Haupz Blog

... still a totally disordered mix

Logseq

2023-02-19 — Michael Haupt

In May last year, I’ve started using Logseq for my note taking - both personal stuff and at work. I got interested because some people whose judgment in such matters I trust were quite enthusiastic about Logseq. Giving it a look couldn’t hurt, I thought.

Today, I’m still using it, and have already transferred some of my larger personal note collections to it. I keep discovering new features and possibilities, and let’s just say I’m hooked.

What do I like about it? A random collection:

  • At a high level, Logseq is a lightweight note taking and organisation tool with lots of pragmatic and sensible features.

  • Logseq keeps all the data on the local drive, in Markdown format, unencrypted, accessible.

  • The editor has built-in features for very swift linking from text in a page to external resources, other pages, sections in pages, and even down to single paragraphs (“bullets”).

  • Recurring structures can be easily reproduced using templates.

  • Pages can have alias names, making for nicer linking.

  • Logseq adds, atop the plain Markdown files, an index that allows for extremely swift searching. There’s a powerful advanced query and filtering capability, too.

  • It’s available on desktop, iOS, and Android.

  • There are numerous ways of synchronising across devices, including iCloud and git.

  • The tool is open source, and the monetisation model (yes, it has one, to sustain services and community) is extremely forthcoming: you pay as much as you want in a mode of your choice if you think it’s deserved. (It is.)

Logseq also has a graph visualisation of the page structure - I have yet to discover its true worth but it sure looks nice. A cross-device sync feature has been added and is available in beta mode for paying customers - I'm one of them, and it's pretty usable and stable already.

I have barely scratched the surface. There’s a plugin API allowing for all kinds of power-ups, automation is possible to a considerable extent, and so on, and so on. I believe Logseq is a true power tool.

Tags: the-nerdy-bit, hacking