Joplin

Joplin organizes notes and to-dos in notebooks, with tags, search and attachments. It suits people who want editable local notes and control over how their collection is synchronized. The Mac desktop application works alongside Joplin's mobile and other desktop clients; it is not limited to the publisher's paid hosted service.

Notes, attachments and editing

Write Markdown or use the rich-text editor, organize notebooks and tags and attach files or images. Import supported formats such as Evernote ENEX and export notes for backup or migration. The two editors and external-editor integration have different formatting behavior, so test a complex note before repeatedly switching editors. Whiteboard and plugin workflows provide additional ways to work with notes.

The current3.7 line includes optional AI Chat and semantic-search features. These need the selected model/provider configuration and can send note context to that provider. Compatibility, model costs and API credentials are separate from Joplin's core note-taking features. A local model server requires its own setup and resources; enabling AI does not make every note operation depend on an online model.

Synchronization and accounts

Use notes locally without a mandatory Joplin Cloud account, or configure a supported synchronization target such as Joplin Cloud, Joplin Server or WebDAV. Provider accounts, server availability and subscriptions vary. Sharing and publishing capabilities depend on the selected service. Do not assume every sync target supports the same collaboration features.

End-to-end encryption is an optional configured sync feature, not an assertion that every local cache, export, published page or external-model request is encrypted in the same way. Keep the encryption credentials safe and follow the documented setup across devices. Offline note editing is possible with available local content; remote sync and online attachments or services require connectivity.

Installation and inspected platform

Download the official3.7.21 Apple silicon DMG, copy Joplin.app into Applications, or use brew install --cask joplin. The checked download is208,484,343 bytes. Read-only inspection confirms version3.7.21, minimum macOS12.0 and an arm64-only executable. Select the publisher's separate Intel distribution for an Intel Mac rather than calling this download Universal.

The cask declares no additional formula dependency. Node, build scripts and contributor tooling are source-development requirements, not a separate manual runtime setup for the packaged desktop app. Plugins, optional model providers and synchronization servers can need additional configuration. Model weights, note attachments and backups consume disk space beyond the application download.

Permissions and data safety

Joplin needs access to files you import, export or deliberately edit externally. Protected macOS folders can prompt for permission. Optional browser Web Clipper integration uses its own extension and local-service setup; ordinary note-taking does not require blanket screen recording, microphone or Full Disk Access. Review plugin privileges and external tools because they can process sensitive note content.

Notes, attachments, sync logs and exports can contain passwords, personal records and private links. Avoid storing unprotected credentials in a shared or published notebook. Check publishing state before moving notes between folders and verify that a revoked share is actually unavailable. The3.7.21 release fixes stale published flags after moving notes out of a published folder; that specific fix is not a universal guarantee of access revocation in every external service.

License and costs

The repository's default license is AGPL3.0-or-later, with explicit exceptions for directories carrying their own license files. The desktop application is open source; Joplin Cloud hosting and external provider usage can be paid. Free software licensing does not include unlimited hosted storage, model requests or a guarantee of data recovery.

Maintain independent exports or backups before a bulk import, plugin migration or sync change. A synchronization target is not an independent backup, and a mistake can propagate to another device. Review generated text and imported formatting before relying on them.

Sources: Official product, Repository, Exact releases, Repository license.