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0 pointslimandoc2y ago0 comments

I am creating a documentation management software, with emphasis on a diagramming and system building - similar to Draw.io [1] but with better support on PDFs/Files, text/markdown/Latex, web links, and Search.

It is a desktop application and self-hosted, which will allow to sync with your work laptop and mobile devices without the need for 3rd party server. Many online solutions for knowledge management did not make me happy (e.g. Notion[2], Miro[3], Evernote[4]) as they all lacked either diagram building or were online only. There is also an Obsidian[5] for it is too complicated and it's unbelievable that a user has to go through hours of tutorials on youtube to understand how to use PKM software. Hence I created my easy but powerful tool for keeping all the knowledge/documentation in one place.

The desktop app was build using Kotlin Multiplatform (JVM app) with Compose UI framework

You can view(and comment!) the app screenshots here [6]: There are also mockups with more features, so ignore weird UI at first.

[1]: https://www.drawio.com [2]: https://www.notion.so [3]: https://miro.com [4]: https://evernote.com [5]: https://obsidian.md

[6: App screenshots]: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lOIfGaXKbymw7fQXjwBh...

0 comments

adrianmsmith2y ago

I understand this isn't the direction you're going in, but I would love a desktop app which could edit documentation (mainly text, but with diagrams), but save it locally to be checked in to Git. Imho documentation should be near the source, and go through the same branching and PR workflow that the source it describes goes through.

Ideally the desktop app would be a GUI which was easy to use, providing the basic features of Word or LyX or a markdown editor such as basic formatting, bullets, headings at various levels. Ideally some kind of diagram editor as well.

Ideally it'd save in a format which was reasonably amenable to being saved in Git and being merged from various branches, and which wouldn't be too verbose if you're looking through a PR on GitHub etc. So a text format, with no "# Created on <date>" fields. I have to say LyX solves most of these points so that's what I use at the moment.

limandocOP2y ago

> documentation should be near the source I totally agree with this statement. Moreover, I plan to have a feature that will allow to place your whole project folder into your vault in my app and then reference a diagram through the code/inner file (e.g. using comment blocks). And that file will be visible, searchable, within my documentation software. Think of it as a layer above the code.

However I do not want to tie the documentation process to git as it will be harder for other team members (think of POs, Teamleads, clients) to find the documentation through git history. Instead, a separate IDE for documentation (as is my app) is an ideal place to store & share knowledge. Just like there is separate app for slack, e-mail, browser, etc.

Thanks for your thoughts!

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