JotDrop

Your notes. Yours. Really.

The free, open-source Google Keep alternative for Android, Obsidian, the web and Chrome, plus a card board for Joplin. Keep-style note cards, end-to-end encrypted sync and plain Markdown files you own. Keep the ease. Lose the lock-in. See it in action on jotdrop.net, the private Google Keep alternative.

Website · Web app · Get it · Features · Switch from Keep · JotDrop Cloud · Joplin · FAQ

Free forever. No cloud required.

The JotDrop apps (the Android app, the Obsidian and Joplin plugins and the Chrome clipper) are free and will always stay free. No ads, no trial, no paywall.

You don't need our cloud to sync. Use your own: Syncthing with Syncthing-Fork on Android, Obsidian Sync, iCloud, Dropbox or any folder sync. JotDrop Cloud is simply the easiest option, end-to-end encrypted, with a free plan.

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Why JotDrop? The private Google Keep alternative

Google Keep is great for dumping a thought in two seconds. But your notes live on Google's servers, in Google's format, and leaving means exporting. JotDrop is a privacy-friendly Google Keep alternative that keeps the fast, friendly cards and gives you back the rest:

• Your own files, on Android and in Obsidian. Every note there is a plain Markdown .md file in your Obsidian vault or a folder on your phone. Open it in Obsidian, VS Code, Vim or any editor. Back it up any way you like. The web app works from JotDrop Cloud and exports your notes as a ZIP.
• Private sync, if you want it. The optional JotDrop Cloud is end-to-end encrypted: your notes are encrypted on your device before they leave, and the server cannot read them. Even on the free plan.
• Or no cloud at all. Without JotDrop Cloud there is no account and no server. Sync with Syncthing (Syncthing-Fork on Android), Obsidian Sync, iCloud or any folder sync you already use, or don't sync at all.
• Free forever. The apps cost nothing and always will. Only the optional cloud has a paid plan, for people who want more storage.
• One set of notes, four ways in. The Android app, the Obsidian plugin and the web app show the same cards, and the Chrome clipper adds to them through the Obsidian desktop plugin.
• Open source. The apps and the sync server are MIT-licensed and public. Read the code, run it, change it.

All the little things, in one place

Ideas, to-do lists, links, photos and voice memos land on colorful Keep-style note cards, just like you know from Google Keep.

A card shows what matters at a glance: its title and text, ticked tasks with a pen stroke through them, the first photo, a voice memo you can play right there, links as little chips that open at once, up to four labels and tags that filter your notes with one tap, a "Due" or "Overdue" badge for reminders and when it last changed. Pinned cards get a strip of tape and float to the top.

Your notes, your way: Android, Obsidian, web and Chrome

And the web app at app.jotdrop.net puts the same cards in any browser, with JotDrop Cloud.

Android and Obsidian work on their own, without an account. The web app needs JotDrop Cloud, and the Chrome clipper needs the Obsidian desktop plugin. Not every feature is everywhere: speech-to-text is Android only, and reminder notifications come from Android and from Obsidian while it runs, not from the web app.

Already on Joplin? JotDrop for Joplin turns the notes you have there into a card board, on Joplin desktop and Android. It is a separate plugin: your notes stay in Joplin and use Joplin's own sync. Connect JotDrop Cloud and notes from the JotDrop app come in too, one way.

Get JotDrop

Where	How	Link
Obsidian	Settings → Community plugins → Browse → search JotDrop → Install → Enable	Plugin page
Android	Download the APK and open it on your phone	JotDrop 0.28.31 APK
Web	Open the web app and sign in with Google, GitHub or email	app.jotdrop.net
Chrome	One click from the Chrome Web Store; works together with the Obsidian desktop plugin	JotDrop Web Clipper
Joplin	Tools → Options → Plugins → search JotDrop → Install; on Android, first Configuration → Plugins → Enable plugin support	JotDrop for Joplin

Step-by-step instructions for each part are under Install.

Features

Capture

• Share from any app on Android: links, text and images become a card. A shared link gets a preview with title, picture and source.
• Type, dictate or record. Write a note, use Android's speech recognition, or record a voice memo with one tap, on Android (.m4a), in Obsidian (.webm) and in the web app.
• Text from photos (OCR). Take or pick a photo and turn its text into a note. On Android this uses ML Kit on your phone; in Obsidian and the web app it runs on your own device too, for English and Dutch.
• Photo notes. Add a photo as a card from the camera or the gallery.
• Clip the web. Save the page you're on with Chrome, including your selected text, tags, color and pin.
• Import your old notes. Bring your notes over from Google Keep (Google Takeout), Evernote (.enex), Apple Notes and other Markdown exports, with colors, pins, labels, checklists, images and dates where the export has them. See Switch from Google Keep.

Organize

• Colors, eleven of them, each with its name, so you never have to tell them apart by color alone.
• Labels and #tags. Labels work like folders in Keep; #tags can also sit in the text. Tap one on a card or in the filter strip to see only those notes.
• Pin what matters to the top.
• Reminders with a date and time, repeats (daily, weekly on chosen days, monthly, yearly, every N days or weeks, or "the last Friday") and an end date or count. Android notifies you, also after a restart.
• Archive and trash, each one tap away and one tap back.
• Search across titles, text, labels and tags.
• Your own order. Choose "Newest first", or drag cards to where you want them.
• A menu on every card: color, labels, archive, move or copy to another folder, delete.
• Select many with a long press, then color, label, archive or delete them together.

Edit

• Checklists that you tick right on the card.
• Photos and voice memos inside a note, with a full-screen photo view and a player.
• Markdown help for headings, lists, links, quotes, code and tables, while the card itself shows clean text without Markdown signs.
• Saves as you go, and a note changed elsewhere is never silently overwritten.

Find it. Undo it.

With JotDrop Cloud, the time machine shows your notes as they were at an earlier moment. Look around read-only, then restore that moment if you want it back. Every file also has its own version history.

Switch from Google Keep

Moving from Google Keep to JotDrop takes three steps, and your notes keep their colors, pins, labels, checklists, images and dates. Google prepares the export itself, which can take from a few minutes to a few days.

1. Go to takeout.google.com, deselect everything, select only Keep and export.
2. Download the zip file(s) Google sends you.
3. Import them: in Obsidian with the command "Import from Google Keep" (or Settings → JotDrop → Import from Google Keep), or in the web app with Import notes.

Imported in Obsidian, your Keep notes become Markdown files in your own vault, and with JotDrop Cloud they reach your phone too. Imported in the web app, they go straight to JotDrop Cloud, so check that they fit: the free plan has 250 MB.

JotDrop vs Google Keep

	JotDrop	Google Keep
Quick note cards with colors, labels, checklists and reminders	Yes	Yes
Android app	Yes	Yes
End-to-end encrypted sync	Yes, also on the free plan	Not offered
Your notes as plain Markdown files	Yes, on Android and in Obsidian	Export only
Works without an account	Yes, without the cloud	No
Card view inside Obsidian	Yes	No
Open source (apps and sync server)	Yes, MIT	No
Time machine to restore an earlier moment	Yes, with JotDrop Cloud	No

Also considering other note apps? The note app comparison on jotdrop.net puts JotDrop next to Apple Notes, Evernote, Notion, OneNote, Joplin, Standard Notes, Notesnook, Simplenote and Bear.

JotDrop Cloud

JotDrop Cloud is the optional, end-to-end encrypted note sync that keeps your notes and attachments the same on your phone, in Obsidian and in the web app. It is built so that we can store your notes without being able to read them.

Your thoughts. Not our business.

To you, a thought. To us, gibberish.

1. On your device, JotDrop encrypts each note and attachment with AES-256-GCM, using keys that only your devices hold.
2. Our server stores the encrypted result. It has no key to decrypt it, so the server holds no readable copy, for us, for someone who breaks in or for anyone who asks. That protection covers the server: an unlocked or compromised device can still expose your notes.
3. Your other devices download the encrypted file and decrypt it themselves.

The encryption code is in this repository (cloud/shared/crypto.mjs), next to the server, so anyone can check it. What the server does keep, such as your email address, device names and file sizes and times, and why, is in the JotDrop Cloud privacy policy. The website shows it step by step: end-to-end encrypted notes on jotdrop.net.

How it works for you

• Start in a few taps. On Android, the first screen offers Continue with Google. In Obsidian, use the JotDrop Cloud button in the JotDrop view or Settings → JotDrop → Cloud sync. On the web, sign in at app.jotdrop.net. You can also use GitHub or an email address with a password.
• Keep your recovery code. When you create your cloud you get a recovery code, shown only once. Store it in a password manager. If you lose access to all your signed-in devices, it may be the only way back to your notes.
• Add devices by signing in on them, or with a one-time pairing code from a device that is already connected.
• Extra protection: add an authenticator app to your account in the web app.
• Syncs by itself. Changes go up when you save and come in when you open the app; Android also syncs in the background. You can pause sync, sync now, disconnect a device or revoke one that you lost.
• Changed in two places? If you edit the same note on two devices before they sync, JotDrop merges what it safely can and otherwise keeps both versions. The other version shows as its own card with Resolve now, where you compare and choose.
• Big files are fine. Photos and recordings are uploaded in encrypted pieces and continue after a broken connection.
• Leave whenever you want. Your local files stay yours. Export everything from the web app, or delete your cloud account in the app.

Free to start. Yours to keep.

The apps are free and always will be. Pay only when you want more from the cloud.

	Free	Plus
Encrypted cloud storage	250 MB	10 GB
Connected devices	2	No plan limit
Largest synced file	25 MB	200 MB
Time machine	30 days	Full available history
End-to-end encryption	Included	Included

250 MB is more than it sounds: 10,000 notes of 5 KB are about 50 MB of text. Photos, encryption and history take extra space. The free plan needs no payment details. When both free devices are in use, signing in on a third asks which one it replaces. JotDrop Plus is bought on the JotDrop pricing page, where the current prices are.

Install

Obsidian plugin (desktop and mobile)

1. Open Obsidian → Settings → Community plugins → Browse.
2. Search for JotDrop, click Install, then Enable.
3. Click the JotDrop icon in the left ribbon, or run the command "JotDrop: Open Keep view".

Notes go to the Mini Notes folder of your vault; you can choose another folder in the settings.

Manual install (offline or pre-release): download manifest.json, main.js and styles.css from the latest plugin release, put them in <your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/jotdrop/ and enable JotDrop under Community plugins.

Android app

1. Download jotdrop.apk for Android 0.28.31.
2. Open the file on your phone and allow installs from this source when Android asks.
3. Open JotDrop. Choose Continue with Google for a free JotDrop Cloud, or Use without cloud and pick a folder for your notes (for example the vault folder you sync to your computer).
4. From now on, the share menu of every app includes JotDrop.

About the signing key: Up to 0.28.30, GitHub APKs were signed with a key that is published in this repository, so anyone could sign an APK with it. From 0.28.31 on they use a private key (SHA-256 C4:A1:00:72:D1:EB:98:8E:9E:1D:94:26:D9:03:8D:D9:BD:3F:DB:7C:C4:AB:90:00:3D:ED:F8:7D:FC:4A:43:3A). On Android 9 and newer, updating is enough: you don't need to reinstall, and the old key can't update the app after that. Android 8 can't switch keys and keeps trusting the old one. Download APKs only from the versioned Diexar-Labs/jotdrop release URL above.

Web app

Open app.jotdrop.net and sign in. The web app has everything the cards do, plus file uploads, importing, exporting, devices and the time machine. It needs JotDrop Cloud.

Chrome web clipper

1. Install the JotDrop plugin in Obsidian desktop.
2. Install the JotDrop Web Clipper from the Chrome Web Store.
3. Click the JotDrop icon on any page and press Save. Obsidian opens and creates the card.

That's the whole setup: saving works through Obsidian's own obsidian:// link, with no token or port.

Optional: background connection. To save silently without bringing Obsidian to the front, enable the clip server in Obsidian (Settings → JotDrop → Web clipper) and copy the token. In the clipper, right-click the icon → Background connection, paste the token and choose Save and test connection. The server listens only on 127.0.0.1, never on your network. If it cannot be reached, the clipper falls back to the direct link, so a clip is never lost.

Manual ZIP install: download the ZIP from the latest clipper release, extract it to a permanent folder, open chrome://extensions (also in Edge and Brave), turn on Developer mode and choose Load unpacked.

Problem	Fix
Obsidian does not open on Save	Open Obsidian desktop once so the obsidian:// link is registered, then save again.
Background connection test fails	Obsidian desktop with the JotDrop plugin and its clip server must be running; copy the token again.
Wrong port or token	Open Background connection → Advanced, correct the port (default 27124) and paste the token again.
"Selection too long for direct mode"	Shorten the selection, or use the background connection, which handles much longer quotes.

JotDrop for Joplin

Works on Joplin desktop and Joplin for Android.

1. In Joplin, open Tools > Options > Plugins (Android: Configuration > Plugins, then Enable plugin support).
2. Search for JotDrop and install it. Restart Joplin if it asks.
3. Desktop: click the board button in the editor toolbar, or View > Open JotDrop board. Android: tap the puzzle button at the top and Open JotDrop board.

Your existing notes appear as cards, with pins, colors, checklists, reminders and an archive. They stay in Joplin and use Joplin's own sync, so the board needs no account. Want to catch notes on your phone? Connect JotDrop Cloud on Joplin desktop with a pairing code, choose only new notes or everything, and what you make in the JotDrop app comes in as ordinary Joplin notes. It goes one way, and whatever you changed in Joplin stays as you left it. On iPhone and iPad, Joplin only allows the plugins it recommends itself, so JotDrop is not available there. Details are in the JotDrop for Joplin repository.

Staying up to date

• Obsidian: a plugin from Community plugins updates with one click when Obsidian shows "Update available". For a manual install, BRAT with Diexar-Labs/jotdrop keeps it current.
• Android: an APK does not update itself. Obtainium can: add https://github.com/Diexar-Labs/jotdrop, use only releases tagged v* and the jotdrop.apk asset.
• Chrome: the store version updates automatically.
• Everyone: on this repository, choose Watch → Custom → Releases to hear about every new version.

Syncing without JotDrop Cloud

JotDrop Cloud is optional. The Android app and the Obsidian plugin work with plain files, so any tool that syncs a folder keeps your phone and computer in step, and JotDrop needs nothing else. Point it at the same notes folder on every device.

Syncthing: free, private and direct. Syncthing syncs your devices with each other, without any server in between. A popular free setup:

1. On your computer, install Syncthing and share your Obsidian vault folder.
2. On Android, install Syncthing-Fork and accept the shared folder.
3. In the JotDrop Android app, choose Use without cloud and pick that same folder.

A note you jot on your phone then shows up in Obsidian within seconds, and the other way round.

Other options: Obsidian Sync, iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive or anything else that syncs a folder. Use one sync system per folder, though, not JotDrop Cloud and another one on the same notes.

With Syncthing, turn on File Versioning (Simple Versioning is fine) for the shared folder on every device. Deleted and overwritten files are then kept in .stversions/, so a mistake can always be undone.

How it works

JotDrop is deliberately simple plumbing:

• Each note is a Markdown file in <vault>/Mini Notes/ (the folder is configurable).

• Photos, voice memos and link-preview pictures go to an attachments folder you choose, by default .attachments inside the notes folder. Use the same setting in the plugin and the app.

• Color, labels, pin, reminder and order live in the frontmatter at the top, so any editor can read them:

  ---
  color: yellow
  jotdrop_labels: [Personal]
  pinned: true
  reminder: 2026-11-02T09:00
  reminder_repeat: weekly:1,3
  ---
  
  A few good things
  - [ ] Coffee beans
  - [x] Fresh bread
  

• The Android app, the plugin and the web app never need to talk to each other: they meet in the files. Anything else that can write to the folder (a script, a Shortcuts automation) can add notes too.

• A shared link first becomes a card right away; JotDrop then fetches the page's preview and adds it, without overwriting what you typed in the meantime.

Network use, accounts and payments

Without JotDrop Cloud, the Obsidian plugin goes online for only two things:

• It fetches the web page of a link you save, to build the preview card.
• The first time you use "Text from photo", it asks before downloading the English and Dutch language data (about 6 MB) once from the ocr-data-1 release, checks it against a fixed SHA-256 and keeps it in the plugin folder. The recognition itself runs on your device, and your photos never leave it.

If you sign in to the optional JotDrop Cloud, the plugin also connects to app.jotdrop.net to sign in and to sync your notes and attachments, encrypted on your device first. The cloud needs an account. Its free plan needs no payment details; JotDrop Plus is a paid plan, bought on the website.

On Android, text recognition in photos runs on your phone with Google's ML Kit, which sends technical diagnostics to Google, as the Android privacy policy explains.

FAQ

Can JotDrop staff read my cloud notes? No. We don't hold the key that decrypts your notes and attachments; the server stores only the encrypted result. It does see account details such as your email address, your devices and the size and time of your files.

What if I lose my password or recovery code? Resetting your login and opening your encrypted notes are two different things. A password reset gets you into your account; your notes open on a device that is still signed in, or with your recovery code. Keep that code somewhere safe outside JotDrop.

Is my local notes folder encrypted too? Not by JotDrop. Local notes are readable Markdown files, which is the point. Use your device's encryption and screen lock.

Can I use JotDrop Cloud and Obsidian Sync together? Not on the same notes. Two sync systems on one folder can produce conflicting changes. Pick one per folder.

Are photos and voice memos encrypted as well? Yes. Attachments synced with JotDrop Cloud are encrypted on your device like notes.

Does the Chrome clipper work without Obsidian? It works together with the Obsidian desktop plugin, which creates the card.

Will every saved link get a picture? Not always. The website has to offer a preview picture and allow it to load.

Can the time machine bring everything back? It can restore the versions that are still stored under your plan: 30 days on Free, the full available history on Plus. Restoring creates new versions, so it can be undone too.

Known issues

Deleting many notes while a Syncthing device is offline. If you delete a lot of notes at once while another device running Syncthing is offline, that device can bring them back when it reconnects. That is how Syncthing reconciles, not something JotDrop does. Keep Syncthing running on every device while you delete many notes, and turn on File Versioning so nothing is ever lost. JotDrop Cloud does not have this problem.

Languages

English and Dutch. Spanish, German, French and Italian are ready for translators in src/i18n.ts and android/app/src/main/res/. Translations are very welcome.

Roadmap

• Card grid in Obsidian, Android app and web app
• Share to JotDrop, text from photos, voice-to-text and voice memos
• Link previews, checklists, labels, #tags and colors
• Reminders with repeats
• Chrome web clipper
• Import from Google Keep, Evernote and Apple Notes
• Listed in the official Obsidian community plugins
• End-to-end encrypted JotDrop Cloud with a web app and a time machine
• The same cards and card features in the Android app, Obsidian and the web app
• JotDrop for Joplin: a card board on Joplin desktop and Android
• JotDrop for Joplin: notes from the JotDrop app through JotDrop Cloud, one way
• JotDrop on Google Play for everyone (now in closed testing)
• Light and dark choice in the Android app
• iOS share extension
• Firefox and Edge clipper

Contributing

This is a project shared in the open. PRs are welcome for:

• Translations: add strings to src/i18n.ts and the matching android/app/src/main/res/values-*/strings.xml.
• Bug fixes
• Small features that keep JotDrop simple.

For bigger ideas, open an issue first to talk about it.

Contact

• Bugs and ideas: open an issue. Issues are public, so never paste passwords, recovery codes or private notes.
• Your JotDrop Cloud account, your data or JotDrop Plus: [email protected]

Build from source

Plugin

npm install
npm run build
# main.js, manifest.json and styles.css end up in the repository root

Android (JDK 17, Android SDK 34; the Gradle wrapper pins Gradle 8.7)

npm run android:release
# APK at android/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk
npm run android:verify -- android/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk
npm run android:install -- android/app/build/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk

Always use the optimized release build: debug APKs are disabled because Compose debug builds scroll too slowly. npm run android:test-release builds the same optimized variant for local testing; android:release requires a clean checkout at origin/main.

Cloud server and web app live in cloud/. npm run check:cloud runs their tests.

Credits

Built by Diexar Labs with Obsidian's plugin API, Jetpack Compose, Google's ML Kit Text Recognition and Tesseract.js. Inspired by Google Keep (the good parts) and by the belief that your notes belong to you.

The sample video card shows Big Buck Bunny by the Blender Foundation, CC BY 3.0, used without endorsement.

License

MIT: do whatever you want with it.