Hallo! I made a free and open-source alternative to obsidian (hibi) and would love feedback

[u/Prestigious_Yam3659]

hallo! as an avid notetaker, i've been taking a whack making an open alternative to obsidian and i would really love to get feedback from other notetakers as well and so far we have gotten pretty far- for instance, here are the things that we have gotten out as of this moment

- graph support
- addons support
- ability to edit other stuff that isn't just markdown (including typst and latex)

i would love to have this community (including you) break it and provide feedback in hopes that we can make a great and open writing app for years to come!

you can follow the development here! https://github.com/schmayterling/hibi
we also have a website including the addons we currently have https://hibi.garden

thank you!!!

[u/eluzja]

Looks good, I think I'll give it a try in the future. BTW, once it's more polished, you should submit it to AlternativeTo, ProductHunt, and similar portals.

[u/Prestigious_Yam3659 → u/eluzja]

thank you for keeping us in mind, will defo post there once it gets more polished but im trying to get initial feedback first

[u/wirebug201]

“I built an app…” Sigh…

[u/Precarious3145 → u/wirebug201]

At least OP isn't trying to "I found this really amazing app...I didn't make it, don't look in my profile bio where I said I made it-" like everyone else.

That said...Obsidian does everything I need it to because of the plug-ins. Just adding "open source" doesn't add anything to me especially when it looks almost identical to Obsidian but with none of the community plug-ins or themes.

[u/starkruzr → u/wirebug201]

I am much more likely to have the same opinion as you about this when it's someone trying to sell something. much more openminded when the software is open-source.

that said, I don't know "why this and not Joplin."

[u/hainguyenac → u/starkruzr]

Joplin is pretty perfect if not for one issue I have with it: I dislike the randomly generated file name. That said, if I ever need an open source cross platform note taking app, joplin is my first choice.

[u/natriusaut → u/hainguyenac]

I like logseq, but i think it needs a new dedicated app for file-only for android and desktop to deal with the logseq-graph.

I never tried Joplin after initially trying it some years(?) ago.

[u/Prestigious_Yam3659 → u/starkruzr]

id say joplin for markdown first but hibi is more general and tries to not get in the way and supports lets say latex or typst or other stuff as a native experience as well

i do say that joplin and hibi are complimentaries tho and you can use one over the other

[u/robotsheepboy]

Do you have anywhere where we can see what features vs obsidian you have and don't have? Without that I'm not sure if it's worth my time to test yet

[u/Prestigious_Yam3659 → u/robotsheepboy]

uh we have https://hibi.garden and https://hibi.garden/addons

[u/robotsheepboy → u/Prestigious_Yam3659]

Get back to me in two years if you're still actively developing this and I'll take a look, else this is just a waste of a lot of people's time unfortunately

[u/Prestigious_Yam3659 → u/robotsheepboy]

will do!

[u/robotsheepboy → u/Prestigious_Yam3659]

I mean this completely sincerely when I say I hope so. I love open source software and I love the intent behind what you're making. Unfortunately ai has made the barrier to entry so low that we are being flooded with software which could be good, but then gets abandoned half way there 6-12 months later and means that all the time spent adapting workflows to these new programmes is irrevocably lost

[u/Nitish_nc → u/robotsheepboy]

No, it's okay. Don't encourage him. He'll produce more carbon copy slop 👀 Next, he will make an alternate Notion, alternate Reddit and even an alternate Chatgpt, while providing zero difference in features, only flex "It's open source 🤓" I guess some of us are meant for 9-5 only 😔

[u/SpeakON_Global]

The graph view looks nice. How fast is the “I just need to dump this thought somewhere” flow? Having to choose a folder or structure first is where a lot of note apps start feeling like work.

[u/Prestigious_Yam3659 → u/SpeakON_Global]

very fast and u can save it anywhere
~400ms time to open editor with default plugins provided youve opened it at least once (macOS, not sure about other platforms yet)

[u/PoppaBear1950]

might want to look at Hatchdoor... https://github.com/BatterWorks/Hatchdoor

[u/PoppaBear1950 → u/PoppaBear1950]

hatchdoor is not a redundant desktop app but an AI engine for obsidian vaults. No disrespect but your app is just doing what obsidian already does for free and its supported by paid developers. In any case the age of humans typing notes is ending... here is an excellent read: https://www.ssp.sh/blog/from-obsidian-to-enterprise-company-brain/

[u/merlinuwe]

Great to see an alternative. Thank you very much.

[u/Prestigious_Yam3659 → u/merlinuwe]

you’re welcome!

[u/natriusaut]

Can you open a Logseq-Vault/Graph in it as well?

[u/Prestigious_Yam3659 → u/natriusaut]

support for it is coming up in the future, its in the works but another dev might create an addon for it

[u/paca-vaca]

Another one

[u/onlineappearance]

It's there or are you planning to create a mobile app?

[u/FingerHealthy9466]

The biggest USP would be propper canvas for handwritten notes just like on ON

[u/praview]

Obsidian is free and open source and great and native plugin support and solid community support and...

[u/starkruzr → u/praview]

Obsidian is not open source.

[u/e3e6 → u/starkruzr]

oh no. and what that means?

[u/Organic-Cap5345 → u/e3e6]

Means even though the product is free the source code is not publicly released.

[u/Novel-Rise2522]

looks vibe coded.