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Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

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Re: Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

#421

Post by mjayhn »

auxbuss wrote: post #408
mjayhn wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got myself stuck in quiver which is a nice tool but has no movement in its project and has horrible exporting. Beware. I still need to move my .qlite notes into markdown. My problem with Quiver wasn't just no updates, its a good tool how it is, but that plus no web/android/windows. Just figured it was time to finally hop of that sinking ship. I.. wish someone had told me this 2 years ago when I started using quiver…

In Quiver, you can right-click a notebook (or All Notes) and export to markdown – as well as png, plain text, pdf, or png.

Thanks for the reminder. I think I tried this but had problems but I definitely need to try again, I totally forgot.

Re: Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

#422

Post by slightwinder »

rhezab wrote: post #157
ericax wrote: post #7

Maker here, excited to be on Hacker News. Obsidian is going into public beta today! (We're also on Product Hunt, come check us out!) We made Obsidian to be your long-term second brain and personal knowledge base. As you put in more notes and make more connections, the knowledge base gets more valuable, so we think it's important that you can 100% own your data and not rely on any cloud services. We believe you second…

Interesting stuff! I currently use Andy Matuschak's [1] system, using his note-link-janitor script [2] to generate backlinks and Typora to edit. The only thing Obsidian adds is the graph view for me, but it seems that Obsidian generates backlinks using file name, not title. I prefer linking by title. Perhaps this can be an option? The editor also seems to be lacking a little... for instance I can't seem to render mat…

Linking by title is an anti-pattern. Titles change and titles are not unique. Link-rot should always be prevented. Best solution is to use a uuid and hide it from the user.

Re: Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

#423

Post by Chris2048 »

xpe wrote: post #402
ALittleLight wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like an argument for buying SDEs needed software. It doesn't seem like an argument against the idea that you can work somewhere where they refuse to buy things like this, and still have it be a good job. If your job pays well, work is interesting, good commute, good benefits, good manager, good coworkers, important mission, or a net positive combination of these things, that seems way more important than w…

I'm curious: were you expecting that my comment offer "an argument against the idea that you can work somewhere where they refuse to buy things like this, and still have it be a good job."? If so, why?

Because it seems like you are talking to a dev, not a manager. Assume the dev is already onboard with the idea of being compensated; the original comment was "I'd be more concerned if you had a hard time getting reimbursed" i.e from the POV of the employee.

Re: Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

#425

Post by ergl »

slightwinder wrote: post #422
rhezab wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting stuff! I currently use Andy Matuschak's [1] system, using his note-link-janitor script [2] to generate backlinks and Typora to edit. The only thing Obsidian adds is the graph view for me, but it seems that Obsidian generates backlinks using file name, not title. I prefer linking by title. Perhaps this can be an option? The editor also seems to be lacking a little... for instance I can't seem to render mat…

Linking by title is an anti-pattern. Titles change and titles are not unique. Link-rot should always be prevented. Best solution is to use a uuid and hide it from the user.

This is what Quiver does underneath the covers. Every note has an unique id, same as attachments (photos, files, pdfs, etc).

My only problem with Quiver is that it seems that development has stopped, so the chances of adding new bits (like link autocomplete, for example), are thin. Other than that it's a pretty useful tool.

Re: Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

#426

Post by prostheticvamp »

johntash wrote: post #383
prostheticvamp wrote: post #359

Counteroffer: I use Kiwi to create a personal wiki on my phone. It sits in a Dropbox folder I always have open as a project in Sublime. It’s also the folder that my NotePlan app uses - so my todo list, calendar, and wiki are all the same set of markdown files. It’s super portable (just a pile of markdown docs in a Dropbox folder), does knowledge base management, and ties my knowledge base directly into my todo/projec…

Can you link to the Kiwi you're talking about? I found https://github.com/danielwertheim/Kiwi but it hasn't been updated in 7+ years, so I'm not sure if it's what you're talking about.. NotePlan looks interesting though. It's not free, but it's on my list of things to try now.

https://github.com/landakram/kiwi

I don’t know when it was last updated, but as far as I can tell, it’s feature-complete for my needs (with zero lock-in).

I actually just tried out OP’s Obsidian and ... it’s nice. In my workflow it would replace Sublime, as the desktop wiki editor sitting on my existing folder of wiki files.

There isn’t any of the lock-in I was getting concerned about from peoples posts here, and personal use is free. I’ll continue to play with it.

Re: Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

#427

Post by jpettersson »

The app looks promising!

If I understand the license correctly there's no way of trying it out for free in a commercial setting. The only use-case I would have for this is as a work tool, but since the license requires me to pay up front I'm not going to try it. A trial period or similar would be nice.

Re: Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

#428

Post by alexktz »

kixiQu wrote: post #187
dvtrn wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Backlinks, thank you. That was the word I was trying to think of and describe exactly this, missed it by THAT much, heh-drinks more coffee . Cheers, I'll definitely be taking this for a spin

Psst, if you end up wanting to do backlinks in context by your notes in Tiddlywiki like Roam does, as shown here... https://i.imgur.com/n9ef25L.png I have how to do that here: https://lesser.occult.institute/an-opinionated-approach-to-t... :)

Great article on Tiddlywiki, thanks! I too hate the name tiddlers but love the software so I tolerate it.

Re: Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

#429

Post by [deleted] »

woodrowbarlow wrote: post #169
douglaswlance wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 3. As extensible as possible. The app would need to be open source for this to be possible. It's still possible to make money with an open-source product. When you're targeting a developer audience, it might even be more profitable to be open-source.

proprietary software can totally be extensible, that's what plugin APIs are for. foss is cool and all, but i don't buy the implication that it's some sort of civic duty for developers to release under a foss license.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files

#430

Post by vorpalhex »

rabidrat wrote: post #323
ubercow13 wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If every piece of software I use day-to-day cost $4/mo, I'm not sure I would even use computers.

Do you create/release/maintain any free software? Or do you just feel entitled to have all the software that individual people do create for free?

Oh, I'll jump in here.

Yes. I've built multiple pieces of free software, including open source drivers, data packages, libraries and even the odd game mod. Those projects have been used by individuals, corporations and other projects, both opensource and closed.

And no, I'm not entitled to free software, but I am entitled to where I spend my time, money and support. I do financially support open source projects that I use (and keep a spreadsheet in Notion to track that on a yearly basis). I also believe that if I'm going to integrate software into my day-to-day and depend on that software, it must be open source or have an open source available alternative (ala Android).

Open source isn't about making (or saving) a dollar. It's about software being more than just a means to profit.

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