Ask HN: What personal knowledge base software do you use? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What personal knowledge base software do you use?

33 pointsminton18 comments

I work in a heavily regulated industry with obscure, seemingly arbitrary rule sets. This translates into an incredibly complex domain model that is too big to fit into a single brain (mine at least).

I'm looking for some type of knowledge base that can help me map out and document my discoveries. Here's a short list of features I'm after:

- fast search - visual linking of topics - ability to add images via paste - links update if a topic is renamed/moved - change tracking/revisions - non-proprietary or at least a data export - bonus points if open source

Is anyone using a knowledge base like I described?

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If you have time to blow, here's a giant list https://www.notion.so/db13644f08144495ad9877f217a161a1?v=ff6... (though not sure how many of these work well with images)

I suspect a lot of people will say Roam. I've tried some of those on the list like Obsidian, Relanote, Supernotes, but I realized I don't care that much for the visual aspect of linking ideas. An ability to store different types of information and create sets based on topic is all I wanted, and I'd leave any 'mind mapping' to my mind. So I just use Zotero and https://www.are.na .

I now use Foam, an open-source version of Roam. It has a Visual Studio Code extension for linking Markdown files and tracing backlinks. So the files are all on your local file system, with version control via git/GitHub/etc.

Web site: https://foambubble.github.io/foam/

GitHub template to clone: https://github.com/foambubble/foam-template

To get started:

* Clone the GitHub template.

* Open that directory in Visual Studio Code.

* Install the extensions that VSC suggests (Foam, Markdown, etc).

I have implemented my own open-source (https://github.com/brettkromkamp/contextualise) topic maps-based personal knowledge management system: Contextualise: https://contextualise.dev/. However, I think Contextualise is missing quite a few of the features that you are looking for.

You can check out an exhaustive list of (personal) knowledge management applications, here: https://github.com/brettkromkamp/awesome-knowledge-managemen...

Contextualise looks impressive. I am looking for something native that hopefully doesn't require running a web server.

Already mentioned below but Zim-wiki [1].

Fast search, check. Visual linking of topics via Link Map plugin [2], check. Add images from paste, check. Links update if a topic is renamed /moved, check. Version control via Version Control plugin [3], check. Non-proprietry, check. Open-source, check.

Also back links too.

1. https://zim-wiki.org/index.html

2. https://zim-wiki.org/manual/Plugins/Link_Map.html

3. https://zim-wiki.org/manual/Plugins/Version_Control.html

If you're running macOS, Tinderbox ticks a number of your boxes:

* "Need to search? Tinderbox starts looking for the answer as soon as you start typing, and often finds your answer before you finish." https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/

* "Links update themselves automatically as you move notes, so sources always stay attached to quotations, and conclusions are always anchored to evidence." https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/Visualize.html

* "[T]here are some neat improvements for notes containing images; for example, notes that start with images now have those shown on the face of the note automatically, which for my art projects is ideal." https://eclecticlight.co/2019/04/16/take-notes-tinderbox-8-i...

* "With Tinderbox, your data is yours. Tinderbox files are XML, and Tinderbox can create HTML, XML, RSS, OPML, and more. Tinderbox shares notes with Simplenote, Notes, Evernote and DEVONthink Pro Office for iPhone and iPad coordination." https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/

Thanks, this looks good feature wise. I am a bit concerned by the dated look of the site and screenshots. It is not cheap either, at $249. Fortunately, they have a trial so I can kick it around and see if it is worth it.

We use Neuron (https://www.srid.ca/). Neuron also is available as a service (https://beta.cerveau.app/) similar to ReadTheDocs (https://readthedocs.org/).

All content is a markdown document (think 'portability' vs. alternative systems where content is more tightly integrated with the service).

MD docs are easily linked to build a network of ideas over time.

All instances are generated from our GitHub repos where different users can thread their collaboration on shared content.

We use Neuron as a staging area to collect cheatsheets, light-weight 'how to' instructions and blogs.

As ideas and cheatsheets 'take shape' we formalize them on a Sphinx platform (the same technology used by ReadTheDocs). We're a Python shop, which is why we use Sphinx.

In our tests, creating and editing content on Neuron/Cerveau takes 70% of the effort of using Roam.

We use conventional editors (ranging from Atom to NP++; everyone has their own idea about 'the editor'); not EMACS or VIM. Some EMACS/VIM users seem to prefer other KM techniques that plug into those editors. NP++ and Atom both have MD preview panels.

I've just started using org-roam (https://org-roam.readthedocs.io/en/master/) and I'm really enjoying it. I've been a fairly hardcore Emacs user for around 10 years but only used the basics of org previously. The zettlekasten system probably isn't for everyone, but it makes sense to me.

I've been using [trillium](https://github.com/zadam/trilium) for a few weeks and have been very impressed with the combination of features and simplicity. It looks like it would check the boxes you list and since it is easily extensible anything it didn't do out of the box you could probably implement pretty easily.

Try my https://histre.com/

With other knowledge bases, you need to remember to create your notes and keep them up to date. So what is started with good intentions always falls into disrepair. Histre on the other hand curates your knowledge for you as much as possible, and when you do need to take notes, it happens seamlessly from within your workflow.

GitLab and two options:

- Wiki

- MkDocs which GitLab can serve as a static website everytime you push if you configure it.

GitLab is open core. You can either host it yourself, or rely on https://gitlab.com/. If you use their editor, you can paste from clipboard or upload a file and it will automatically add the Markdown for it.

It's not quite a fully fledged knowledge base, but https://bear.app/ is pretty great if you're on the Apple ecosystem. Definitely ticks all of your boxes, minus change tracking. Really simple and markdown based with a straightforward tag system.

I used bear when I was writing my thesis it was really good to just write, my process was to write chapters in Bear and typeset properly in LaTeX.

I think over the year I spent 8 months in research/discovery mode making notes and writing in Bear.

The final few months I was focused on the act of authoring rather than the act of research and put it all in LaTeX in the end.

I'm not sure exactly about the visual linking part but Zim has always worked for me. But I might be misunderstanding what you're looking for too.

At the moment I use obsidian [1] and it's OK for me needs.

[1] https://obsidian.md/

org-roam, pdf-tools Emacs mode, anki, org-mode.

org-mode, eying roam research

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