After spending 100 GBs of internet just for a good productivity app which I can use for note taking, journaling, planning and giving my random cloud-like ideas a space, I came across Obsidian, a free note taking app which is privacy focused, supports extensions (called plugins).
Although it broke my heart. Why? I need that sync feature (which is paid!!). So, myself, being a beginner super junior Web Developer, thought about some workarounds to get that feature without paying a single dollar (I'm on tight budget actually :|).
So, I have thought of some workarounds, but selected top 2 workarounds that made sense.
Git
A simple, yet intuitive version control system, which I use as a go to version manager for all my projects.
Why did I choose it?
Well, at first I thought about sync feature, then I thought about the devices I use (Linux and Android, tbh). So, there clicked a remarkable idea! What if I put all my notes on GitHub managed (or rather tracked/synced) using Git? It would be an ideal choice for every developer, because most developers use git as their version control manager. Don't say you deny this fact :)
To achieve that, I created a vault, and after creation, I initialised a git repository and connected it to GitHub and made the sync feature work, but with one problem. I use Android!! :|
Why I will not choose it?
I know it is great thing that to sync all the files using Github (which is free) but the catch is about writing all the terminal commands on a mobile device! I know, I know, Termux is there but you see, everytime you create a note after completing a note, you need to sync it manually with the one in Github with the help of git commands (no, no I ain't gonna bore you with those commands ;)) which is kinda pain to some lazy developers like me :|.
MEGA Era
That's when I came to another idea, (yes, finally!!) using a free privacy focused cloud storage. And boy, you guessed it right! MEGA, the free cloud storage I was talking about and the main protagonist of this blog ;).
You see, Mega is a free cloud storage that's available on all computing platforms, it comes with many features and one such is Mega Sync, which I have setup on my Linux desktop and on my Android phone.
What I did to make it work?
Since, it is installed on my daily used devices. I went ahead and installed Obsidian on my phone and created a folder, named "Vault", on my phone under Documents folder (you're free to save it elsewhere) and opened Obsidian thereafter and gave all the necessary permissions to operate, this was zero-th thing I did.
Firstly, I went ahead and created a file and wrote "Hello world" (just developers' things XD).
Then, I opened Mega Cloud Storage app (I've registered myself already) and created a folder, in the root of my Cloud Drive, named "Obsidian Vault". Then I switched to Syncs tab and clicked on "Add new sync" button.
On the next screen, I got something like this one.
There I clicked on "Device folder" and chose the folder, named "Vault", which was under my Documents folder and then clicked on "Select Folder" button.
Then I clicked on the "Mega folder" and chose the folder "Obsidian Vault" which I created in the root of Mega Cloud Drive, then clicked on "Select Folder" button
and on the next screen...
and then clicked on "Sync".
Now after couple of seconds, you'll see
That's it! You're now using Obsidian with the sync feature (was paid, now free XD). Cheers!
Why did I choose it?
As I stated, git was a good one, I myself would have used git at first but not every platform loves the terminal interface. So, I switched to Mega, as it is available on all platforms.
Secondly, all those git commands are easy for developers like me, but in general, for a normal human being (except me) would be a rocket packed with nukes! So, that's why I chose Mega.
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See you all in the next article!
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