first. For $1/month I can try it.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/118223 refunds are always an option on the App Store in case apps don't work out.
I'm also happy to add you to the TestFlight group if you'd like to take it for a spin before you make your decision.
Get in touch: journelly . invite at xenodium.com
I agree with your decision though: subscription would have been worst option.
I suggest you try a “lite” variant with an unlock price for the full functionality. Say the first 7 days free.
Like good old shareware of yore.
This looks amazing and fills a niche that I’d love to have filled. Also totally willing to pay the cost. I appreciate that good software is worth money.
One question I do have though is how freely available is your data? The post makes it sound like it’s accessible but how does that work?
A couple of ways:
1. Change the storage location to some place outside the app (pick a directory or use iCloud Drive). You can peek at this directory at any time and open the plain text file (Journelly.org).
2. Export a backup archive (zip), which includes both plain text file and all assets (images).
Awesome thanks for the response. Maybe this is what finally gets me to use org mode haha.
This is very intriguing… I'd love to see some integration with the built-in Reminders app, as I think I would mostly be jotting down ideas or tasks that I'd want to pursue later.
Nice idea! I keep hearing the app is versatile, with folks using it in all sorts of different ways.
Adding Reminders to the backlog and think about.
Nice, congrats! I am still thinking about how to implement encryption, maybe by storing in a cryptomator volume? But happy to deal with org!
Not tried cryptomator. Please report back on how well the two work together.
Edit: thanks for congrats!
Any plans to bring this to Android?
It looks like an easy way to get in to digital journalling.
I was looking for a way to do literally this a week ago. Excellent timing!
Wish it were cheaper - but I bit already - I think at a lower price you would move multiple times more
I appreciate that. Will also be monitoring price. Thanks!
I'm interested. But I think the sync story outside of iCloud needs to be fleshed out.
Journelly uses standard iOS file access and relies on iCloud (or third parties) to handle syncing via related infrastructure.
Theoretially, any third party app that is a file provider https://developer.apple.com/documentation/fileprovider should be able available to Journelly.
The reality is that reliability and provider completeness by third parties varies drastially. For example, many of them don't offer directory access to other apps (Nextcloud as an example https://github.com/nextcloud/ios/issues/3283#issuecomment-27...), which is a show-stopper for Journelly. It needs a directory to save images.
Here's a thread with some third party options some folks are using with Journelly https://framapiaf.org/@marczz/114369575100101184
Working Copy, SyncTrain, and Möbius Sync are amongst the ones I've heard working from users. For v1, I'm officially supporting iCloud (but still leaving it open for folks to try other providers). I'm just not able to do what's necessary to implement or fix what's needed in those providers (their app/codebase).
Looks interesting. How do I try this out?
Before someone suggests to purchase and ask refund if things don’t work out, Apple has been flat out rejecting my refund requests despite genuine justifications for many recent purchases.
Is this solving a different problem than Apple's Journal app?
The UX itself is a unique strength. It feels more like a microblogging app. Easy to post, search, and browse your private feed.
Also, it feels much less like a journaling app and more of whatever you want it to be. Or as jcs from irreal puts it https://irreal.org/blog/?p=12908:
"As more and more users have started using the beta, I’ve come to realize that Journelly is a bit of a shape shifter that adapts itself to your needs."
Unlike Apple, Journelly is entirely offline by default (with optional iCloud syncing). It stores your data to a single plain text file (much friendlier for data preservation).
You can see it all in more detail at the blog post https://xenodium.com/journelly-like-tweeting-but-for-your-ey...
Hope that answers your question.
There's something heartwarming that despite journal apps being such a huge category on the App Store, people are still trying to come up with better experiences. Gives hope for the platform.
Glad to hear it. I was also in two minds about how to position my app. Journaling as a concept may not sound very appealing to many (sometimes associated with keeping a diary).
Having said all that, Journelly can be used in all sorts of ways, including quick-note taking, shopping list, or even sending things to the app for me to save (a link to web, music, movie, etc).
Nice! what would be the main differences compared to DayOne?
I would say:
- No account needed for anything.
- Usability (feels more lightweight yet familiar to posting on social media).
- Share anything from other apps (Safari, Google Maps, Twitter, Reddit...) and have it rendered in app. I use this a lot to save things like places I want to eat, music (share from Shazam), movies (share from letterboxd), etc.
- YouTube video links are rendered (and playable from Journelly).
- Simplicity of where your data is stored (single plain text file). Easily accessible and friendly to data preservation.
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