Athens Research

• A [[project]] led by [[jeff tang]].
• [[go]] https://github.com/athensresearch/athens/
• Probably the best [[roam like]] soon; but it is currently still in closed beta.
• [[clojure]], [[datascript]] based.
• I/O with Agora will probably be through something like [[roam2agora]] (to begin with).
  • https://github.com/athensresearch/athens/issues/98 for export support.
• See also: [[athens]] ([[Agora plan]]: the Agora should resolve "see also" blocks.)

Dendron

• a [[tool]]
  • [[pkm]] [[roam like]] [[hierarchical]]
    • A [[vscode]] extension -- like [[foam]].
    • perhaps [[taxonomical]] would be more correct
  • [[github]] https://github.com/dendronhq/dendron
    • 1.1k stars, 40 forks as of [[2021-01-04]].
    • by [[kevinslin]] [[jonesian]]
  • Recommended by [[reddy2go]].
  • To get started:
    • [[go]] https://egghead.io/lessons/vs-code-download-and-install-a-dendron-workspace?pl=build-a-personal-knowledge-management-system-with-dendron-b24b
  • [[yc w21]]

Foam

• [[go]]https://github.com/foambubble/foam/
• sub-module for private garden. CANNOT BE DONE, gh-jekyll complains "The submodule registered for ./Walls could not be cloned. Make sure it's using https:// and that it's a public repo. See https://docs.github.com/en/github/working-with-github-pages/troubleshooting-jekyll-build-errors-for-github-pages-sites#invalid-submodule" <button class="pull-url" value="https://docs.github.com/en/github/working-with-github-pages/troubleshooting-jekyll-build-errors-for-github-pages-sites#invalid-submodule"](https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwLsmclCJcnvjwfLBGQCrWCPvjz">pull.
• retrofit foam to run with [[restructured-text]] (not just Markdown), see foambubble/foam#474.

Foam is a personal knowledge management and sharing system inspired by [[Roam Research]], built on [[Visual Studio Code]] and [[GitHub]].

You can use Foam for organising your research, keeping re-discoverable notes, writing long-form content and, optionally, publishing it to the web.

Foam is free, open source, and extremely extensible to suit your personal workflow. You own the information you create with Foam, and you’re free to share it, and collaborate on it with anyone you want.

website: https://foambubble.github.io/foam/ git: https://github.com/foambubble/foam

Several people have asked me what I think is the best available open source alternative to Roam currently. I've procrastinated writing about this long enough; here go some relatively raw thoughts in lieu of a proper answer. I'll try to keep this updated.

Foam

As of the time of writing I believe the best Roam-like is Foam (https://flancia.org/go/foam) pull. At least that's what I'm currently using. Setup is a bit clunky, if only because it is actually an extension for a text editor, VSCode. But it's a really good text editor -- and I say this as a die hard vim fan, if you know what I mean.

First it was off-putting but now I think it being an extension is kind of genius. It makes it so that you can extend it and compose it with other existing extensions very easily.

Following https://foambubble.github.io/foam/#getting-started:

1. First, install VSCode: https://code.visualstudio.com/download.
2. Log into github, or create an account there if you don't have it: https://github.com.
3. Create an ssh key and upload it to github if you haven't already done it: https://github.com/settings/keys. If you don't have a key, on OS X and GNU/Linux you can just run ssh-keygen to generate it; the result (what you need to upload to github in this step) will be in .ssh/id_rsa.pub (could also be in .ssh/id_dsa.pub depending on your SSH version).
4. Create a new repository using the Foam template: https://github.com/foambubble/foam-template/generate.
5. Clone the repository in your computer, using the git client (if you have it) or the git extension in VSCode.
6. Open the repository in VSCode and follow the instructions. Accept installing the recommended extensions (Foam is actually a package of other extensions; that's part of its power). If for some reason VSCode doesn't recommend installing Foam, you can search for it and install it by pressing ctrl-shift-p and typing "install extensions".
7. press alt-d to generate a daily note. Then get writing! :)

If you add text [[that looks like this]], it becomes a link -- it's a [[wikilink]]. You can control+click to follow it, which will create a file if necessary or open it if it already exists.

Once in a while, commit your changes in VSCode/git. It will automatically back up your notes to github. If you want to keep them private, you should flip that setting on github.com.

That's it!

A note on Athens

Athens (https://flancia.org/go/athens) pull is only in closed beta. Once it's out, it might provide the best out-of-the-box Roam-like experience; it is looking like it'll be amazing really great. From all the tools listed here, note that only Athens supports block references. If you care about them, you'll want to try it out.

Migrating from Obsidian

I mean, you don't actually need to migrate from Obsidian. Obsidian is actually pretty great! I prefer Foam because of its extensibility and because it's open source; but I like Obsidian. Its community forums are also great.

I'd still recommend you commit your Obsidian repository to git; this way you maintain full control over it, and you can even contribute it to the Agora directly too -- functionally the whole setup can be very similar to Foam. You can just set up an empty repository in github, clone it in your computer, and then copy/create your Obsidian notes directory to it. After that you need to manually run git one in a while to update it:

$ cd garden
$ git commit -a -m "Some message saying what's in this commit."
$ git push

Remember to set your repo as private if you want to keep it that way.

Migrating from Roam Research

You can export your database to Markdown, and import that directly into Foam or Obsidian. Obsidian even has a "Markdown import fixer" that solves some issues with it (unclear to me right now exactly what the list of issues fixed is).

Agora

Now you have a digital garden of your own, please consider adding it to the Agora: https://flancia.org/go/agora-howto pull. The Agora contains a repository of digital gardens. With such a "digital forest" we could build a https://flancia.org/go/distributed-knowledge-graph pull by convention.

If you need help, please reach out to me anytime at 0@flancia.org, https://flancia.org/go/twitter pull or https://flancia.org/go/mastodon pull.

Foam

• A [[project]].
  • [[roam like]]. A [[vscode]] extension.
  • [[go]] https://foambubble.github.io/foam/
    • By [[jevakallio]], [[riccardo ferretti]].
    • Notable contributors / people I've met in the [[discord]]: [[ingalless]] [[scottjoe]] [[riccardo]] [[mathieudutour]].
  • As of [[2021-01-04]], my personal [[agora client]].
    • See [[foam settings]], which describes my setup.
    • Update [[2021-05-07]]: left for [[obsidian]].
  • To use foam:
    • Fork its template repository: https://github.com/foambubble/foam-template/. You can use any name you desire for your repository.
    • Install [[vscode]] if necessary: https://code.visualstudio.com/download. Launch it.
    • Select 'clone repository' -- if you're using [[github]], log in with [[github]]. Authorize [[vscode]] to make changes to your account. It sometimes requires you to retry once for some reason.
      • [[vscode]] should offer to install recommended extensions. Say yes.
    • You can now use [[foam]]:
      • Press alt-d to start a new daily note (your journal).
      • Write [[wikilinks]] to link to other pages.
      • Control-click them to visit existing linked notes or create them if needed.
      • ctrl-p to open an existing note.
      • ctrl-shift-p to bring up the [[vscode]] command palete; you can search for any command and see keyboard shortcuts.
      • Whenever you want to commit to your repository (and the Agora), save all files and use the "branch-like" icon on the left toolbar to review changes and write a commit message.
      • You may need to set a user.name and user.email in git. To do this, open the terminal in [[vscode]] and type:
        • git config --global user.name "Your Name"
        • git config --global user.email "yourname@example.com"

Foam

• [[flancian]] used to use this, now uses [[obsidian]]

From the Github README:

Logseq is a local-first, non-linear, outliner notebook for organizing and sharing your personal knowledge base.

Use it to organize your todo list, to write your journals, or to record your unique life.

The server will never store or analyze your private notes. Your data are plain text files and we currently support both Markdown and Emacs Org mode (more to be added soon).

In the unlikely event that the website is down or cannot be maintained, your data is, and will always be yours.

Logseq is hugely inspired by [[Roam Research]], [[Org Mode]], [[TiddlyWiki]] and [[Workflowy]], hats off to all of them!

Not currently open source, although they say they will release it.

• FAQ https://logseq.com/blog/faq
• Github https://github.com/logseq/logseq
• Twitter @logseq

Logseq

• a [[pkm tool]]
  • [[roam like]], but didn't set out to be a clone as [[athens]] apparently did
  • by [[tienson qin]], [[junyu zhan]]
  • [[twitter]] https://twitter.com/logseq
  • [[go]] https://logseq.com
  • [[git]] https://github.com/logseq/logseq
    • [[bugs]] https://github.com/logseq/logseq/issues
  • could be a better default [[agora editor]] than [[foam]]
    • easier to use
  • could be a better default [[agora editor]] than [[obsidian]]
    • [[open source]]
      • server components not quite, but coming soon
  • browser based but also offers an [[app]] (electron)
  • based around [[git]], like the [[agora]]
    • can create a repository for you
  • defaults to [[org-mode]] instead of [[markdown]] but they now (as of June 2021) support markdown well
    • uses [[isomorphic git]]
  • [[oauth]] support
  • [[fission]] https://twitter.com/FISSIONcodes/status/1380313842622717953 pull
  • [[2022-05]] raised [[4m]]
  • quite slow at the ~5k notes range unfortunately. As of [[2022-05-26]] I'm experimenting with using [[wiki vim]] instead, although I do miss some [[logseq]] features.
  • #bug https://github.com/logseq/logseq/issues/2089

• [[pkm]]
• [[go]] https://logseq.com/
• [[github]] https://github.com/logseq/logseq
• [[docs]] https://docs.logseq.com/#/page/Contents pull

• https://github.com/logseq/awesome-logseq

Desktop Markdown editor for Mac, Windows, and Linux that has built in backlinking, wikilinks, and [[Zettelkasten]] support.

• https://obsidian.md
• [[@obsdmd::https://twitter.com/obsdmd]]

License model is free for personal use, they intend to have paid licenses for commercial use, much like the licensing model for IDEs. Personal users pay for early access and other community features.

From the home page:

In our age when cloud services can shut down, get bought, or change privacy policy any day, the last thing you want is proprietary formats and data lock-in.

With Obsidian, your data sits in a local folder. Never leave your life's work held hostage in the cloud again.

Plain text Markdown also gives you the unparalleled interoperability to use any kind of sync, encryption, or data processing that works with plain text files.

From the about page:

Although we call it a personal knowledge base or your [[Second Brain]], we also like to think of it as an [[IDE for your notes::highlight]]. You can think of an IDE as a powerful frontend that tries to understand your code, such as where are functions and variables stored, what are their types, and by doing so make it super easy to navigate code and get suggestions as you type.

They used to work on [[Dynalist]].

Obsidian

• a [[tool]]
  • for note taking/[[pkm]]; an [[agora editor]]
  • [[go]] https://obsidian.md
  • [[forum]] https://forum.obsidian.md/
  • as of [[2021-05-07]] the recommended closed source [[agora editor]].
    • previously I had tried it after [[roam]] -- but I left it behind for [[foam]] on due to it not being [[open source]].
      • this thread was what sealed the deal, didn't make it sound like open source was likely to happen anytime soon: https://forum.obsidian.md/t/open-sourcing-of-obsidian/1515. I then wrote https://flancia.org/go/why-not-obsidian pull.
    • [[foam]] seemed more easily extensible to me, but [[obsidian plugins]] (community maintained) tend to be great and open source.
      • [[obsidian git]] is a great [[vault]] backup solution and open source. It replaces proprietary [[cloud sync]] -- which you need to pay for if you get it from [[obsidian]] directly.
    • as of [[2021-05-07]] I'm back to [[obsidian]] from [[foam]]. I no longer think it's a deal breaker as pro-social companies might need to refrain but being fully open at all times to remain competitive in the market, and Obsidian's business model (where they charge for optional features like sync and do not block community solutions in the same space) seems fair to me.
    • see [[defoam]] for a description of the migration process.
    • [[obsidian]] is [[faster]], a bit more [[polished]] and has a great [[community extensions]] market.

https://twitter.com/flancian/status/1390757242786533384 pull

https://twitter.com/flancian/status/1310487321767219200 pull

Obsidian — система управления знаниями. Предполагается использовать для этого [[Markdown]].

[[2022-01-28]] провёл в [[уютной тумбочке]] стрим, где я в прямом эфире изучал Обсидиан, а зрители мне подсказывали и комментировали. Пришёл к выводу, что Обсидиан — хороший софт, который можно рекомендовать.

= Ссылки => https://blog.danilax86.space/obsidian/

Obsidian

• #go-link https://obsidian.md
• the best [[roam-like]] in my opinion

• a [[markup]].
  • #push [[agora plan]] I should add better org mode support to the [[Agora]].
    • [[orgparse]]
    • [[orgpython]]
    • or use neil's project, [[ox agora]] (may be the best bet)
    • or use [[pandoc]]
  • #go https://orgmode.org/worg/dev/org-syntax.html
  • #pull [[org mode markup cheatsheet]]

org-mode

Find some more info in [[My Spacemacs User Config]].

See also [[org-mode and GTD]].

Publishing a knowledge base with org-mode

This personal wiki is [[written in org-mode]] style plain text and exported to HTML.

Useful links

• Publishing Org-mode files to HTML
• Blogging with Org publishing

org-download

Oh man. Just discovered org-download. So useful!

Works best with 'import %s' to my mind. gnome-screenshot blocks the window, whereas with import I can still tab around and select which window to capture and all that.

org-super-agenda

I use this to get a better layout in org-agenda.

org-agenda

Dang, the marking and performing actions of multiple items in the agenda is super useful. Especially to think you can write your own arbitrary function to run, too.

Archiving

[[Speeding up bulk archiving in org-agenda]]

PDF Tools

I added this via the pdf layer from spacemacs. It's handy for sure.

remnote

• a [[tool]].
  • [[personal knowledge management]]
  • [[go]] https://www.remnote.com
    • "Sure, it’s a [[note-taking tool]]. But there’s also [[flashcards]], [[PDFs]], [[backlinks]], and more - to help you [[learn]], stay organized, and [[think]]."

Roam Like

• A [[tool]] in the [[pkm]] space.
  • That is, a tool that is in some way like [[roam research]], or more generically a [[note taking tool]] that supports [[wiki conventions]] and [[backlinks]].
  • [[pull]] [[pkm]] [[roam likes]]
  • If you use [[roam research]], it is not hard to make the jump to:
    • [[athens research]] (open source; pretty much a clone, at least in its beginnings)
    • [[logseq]] (open source)
    • [[obsidian]] (not open source)

"A note-taking tool for networked thought. As easy to use as a document. As powerful as a graph database. Roam helps you organize your research for the long haul."

I currently use Roam for my private note taking. I practice making a daily [[Worklog]], taking notes on meetings, running a lightweight CRM, and managing my personal TODOs with it.

Roam Research

• [[go]] roamresearch.com
• Probably the lead in the [[personal knowledge management]] space.
• It is like a personall [[wiki]] with the following extra features:
  • [[backlinks]]: very important.
  • [[block references]]: important in that they are [[transclusion]].
• Unfortunately not [[open source]]. Has an [[extension ecosystem]] but that's also closed.
  • I find this worrying.
  • [[athens research]] tries to be an [[open source]] [[roam research]] -- and more.
  • See [[wikilinking tools]] for other alternatives.
• [[pull]] [[roam likes]]