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 | |
|---|---|
| RedNotebook | Daily journal with calendar, templates and keyword searching |
| Lifeograph | Off-line and private journal and note taking application |
| Kontact | Unites mature and proven applications |
| moodiary | Cross-platform diary application |
| jrnl | Simple journal application for your command line |
| Caps-Log | Terminal-based journaling tool |
| Mini Diarium | Local-only journaling application |
| TUI-Journal | Terminal-based journaling and note-taking application |
| Org mode | Powerful system for organizing projects, tasks and notes in Emacs |
| ThotKeeper | Cross-platform and hierarchical personal journal manager |
| Almanah Diary | Small diary application |
| TimeMap | Personal knowledge tool |
| Simple Diary | Simple and lightweight diary app |
| Daily You | Privacy-focused diary and journaling application |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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