Knowledge and Document Management Tools⁠🗄
Updated  by  nm  2024-October-25

I’ve been researching knowledge-management tools for years and I’m thinking about them now (again) because…

• I’m pretty sure Zotero is not going to be my primary note-taking tool (but it’s good for bookmarking and storing web pages),
• I've mostly switched from AsciiDoc to Markdown for writing new Infinite Ink articles and that means Markdown-based tools are useful to me now,
• and because of my current state of chaos.⁠😵

Here’s what I’m looking for in a knowledge-management tool:

• offline first
• stores notes in local text files (not in a binary database file)
• cross platform (at least Windows and Linux, ideally with both graphical and command-line interfaces)
• can sync via sync.com and other sync services
• can sync via WebDAV or other standard protocols
• easy to add attachments (PDFs, web pages, images, videos, podcasts, email messages, etc.)
• syncs attachments to other devices without having to worry about where attachments are located on different file systems
• supports one or more of the markup languages I use (Markdown, AsciiDoc, Org-Mode, HTML, LaTeX)
• supports encryption of individual notes
• supports encryption of the entire knowledge base
• supports Vim key bindings
• can launch an external editor, for example GVim, on a note
• can edit notes from the file system without needing to have the app running
• app, its plug ins, and its sync service are audited for security and privacy issues
• free/libre open source software
• active development
• active discussion groups
• public discussion groups with no login wall (e.g., not Discord or Slack)
• is not supported by private equity
• does not use the word proudly or the phrase proudly powered by anywhere in the app or the app’s website or docs (because cringe🤢)

After trying a lot of tools discussed at alternativeto.net/software/obsidian/, I’m leaning toward one of these:

• Obsidian, which, unfortunately, is not FLOSS
• Foam, a personal knowledge management and sharing system for VSCode
• A private GitHub repository that I manage and edit via the github.com web-based editor, the github.dev web-based editor, and editors on my local devices
• IMAP messages and FastMail’s new (as of 2024-August-29) private memos (these private memos are available in local IMAP clients and in FastMail’s web-based mail system)

If you have suggestions, please comment below.