Jotty

Self-hosted notes and checklists, honestly reviewed. No marketing fluff, just what you get when you self-host it.

TL;DR

• What it is: AGPL-3.0 self-hosted app for checklists and rich-text notes — file-based, no database required [README].
• Who it’s for: People who want something simpler than Obsidian but more organized than Google Keep, and who are comfortable running Docker [3].
• Cost savings: Google Keep is free but cloudbound; Obsidian Sync runs $10/mo; Notion Plus runs $10/user/mo. Jotty self-hosted runs on a $5–6/mo VPS with zero subscription fees [README].
• Key strength: File-based storage (plain Markdown and JSON files on disk), PGP encryption baked in, and a WYSIWYG editor that supports Markdown without requiring it. One real user replaced both Google Keep and Obsidian with it [3].
• Key weakness: AGPL-3.0 license (restrictive for commercial embedding), PWA only with no offline write support, and it’s a small solo-developer project with 1,701 GitHub stars — not the kind of battle-tested project you bet a team’s productivity on [README][1].

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What is Jotty

Jotty (marketed as “jotty·page,” formerly rwMarkable) is a self-hosted web app for personal checklists and notes. It runs on your server, stores everything in plain Markdown and JSON files, and presents a clean two-panel interface: checklists on one side, notes on the other. The pitch in the README is plain: “A self-hosted app for your checklists and notes. It’s extremely easy to deploy, keeps all your data on your own server and allows you to encrypt/decrypt your notes for your personal peace of mind.” [README]

What separates it from the dozen other self-hosted note apps is the combination of three things. First, no database — all data lives in files under a single directory you mount into the container, which means backup is cp -r and there’s no Postgres to maintain [README]. Second, PGP encryption built into the app — not just HTTPS in transit but at-rest encryption of notes you choose to protect, documented in a dedicated howto/ENCRYPTION.md [README]. Third, the editor is WYSIWYG-first but Markdown-fluent — you can type in rich text or switch to raw Markdown, without configuring a plugin or toggling a setting [3].

The project is maintained by a single developer (fccview) and sits at 1,701 GitHub stars with 92 forks as of this writing [1]. It has an active community on Discord, Reddit, and Telegram [README]. AlternativeTo lists 126 alternatives to it, which is a rough proxy for how many people are treating it as a solved problem in a competitive space [1].

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Why people choose it

The clearest case study comes from XDA Developers writer Megan Ellis [3], who published a firsthand account of replacing both Google Keep and Obsidian with Jotty. It’s worth unpacking because it maps exactly to the product’s strengths.

The Google Keep problem: Ellis describes using Keep for years for quick notes and checklists, but finding it increasingly hard to organize. Pins, labels, and color-coding weren’t enough at scale. Keep is designed for ephemeral capture, not structured management. Jotty’s category system — you create named buckets for Work, Personal, or whatever you need — solved the organization problem without requiring Notion-level complexity [3].

The Obsidian problem: Ellis started Obsidian the same year, tried plugins to soften its Markdown-only approach, and still found it “a bit overwhelming.” The key friction: Obsidian is a power tool for personal knowledge management and link graphs. If you just want rich notes without building a Zettelkasten, the learning curve is real overhead [3]. Jotty’s WYSIWYG editor with optional Markdown support sits in the middle: you get formatting without being forced into markup syntax.

What tipped the decision: Three specific Jotty features Ellis calls out [3]:

• Bulk upload of checklist items (her 68-item article ideas list transferred without manual entry)
• PDF export (she emails car service notes from her phone)
• Kanban board as an alternative view for the same checklist, no separate setup needed

AlternativeTo’s community review [1] is brief but consistent: “As a note taking app, it’s straight-forward and also provides switching to Markdown support. Bonus, you can also encrypt notes.” The encryption point keeps appearing as a differentiator — most casual note apps treat at-rest encryption as an enterprise feature.

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Features

Based on the README and first-hand review:

Checklists:

• Drag and drop reordering with progress bars [README]
• Categories for organizing lists [3][README]
• Bulk import of items [3]
• Simple checklist mode or Kanban board view — same data, different presentation [3][README]
• Time tracking on task projects [README]

Notes:

• WYSIWYG editor powered by TipTap [README]
• Full Markdown support with syntax highlighting [README][1]
• PDF export [3]
• Note interlinking (link one note to another) [3]
• Tables of contents (mentioned in the XDA article) [3]

Sharing:

• Share checklists or notes with other users on your instance [README]
• Public sharing via shareable links [README]

Storage and data:

• File-based: all data in Markdown and JSON files, no database [README]
• Single data/ directory — backup is just copying that folder [README]

Security and access:

• PGP encryption for notes (at-rest, documented separately) [README][1]
• SSO with OIDC [README]
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) [README]
• Admin panel for user management with session tracking [README]
• REST API with authentication [README][1]

UX and platform:

• 14 built-in themes plus custom theme support [README]
• Custom emojis and icons [README]
• PWA — mobile-first, installable, partial offline caching (read-only) [README]
• Multi-language UI [README]
• Keyboard shortcuts [README]

What it doesn’t have:

• Native iOS or Android app (PWA only) [README]
• Offline write/create support — existing pages cache, but no CRUD offline [README]
• No AI features, no integrations beyond the API

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Pricing: SaaS vs self-hosted math

Jotty itself has no SaaS tier — it’s purely self-hosted. The pricing comparison is against the cloud services it displaces:

Google Keep:

• Price: free, but your data lives on Google’s servers and is processed for advertising signals. No export to plain files. No Kanban, no encryption.

Obsidian:

• Local software: free
• Obsidian Sync (sync across devices): $10/mo or $96/yr
• Obsidian Publish (share notes publicly): $8/mo or $96/yr
• If you’re paying for sync, that’s $120/yr minimum

Notion:

• Free tier: blocks, 5MB file uploads, limited guests
• Plus: $10/user/mo (billed annually) — this is where most small teams land
• At $10/mo that’s $120/yr for a solo user

Jotty self-hosted:

• Software: $0 (AGPL-3.0)
• VPS to run it: $5–6/mo on Hetzner or Contabo
• Your annual cost: ~$60–72

Concrete savings over Obsidian Sync: $48–60/year. Over Notion Plus: $48–60/year. These aren’t dramatic numbers — Jotty makes the most economic sense if you’re already running a home server or VPS for other things and can add a container at no marginal cost. At that point the comparison shifts from dollars to data sovereignty: your notes in plain Markdown files on your hardware, accessible via API if you want to script against them, exportable without a vendor’s cooperation.

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Deployment reality check

Jotty is among the easier self-hosted apps to get running. The README’s install path is a single docker-compose.yml with three volume mounts: data, config, and cache. No database service in the compose file — that’s the point. The data directory structure is straightforward:

data/users/
data/checklists/
data/notes/
data/sharing/
data/encryption/

Beyond Docker, there are community-maintained paths for Proxmox VE (a shell script installer) and Unraid (a template in Community Applications) [README]. That’s a signal of a healthy self-hosted community around the project, even if the core team is small.

What you actually need:

• A Linux VPS or home server with 512MB–1GB RAM free (it’s Next.js, not a heavyweight)
• Docker and docker-compose
• A domain and reverse proxy (Caddy is easiest) if you want HTTPS outside your LAN
• No database setup required

What can go sideways:

• The AGPL-3.0 license is the most significant gotcha for anyone building a product. AGPL requires that if you run a modified version as a network service, you must release your modifications under AGPL. For personal use this is irrelevant. For founders embedding it in their product, it’s a legal conversation [README][1].
• No offline writes. The PWA caches pages you’ve visited for read-only access when offline. You can’t create or edit checklists without a connection. If you’re on a plane hoping to take notes, you’re out of luck [README].
• Small project, single maintainer. 1,701 stars and 92 forks is a real community, but not the same durability signal as a project with 10,000+ stars and a funded company behind it. If fccview stops maintaining it, you’re on your own — though AGPL means you have the code [README][1].
• The project was formerly called rwMarkable — renamed to jotty·page at some point [README]. This isn’t a stability concern per se, but it suggests the project is still finding its identity.

Realistic time to working instance for a technical user: 20–30 minutes. For a non-technical founder following a guide: 1–2 hours including domain and HTTPS setup. Proxmox and Unraid users have it even easier with the community scripts [README].

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Pros and Cons

Pros

• No database. Everything in Markdown and JSON files. Backup is tar. Migration is mv. Inspect your data with any text editor. This is a genuinely unusual architectural choice in an app category full of Postgres-dependent tools [README].
• WYSIWYG with Markdown escape hatch. You get a rich editor by default, optional Markdown syntax for those who want it, no plugin required, no config [3][README].
• PGP encryption built in. Not just in transit, but at-rest note encryption documented with its own how-to guide. Most apps in this category don’t offer this at all [README][1].
• Kanban on the same data. A checklist can be viewed as a flat list or a Kanban board without creating a separate project. Convenient for anyone who thinks in different modes at different times [3][README].
• Genuinely replaces two apps. The XDA review [3] is a real account of replacing Keep (checklists) and Obsidian (rich notes) simultaneously. The feature set is wide enough to cover both use cases without being bloated.
• PWA is actually good. Mobile-first design with installable PWA and offline read caching. Not a native app, but the experience is close for day-to-day use [README].
• SSO, MFA, REST API — these features in a small personal notes app are above average. You can authenticate with your existing OIDC provider and script against the API [README].
• Active communities on Discord, Reddit, and Telegram [README] — you won’t be debugging in silence.

Cons

• AGPL-3.0, not MIT. If you’re a founder thinking about embedding this in your product or service, the license requires you to open-source your modifications. That’s a real constraint compared to MIT-licensed alternatives [README][1].
• No offline writes. PWA caching is read-only. Create, edit, delete — all require a live connection [README]. For a notes app that might follow you everywhere, this is a meaningful limitation.
• Solo maintainer. One developer means release cadence and bug response depend on one person’s availability. There’s no company or foundation backing this [README][1].
• No native mobile app. PWA works, but App Store / Play Store users won’t find it there. Users who prefer native apps are out [README].
• 1,701 stars is modest. In a category with Joplin (17K+), Obsidian (50K+), and Logseq (32K+), Jotty is small. Longevity is an open question [1].
• No team collaboration features. You can share notes and checklists on the same instance, but there’s no real-time co-editing, no comments, no mention system. It’s built for personal or small household use, not a startup team [README].
• No AI features. No summarization, no semantic search, no LLM integration. If you came from Notion AI or Obsidian with AI plugins, there’s nothing equivalent here [README].

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Who should use this / who shouldn’t

Use Jotty if:

• You’re a solo founder or individual paying for Obsidian Sync or Notion and you want that recurring bill to go away.
• You want your notes in plain files on your own hardware — searchable with grep, backed up with rsync, not dependent on a vendor staying in business.
• You already run a home server or VPS and can add a container at no marginal cost.
• You want checklists and rich-text notes in the same app without the overhead of a full PKM like Obsidian.
• PGP at-rest encryption for sensitive notes matters to you.

Skip it (stay on Google Keep) if:

• You want zero setup, zero maintenance, and a free product is fine.
• You share checklists with family on mobile and they won’t touch a self-hosted app.

Skip it (stay on Obsidian) if:

• You rely on the plugin ecosystem: Dataview, Templater, Daily Notes, graph view.
• You’re building a personal knowledge base with deep interlinking and backlinks.
• You need true offline capability everywhere.

Skip it (consider Joplin or Silverbullet) if:

• You want a fully open-source note app with more mature multi-device sync, richer plugin support, and a larger community.
• You need iOS and Android native apps.

Skip it (consider Affine or AppFlowy) if:

• You want team collaboration, real-time co-editing, or database-style pages — and you’re willing to run a more complex self-hosted stack.

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Alternatives worth considering

• Joplin — more mature, larger community (17K+ stars), native apps on iOS/Android/desktop, end-to-end encryption, Nextcloud sync support. More setup, more powerful.
• Logseq — outliner-first, graph database model, strong PKM community. Better if you want linked thinking, not just lists and notes.
• Obsidian — local-first (not self-hosted), best plugin ecosystem, steeper Markdown curve. Sync costs money; local vault is free.
• Silverbullet — newer, file-based like Jotty, hackable Markdown environment with a query language. For technical users who want scriptable notes.
• Affine Community Edition — more ambitious: docs + whiteboard + database in one, but heavier to self-host and less stable than Jotty for simple use cases.
• Notesnook — end-to-end encrypted, cross-platform, has a free tier. Closed-source SaaS but strong privacy stance.
• Standard Notes — long-running E2E encrypted notes app, open source client, paid sync. More polished mobile experience.

For a non-technical person escaping Google Keep who wants basic self-hosting, the realistic shortlist is Jotty vs Joplin. Jotty wins on simplicity, file-based storage, and setup speed. Joplin wins on native mobile apps, plugin support, and project maturity.

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Bottom line

Jotty is the rare self-hosted app that does less than you expect and works better for it. It’s not trying to be Notion, Obsidian, or a team wiki — it’s trying to be a clean personal notes-and-checklists tool where your data sits in files you own. The XDA review [3] is the most credible signal here: a real person replaced two cloud apps with it and stuck with it. The file-based architecture, PGP encryption, and dual WYSIWYG/Markdown editing are genuine differentiators for the personal productivity use case. The caveats are real — AGPL limits commercial use, no offline writes is inconvenient on mobile, and a solo-maintainer project carries longevity risk. But if you’re running a VPS anyway and you’re paying Obsidian Sync or Notion for your own notes, Jotty is worth the 30 minutes to try.

If the Docker setup is the blocker, that’s exactly what upready.dev deploys for clients — one-time fee, your data, your server.

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Sources

1. AlternativeTo — jotty·page (13 likes, 1 review). https://alternativeto.net/software/jotty-page/about/
2. Megan Ellis, XDA Developers — “4 ways my self-hosted services made me more productive” (Nov 3, 2025). https://www.xda-developers.com/ways-self-hosting-improved-productivity/
3. Megan Ellis, XDA Developers — “I’m using this self-hosted app to replace Google Keep and Obsidian” (Nov 12, 2025). https://www.xda-developers.com/using-self-hosted-app-replace-google-keep-obsidian/

Primary sources:

• GitHub repository and README: https://github.com/fccview/jotty (1,701 stars, AGPL-3.0 license)
• Official website: https://jotty.page