# jrnl-org/jrnl

Collect your thoughts and notes without leaving the command line.

Repository: https://github.com/jrnl-org/jrnl
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/jrnl
Homepage: https://jrnl.sh
Language: Python
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: journal, jrnl, python, journal-application, note-taking, notes, encrypted, shell, productivity, cli, command-line
Last push: 2026-08-25T20:02:04+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 87/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 64, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5270, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 26, "gap_med": 627, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7300, forks 563 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:58.122964+00:00)

## What it is
jrnl is a command-line journal application for creating, searching, and viewing journal entries stored as human-readable plain text files. It supports natural-language timestamps, inline tags, multiple journals, external editors, import/export, and optional AES encryption.

## Use cases
- keep a daily journal from the terminal
- take quick notes without leaving the command line
- search and filter past journal entries by tag or date
- store notes in plain text files synced via Dropbox
- encrypt personal journals with AES
- write journal entries in an external editor
- export journal entries to other formats

## When to choose
- you prefer plain-text, future-proof note storage
- you want fast, keyboard-driven journaling in the shell
- you need optional encryption for private notes
- you want multi-device sync via file storage

## When to avoid
- you need a graphical or mobile note-taking app
- you require rich media, images, or collaborative editing
- you want cloud-native note services with built-in sync

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, search-engine, cryptography, file-system
- domain: developer-tools, files, privacy
- platform: cli, python, cross-platform, windows
- tags: journal, note-taking, plain-text, diary, encryption, natural-language-dates, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- jrnl-org/jrnl (main) score 87

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:58.122964+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:38:42.194043+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/jrnl-org/jrnl (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:58.122964+00:00, sha 8ed09b9f274e)
  - homepage: https://jrnl.sh (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:14.045059+00:00, sha 08339c863328)
  - site_page: https://jrnl.sh/en/stable/installation (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:14.056247+00:00, sha b4969ff76cad)
  - registry_pypi: https://pypi.org/pypi/jrnl/json (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:14.058288+00:00, sha 3741e9e6836a)
  - site_page: https://jrnl.sh/en/stable/overview (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:14.054270+00:00, sha 1190e6152cad)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.