Diary

jrnl – command line journal software

jrnl is a simple journal application for your command line. Journals are stored as human readable plain text files – you can put them into a Dropbox folder for instant syncing and you can be assured that your journal will still be readable in 50 years, when all your fancy iPad journal applications will be dead in the water.

jrnl has two modes: composing and viewing. Basically, whenever you don’t supply any arguments that start with a dash or double-dash, you’re in composing mode, meaning you can write your entry on the command line or your preferred editor.

jrnl also works with DayOne and can read and write directly from and to DayOne Journals.

Key Features

  • Natural-language interface so you don’t have to remember cryptic shortcuts when you’re writing down your thoughts.
  • DayOne integration – read, write and search your DayOne journal from the command line.
  • Encrypt your journals with the military-grade AES encryption. The key used for encryption is the SHA-256-hash of your password, the IV (initialisation vector) is stored in the first 16 bytes of the encrypted file.
  • Access several journals for all parts of your life e.g. for work, private life.
  • Star entries.
  • Tagging.
  • Smart timestamps.
  • Sync your journals with Dropbox.
  • Export journals to JSON.
  • Configuration file – configure the way jrnl behaves in a configuration file.
  • Cross-platform support

Website: jrnl.sh
Support: GitHub Code Repository
Developer: Manuel Ebert and contributors
License: MIT License

jrnl is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.


Related Software

Diary Apps
RedNotebookDaily journal with calendar, templates and keyword searching
LifeographOff-line and private journal and note taking application
KontactUnites mature and proven applications
moodiaryCross-platform diary application
jrnlSimple journal application for your command line
Caps-LogTerminal-based journaling tool
Mini DiariumLocal-only journaling application
TUI-JournalTerminal-based journaling and note-taking application
Org modePowerful system for organizing projects, tasks and notes in Emacs
ThotKeeperCross-platform and hierarchical personal journal manager
Almanah Diary Small diary application
TimeMapPersonal knowledge tool
Simple DiarySimple and lightweight diary app
Daily YouPrivacy-focused diary and journaling application

Read our verdict in the software roundup.


Best Free and Open Source Software Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.

This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk.

You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more.

Discovered a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted