Offline Accessibility
Zim Wiki is a desktop application, which means all your data is stored locally on your computer. This allows you to access and edit your notes without needing an internet connection.
Simple Interface
The interface of Zim Wiki is clean and simple, making it easy to use even for beginners. It also supports keyboard shortcuts for more efficient note-taking.
Rich Formatting Options
Zim Wiki provides extensive formatting options, including rich text, images, links, and various forms of media. This makes it flexible for different types of note-taking.
Backlinking
Zim Wiki supports backlinks, which allows you to easily create a network of interconnected notes, similar to a personal knowledge base or a personal wiki.
Cross-Platform
Zim Wiki is available on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it a versatile option for users on different platforms.
Zim Wiki is generally considered a good tool for individuals looking for a simple, efficient way to organize notes and information locally. It offers a balance of simplicity and powerful features that can satisfy a wide range of users' needs, from students to professionals.
We have collected here some useful links to help you find out if Zim Wiki is good.
Check the traffic stats of Zim Wiki on SimilarWeb. The key metrics to look for are: monthly visits, average visit duration, pages per visit, and traffic by country. Moreoever, check the traffic sources. For example "Direct" traffic is a good sign.
Check the "Domain Rating" of Zim Wiki on Ahrefs. The domain rating is a measure of the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. It shows the strength of Zim Wiki's backlink profile compared to the other websites. In most cases a domain rating of 60+ is considered good and 70+ is considered very good.
Check the "Domain Authority" of Zim Wiki on MOZ. A website's domain authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). It is based on a 100-point logarithmic scale, with higher scores corresponding to a greater likelihood of ranking. This is another useful metric to check if a website is good.
The latest comments about Zim Wiki on Reddit. This can help you find out how popualr the product is and what people think about it.
An alternative for those who want a native application and/or even less supply-chain risk is Zim [1], which uses GTK and is packaged by the major Linux distributions. [1] https://zim-wiki.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 12 days ago
Lots of Obsidian talk here. As someone who started with the OG https://zim-wiki.org, I tried Obsidian and never found it compelling enough to switch. I did, however, with Logseq. On the surface they're deeply similar -- but Logseq's native handling of outlines -- including collapsing and and expanding on the fly (org-mode does this as well, but you know) is absolutely killer. It's the first one to kind of reliably... - Source: Hacker News / 24 days ago
Or, just use https://zim-wiki.org like I have for well over a decade. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
Meanwhile, I'm over here going from https://zim-wiki.org -> HTML Plus a little rsync script. Hard for me to not look at this and find it all very silly. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
FWIW, I ended up doing a lot of org-mode-like things by starting with https://zim-wiki.org a VERY long time ago; I use it for notes, scheduling, publishing my own website, and even slides with the s5 thing. Somewhere in there, I gave org-mode 2 or so years and eventually gave it up entirely; it just really plays SO un-nicely with literally everything else. Anyone else looking for this sort of thing, I'd probably... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
Love it. Reminds me quite a bit of what I do; which is https://zim-wiki.org + a custom template I designed. Plus some scripts and such to keep up with (bleh) Canvas CMS. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
Zim - Wysiwyg for markdown files https://zim-wiki.org/ My only complaints are that it uses .txt instead of .md and that I haven't been able to get it to work on Mac. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
I have used many open source notes taking apps. My goto used to be Zim Desktop Wiki [0] but its just a desktop app and the was no built in sync solution. On mobile I used Markor [1] which understood Zims syntax, as well as markdown. Due to lack of mobile client and built in sync options I moved to Joplin [2]. Its markdown, cross platform, and I can sync with WebDav. People don't like that its SQLite based, but... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
For me it's the risk of littering in a project repo. So I use Zim wiki instead: https://zim-wiki.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
I'll slightly modify your argument; because Pure HTML does suck: Why don't people make static sites with a simple "Markdown-or-Similar to HTML" converter, CSS, and vanilla JS...etc? (This is what I do, btw -- http://zim-wiki.org + a template). - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
You should add Zim [1] to the "Personal Knowledge Management" section :) [1] https://zim-wiki.org. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
Https://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/s5/ And I just tweaked the CSS and added a bit of logic to included the possibility of one image per slide; as well as editing slides not with raw HTML but with https://zim-wiki.org (because that's what I'm really used to, I'm sure any Markdown thing would work just as well). - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
Absolutely; recently I realize I wish I'd never learned vim. I use too many other programs that are at least CUA-ish ( http://zim-wiki.org is the most important app I use ) and now I kind of want out. I haven't yet tried Modeless Vim, but that looks like my next experiment. https://github.com/SebastianMuskalla/ModelessVim. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
It is so hard not to feel REALLY SMUG reading stuff like this, as someone who has run my own website as the working primary source for my college instruction for the past 15 years or so using https://zim-wiki.org. (before Markdown was much of a thing!) It's borderline bizarre to have watched this method of doing things kind of die out, and then also come back in the form of "static site generators" --... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
I've been looking into QOwnNotes as a "simpler" replacement for Zim[1]. Unfortunately, it isn't really trivial to convert a notebook that I've tended to for a decade, and from first impressions, it lacks the WYSIWYG aspect. [1]: https://zim-wiki.org/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
And it is important to figure out what PND (pain/need/desire) your application should really satisfy. [1] https://zim-wiki.org. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
FWIW, I've been using http://zim-wiki.org for YEARS. (Sites a little messy and I need to clean it up, but it's extremely functional,) I host my college classes websites from it, to the point that I forced myself to learn the Canvas API, to just clone the page from this site to the front page of Canvas and change the links so they come back here. jrm4.com. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
No discussion of note taking apps is complete without Zim Desktop Wiki [1], so let me be the one who sings its praise! It's less web or mobile oriented than Joplin but gives me everything I need. Plain text files, syncing, lots of plugins. And task management, oh boy. Task management is second to none, including orgmode. I'm a faithful user for years now and I am still happy I found it. [1] https://zim-wiki.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
Nice. I do something like this except less complex. I use Blitzmail (there's an iPhone equivalent, but I don't know what it's calle) -- basically, it's an ultra simple app that pops a window to email only one person (usually, yourself) and have replicated a script on my desktop to do the same. Then I have another script which just makes them ALL "todo" items in the journal of http://zim-wiki.org, and I just... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
I use my own instance of Zim, which may be a bit janky, but I am used to it by now. I've also heard good stuff about Obsidian and Campfire. Source: over 2 years ago
I use vimwiki almost daily, but it's not professional use, just daily notes and organizing my life. I started using zim but I found I really missed writing/editing with vim. Then I found vimwiki. There are things I'm not super happy about with it. I saw that /u/lervag (love his vimtex plugin) released a wiki plugin and I was/am interested in it, but I have so much in my wiki right now that I don't want to deal... Source: over 2 years ago
Zim Wiki, a desktop-based personal wiki, stands as a noteworthy player in the realms of personal knowledge management, note-taking, and task management. It's often praised for its simplicity, effectiveness, and versatility. Users have highlighted its unique capability to structure notes in a way that resembles a personal lab journal, bolstered by its wiki-style simplicity.
Zim's storage mechanism relies on plain text files with wiki formatting, enabling users to manage collections of pages that support links, basic formatting, and images. The inherent folder structure mimics an outliner, promoting organization and easy navigation. This desktop application does lack built-in syncing and mobile support, a feature gap that has led some users to migrate to alternatives like Joplin, which offers cross-platform compatibility and syncing capabilities through WebDav.
Despite its simplicity, Zim provides a robust feature set through various plugins. These plugins enhance its functionality by offering task management, version control, and support for an equation editor, among others. These capabilities cater to users' diverse needs, from basic note-taking to more advanced project management and scheduling.
The software has its detractors, particularly regarding its reliance on desktop-only functionality and the use of ".txt" files instead of the more common ".md" used in markdown-based systems. Furthermore, Zim's inability to run natively on Mac OS can limit its user base, although it maintains a loyal following among those who prioritize straightforwardness over feature bloat.
Interestingly, Zim Wiki is often juxtaposed with Org Mode, a powerful note-taking and agenda-management tool within Emacs. Some users who have transitioned from Org Mode find Zim to be a compelling alternative due to its less steep learning curve and integration-friendly ecosystem, even employing it for website publishing and presentation creation.
The public discourse around Zim Wiki demonstrates a varied sentiment that acknowledges its limitations while simultaneously appreciating its dedication to a non-verbose, 'back-to-basics' philosophy. Users who cherish local-first software models give it high marks for reliability and control over data. Its ability to export to HTML for static site generation continues to garner praise, as does its capability for seamless task integration and straightforward, unobtrusive interface.
In summary, Zim Wiki remains a viable and favored option for users who seek a nimble, desktop-centric approach to personal knowledge management. It is particularly cherished in environments where simplicity, local control, and extensibility through plugins are valued over an expansive feature set and modern synchronization. Despite some shortcomings in mobile synchronization and markdown compatibility, Zim's enduring popularity attests to its capability and adaptability in meeting the nuanced needs of its users.
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