Jotty

Jotty emerged from frustration with commercial note-taking and task management platforms that impose subscription fees, synchronize personal data to cloud servers, and bloat simple note-taking with features most users never need. Built on a file-based architecture using Markdown and JSON, Jotty provides individuals and small teams with a self-hosted alternative that combines the simplicity of text files with the convenience of a web interface. The application's focus on core productivity features—notes and checklists—without expansion into calendars, email integration, or project billing makes it ideal for users seeking a lightweight tool that does specific tasks well rather than attempting to become an all-in-one productivity suite.

Common Use Cases

Software developers use Jotty for maintaining project notes, API documentation, and code snippets in Markdown format with syntax highlighting, organizing information by project categories while using the checklist feature for tracking bug fixes and feature development tasks. The Kanban board view enables visualizing sprint work without deploying heavy project management platforms, with time tracking providing basic task duration metrics. Students leverage Jotty for course notes and study checklists, creating subject-based categories for organizing lecture notes written in Markdown while maintaining to-do lists for assignments and exam preparation tasks. The file-based storage enables backing up notes to external drives or cloud storage independently from the application. Small business owners manage operational checklists for recurring tasks like inventory checks, customer follow-ups, and monthly financial processes, sharing specific checklists with team members without granting access to all notes and maintaining progress tracking through visual indicators. Writers organize research notes, story outlines, and editing checklists within Jotty, using rich text formatting for drafts while maintaining separate to-do lists for submission deadlines and revision tasks. Home users replace scattered sticky notes, paper lists, and cloud note apps with a single self-hosted instance accessible from all devices, creating shopping lists, home improvement project checklists, and personal notes without concerns about subscription renewals or service discontinuation.

Key Features

• Rich text WYSIWYG editor powered by TipTap with Markdown support
• Checklists with drag-and-drop reordering and progress tracking
• Advanced task projects with Kanban boards and time tracking
• File-based storage using Markdown and JSON without database
• Syntax highlighting for code blocks in notes
• User management with admin panel and session tracking
• Sharing system for collaborative checklists and notes
• Public sharing with shareable links
• Category organization for notes and checklists
• Conversion between simple checklists and task projects
• OIDC authentication integration support
• Mobile-responsive interface for access from any device

Why deploy Jotty on Hostinger VPS

Deploying Jotty on Hostinger VPS provides permanent access to notes and checklists without dependency on commercial note-taking services that charge subscription fees, impose note count limits, or discontinue free tiers forcing migrations to alternative platforms. The file-based architecture enables straightforward backups by simply copying the data directory to external storage, avoiding the export limitations of cloud note services that restrict bulk downloads or provide exports in proprietary formats requiring paid tools to convert. With VPS hosting, notes and task lists remain accessible 24/7 from any internet-connected device without reliance on third-party service availability, addressing the productivity disruptions that occur when commercial platforms experience outages or implement rate limiting during peak usage. Self-hosting ensures personal notes, work documentation, and sensitive checklists never traverse third-party servers where they become subject to terms of service changes that suddenly permit data mining for AI training or advertising targeting. For families and small teams, VPS deployment enables sharing a single Jotty instance across multiple users without per-user licensing costs or the account linking requirements that expose personal note collections to other family members in shared cloud accounts. The lightweight Node.js application runs efficiently on entry-level VPS plans while supporting hundreds of notes and checklists, providing superior value compared to commercial note-taking platforms that charge monthly fees for basic features like Markdown support, file attachments, or offline access that Jotty includes by default.