linked For Mac

If you're not a fan of complex journal apps that come with a bunch of useless features and are almost always cloud-based, a simple text processor might seem like a better alternative. But of course, that makes organizing a journal extremely difficult, so maybe there's a middle ground.

linked is an open-source app that aims to offer that, but there's still a long way to go. Designed as a minimalistic daily journal, it is simple to use, local, and keyboard-based, but it still lacks a lot of useful features at present.

First and foremost, it's worth mentioning that this is an Electron-based app, which is obviously not ideal. However, if you can overlook this one flaw, there's quite a bit of potential to be found, and it also makes Windows and Linux support a lot easier to implement.

On the face of it, linked looks very simple, but it does seem to have been designed for power users. It's meant to be navigated with keyboard shortcuts, it offers support for Markdown formatting, and the lack of synchronization features means users have to handle migrations themselves.

There isn't a lot to work with at this early stage in development. You can add notes each day, navigate between them, and use the built-in formatting tools. There are dark and light modes, as well as non-customizable keyboard shortcuts for navigation.

Among the missing features, we can mention a search function, monthly navigation, tags, and optional synchronization. It would also be nice to have the option the send the app to the menu bar and add notes without bringing up the main UI.

Unless you're keen to help with testing and development, or don't mind the lack of important features, linked is probably not going to replace your current journal app. However, it could be a great alternative to overly complex and expensive software in the future.