Alternatives to The Archive
A plain-text Zettelkasten note-taking app for macOS that stores notes as Markdown files. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
The Archive
A plain-text Zettelkasten note-taking app for macOS that stores notes as Markdown files.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as The Archive.
Obsidian
A notes app that works on a folder of plain Markdown files on your own disk, with links between them.
Obsidian works on a folder of plain Markdown files with backlinks and graph view, is free, and runs on Windows, Linux and mobile as well as macOS.
Notenik
A free, open-source Mac note-taking app that stores notes as plain-text Markdown files in folders.
Notenik is a free, MIT-licensed Mac app that stores notes as plain Markdown files with wiki-style links, replacing a paid licence.
Zettlr
Write and organize Markdown documents for publication.
Zettlr is a free, open-source Markdown app for Windows, macOS and Linux with document navigation and export workflows for publication.
zk
A command-line tool for maintaining a plain-text Markdown Zettelkasten or personal wiki.
zk is a free command-line tool for a plain-text Markdown Zettelkasten that works with any text editor, with no graphical interface.
FSNotes
An open-source Markdown notes app for Mac and iPhone that stores notes as plain files.
FSNotes is a paid, open-source Markdown app for Mac and iPhone that stores plain files with Git backups and encryption, adding an iOS app.
Octarine
A local-first Markdown note-taking app for macOS that keeps notes as plain files.
Octarine is a freemium, closed-source macOS app that keeps notes as local Markdown files and builds core features in without plugins.
Foam
A personal knowledge management system built on Visual Studio Code and plain Markdown files.
Foam builds a linked Markdown knowledge base inside Visual Studio Code with wikilinks, backlinks and Git sync, and is free and open source.
Org-roam
An Emacs package for linked, plain-text personal knowledge management built on Org mode files.
Org-roam is a free Emacs package for linked plain-text notes built on Org mode files, with backlinks and a graph view but requiring Emacs.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Emanote
A tool that turns a folder of Markdown notes into a linked, browsable website.
Denote
An Emacs note-taking package that organises plain-text notes through a predictable, descriptive file naming scheme.
Logseq
An outliner that stores notes as plain Markdown files, built around a daily journal and linked blocks.
QLMarkdown
Preview Markdown files with macOS Quick Look.
Tinderbox
A Mac app for making, visualizing and analyzing notes, with map views and automation.
