How to Install Joplin on Linux Mint 21/20

In the ever-evolving world of technology, keeping track of ideas, reminders, and digital content can become a daunting task. Enter Joplin, a versatile, open-source application for note-taking and to-do management. With Joplin, your digital notes are secured, organized, and easily accessible, revolutionizing your productivity landscape.

What Sets Joplin Apart?

Joplin stands out in the crowd of note-taking applications for several reasons:

• Open-Source and Free: Joplin is fully open-source, meaning that the application is developed, maintained, and improved by a community of developers. This freedom allows for consistent upgrades, a wide range of functionalities, and, importantly, no price tag.
• Cross-Platform: Whether you’re on Windows, macOS, Linux, or even Android or iOS, Joplin has you covered. Your notes are synchronized across all your devices, ensuring constant access no matter where you are.
• End-to-End Encryption: Your notes are private, and Joplin makes sure they stay that way. With its built-in end-to-end encryption, your notes are secured from unauthorized access.
• Markdown Support: Markdown offers a plain text formatting syntax that is easy to read and write. With Joplin, you can write notes in markdown and then convert them into a rich text format, complete with images, tables, and more.
• Web Clipper: Easily capture webpages, screenshots, or snippets of information using Joplin’s Web Clipper extension for Firefox and Chrome. Your clipped content is then saved as notes for future reference.

Unlocking Potential with Joplin?

No application is a one-size-fits-all solution, and Joplin is no exception. It is the user’s perspective, usage, and requirement that truly exploit its full potential. Here’s how you can use Joplin to its maximum:

• Organizing Ideas: From fleeting thoughts to detailed planning, you can jot everything down in Joplin. Categorize these ideas into notebooks and sub-notebooks for better accessibility.
• To-Do Lists: Joplin also doubles as a task management tool. Create to-do lists, set reminders, and track your progress directly within the application.
• Secure Digital Locker: Save your sensitive data, such as passwords or private keys, in encrypted notes. Joplin’s robust encryption ensures that your data remains confidential.

With an understanding of Joplin’s capabilities and potential use-cases, the true essence of this tool emerges as an empowering companion in managing your digital life.

Let’s get down to the practical aspect now. The following guide will demonstrate how to install Joplin on Linux Mint 21 or the older release that is still being supported, Linux Mint 20.

Section 1: Install Joplin on Linux Mint via APT

We’ll be going through this guide in a step-by-step format, breaking down each part of the process to ensure it’s easy to understand and follow. Let’s dive right in and start configuring Joplin on your Linux Mint system.

Step 1: System Packages Update

First and foremost, let’s ensure our Linux Mint system is up-to-date. By doing so, we eliminate the likelihood of experiencing compatibility issues or software clashes during Joplin’s installation. Use the following command to refresh your system packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

In this command, sudo apt update fetches the latest information about package versions and their dependencies, updating your local package index in the process. Subsequently, sudo apt upgrade pulls new versions of existing packages on the system, provided APT is aware of these newer versions from the prior apt update.

Step 2: Fetch and Execute Joplin’s Installation Script

By default, Joplin is not included in Linux Mint’s standard software repositories. However, the Joplin team offers a bash script that simplifies the process of downloading and installing the application. This script resides on GitHub and can be directly executed in our terminal.

Use the following command to fetch and run Joplin’s installation script:

wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/laurent22/joplin/dev/Joplin_install_and_update.sh | bash

Here, the wget command is used to pull content from the web, specifically adept at downloading files directly from servers via the command line. The -O - flag redirects the downloaded file to stdout, effectively sending it to your console. The URL following the command is the location of the Joplin installation script.

The | (pipe) symbol takes the output of the preceding command (wget in this case) and feeds it as input to the following command.

Finally, the bash command processes this script, which downloads and sets up Joplin on your Linux Mint system.

Section 2: Install Joplin via Flatpak and Flathub

For those who prefer alternate avenues of software deployment on Linux, Flatpak provides a robust solution. This software utility offers package management, application virtualization, and deployment, all the while ensuring applications run in a sandbox environment, isolated from the rest of your system.

Step 1: Flathub Integration

Before we can install Joplin via Flatpak, it’s crucial to integrate the Flathub repository into our system. Recognized as the default app store for Flatpak, Flathub is a rich repository of Flatpak applications, serving users with a diverse selection of software.

To integrate Flathub into your Flatpak setup, execute the following command:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

In this command, sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub checks for the presence of the ‘flathub’ repository in your Flatpak configuration. If it doesn’t exist, the command proceeds to add it. Consequently, you gain access to a wide array of applications available on Flathub, including Joplin.

Step 2: Joplin Installation via Flatpak

With Flathub successfully integrated, we can proceed to install Joplin using the Flatpak install command. Use the following command to carry out the installation:

flatpak install flathub net.cozic.joplin_desktop -y

In the context of this command, flatpak install flathub net.cozic.joplin_desktop instructs Flatpak to install Joplin from the Flathub repository. The -y flag pre-approves all prompts that arise during the flatpak install process, ensuring an uninterrupted installation.

Section 3: Initiating Joplin on Linux Mint

Having explored multiple ways to install Joplin on Linux Mint, it’s now time to get the application up and running. Whichever package manager you utilized—APT, Snap, or Flatpak—the next stage is to launch Joplin and delve into its wealth of features.

Let’s examine how to initiate Joplin using both the command-line interface (CLI) and the graphical user interface (GUI).

CLI Launch Techniques

The command required to initiate Joplin from the terminal varies based on your chosen installation method. Here are the commands for each:

APT Method: If you have installed Joplin using the APT package manager, the command to launch it is:

joplin

Flatpak Method: If you implemented the Flatpak installation, use this command to initiate the application:

GUI Launch Method

If you find the GUI more intuitive compared to the CLI, initiating Joplin is straightforward. Follow these steps:

1. Click on the ‘Show Applications’ icon in your Linux Mint dock. This is typically located at the bottom left of your screen.
2. Type ‘Joplin’ in the search bar that appears. As you begin typing, the Joplin application icon will become visible.
3. Click on the Joplin icon to launch the application.

An example of the Joplin application icon on the Linux Mint desktop ‘Show Applications’ menu:

Section 5: Tips for Getting Started with Joplin on Linux Mint

As you initiate your journey with Joplin on Linux Mint, these tips will ensure a smooth start and help you leverage the full potential of this powerful note-taking application. The focus here is specifically for Linux-based installations, taking into account the nuances of this operating system.

Setting Up Synchronization

The synchronization feature is a pivotal part of Joplin, allowing you to access your notes across different devices. To set up synchronization, navigate to the Joplin > Tools > Options > Synchronization menu, select your preferred sync target, and provide the necessary credentials.

For example, if you wish to sync with Dropbox, you’ll select it from the synchronization targets list and follow the prompts to authenticate your Dropbox account.

Customizing Appearance

Customizing Joplin’s appearance to match your aesthetic preferences can make the note-taking process even more enjoyable. Navigate to Joplin > Tools > Options > Appearance to tweak the application’s theme, layout, and editor fonts.

You can also customize the user interface’s language from this menu, making Joplin’s interface more comfortable and intuitive to use.

Leveraging Markdown

Joplin supports Markdown, a lightweight markup language that you can use to format text. This feature allows you to create structured, organized notes with headers, lists, tables, and more. To toggle the Markdown editor, click on the Markdown layout button in the top-right corner of the application.

Here are a few basic Markdown commands:

Headers:

# This is a Heading 1
## This is a Heading 2
### This is a Heading 3

Bold and italic text:

**This is bold text**
*This is italic text*

Lists:

- This is a bullet point
1. This is a numbered item

Creating To-Do Lists

Joplin is not just for taking notes. You can also create to-do lists, making it a great tool for project management and task tracking. Simply click on the +’ > To-Do button in the application’s menu to create a new to-do list item.

You can then add a reminder to the task, assign it a due date, or even tag it for easy reference.

Shortcut Keys

Leveraging shortcut keys can expedite your note-taking process in Joplin. Navigate to Joplin > Tools > Options > Keyboard Shortcuts to view and customize your shortcut keys.

For instance, you can create a new note by simply pressing Ctrl + N or switch to the next note with Ctrl + Tab.

These tips aim to help you navigate your initial interaction with Joplin on Linux Mint. As you explore and experiment more with the application, you will likely discover additional customizations and tricks that will further enhance your note-taking experience.

Section 6: Administration of Joplin on Linux Mint

This section aims to guide you through the management tasks associated with the Joplin application on Linux Mint. These include essential activities such as updating the application to the latest version and, if necessary, removing it from your system. We will be focusing on two types of installations – the APT and Flatpak methods.

Keeping Joplin Updated

Keeping your software up-to-date is an essential part of maintaining security and performance. With Joplin, this process varies slightly based on the installation method employed.

APT Method Update:

In case you have installed Joplin using the APT method, the application is typically installed manually using a bash script. A practical way to keep Joplin updated is by creating a cron job that will periodically download and run this script.

The command to edit your crontab file is:

crontab -e

To update Joplin every time you log in to your system, add the following line:

@reboot /path/to/your/joplin_update_script.sh

Remember to replace “/path/to/your/joplin_update_script.sh” with the correct path to your update script.

Flatpak Update Method:

For Flatpak installations, you can update all your installed applications, including Joplin, with the following command:

flatpak update

If you wish to update only Joplin, you can do so by specifying the application in the command:

flatpak update net.cozic.joplin_desktop

Uninstalling Joplin

At times, you may need to uninstall the Joplin application from your Linux Mint system. Here are the respective methods for the APT and Flatpak installations:

APT Method:

To remove Joplin installed via the APT method, you simply have to delete the Joplin directory. You can do this with the following command:

rm -rf ~/.joplin

Flatpak Method:

In case Joplin was installed via Flatpak, you can remove it using the following command:

flatpak uninstall net.cozic.joplin_desktop

Please note, uninstalling Joplin will also delete all your notes and notebooks. Therefore, ensure you have a backup if you wish to retain your data.

Closing Thoughts

Throughout this guide, we’ve provided detailed instructions and insights into installing and managing the Joplin application on Linux Mint. From the initial installation to launching the application and keeping it up-to-date, our aim has been to provide a comprehensive guide that empowers you, regardless of your technical expertise, to get the most out of Joplin. We’ve also discussed how to uninstall the application, if needed. As with all software, it’s crucial to keep Joplin updated and manage it properly to ensure the highest level of security and performance.

Additional Resources

For more information and to delve deeper into the workings of Joplin, the following official resources can be beneficial:

• Joplin Official Website: The official Joplin website is your primary source of information for all things related to Joplin. It contains the most up-to-date news and developments about the application.
• Joplin GitHub Repository: The GitHub repository for Joplin is where you can find the source code and contribute to the project. It’s also a great place to report bugs and ask for new features.
• Joplin Community Forum: The community forum is an excellent place to connect with other Joplin users, ask questions, share your experience, and get help from the community.