[Usage Question] Joplin Desktop App and CLI app coexistence

[night_crawler]

Hi All,

I am a new memeber here. So, please forgive me if this is not the correct place for this topic.

I have been using Joplin a lot (can't thank enough for the great app) on macOS. I assume that macOS app doesn't come bundled with CLI app. I had a couple of questions about the CLI app:

1. Can I install CLI app on macOS?
2. Can CLI app coexist with the Desktop app? As in, use the same notes/database/server sync settings etc? Or will it use its own database with different set of notes?

Thanks a lot in advance for taking a look at this.

Joplin app version: Joplin 2.1.9 (prod, darwin), Revision: 882d663
OS Version: macOS Big Sur 11.5

[JackGruber]

1. Yes
2. You can use the same sync target, but not the same locale profile!
   Both applications download the data from the synctarget and store it in their own profile folder.

[tessus]

@JackGruber

You can use the same sync target, but not the same locale profile!

This is not entirely accurate. Theroetically it is possible under the following conditions:

• The 2 apps must not run at the same time
• The profiles have to be on the same level

But let's put it that way. It is not supported and I would not recommend it unless you really, really, really know what you are doing.

[night_crawler]

@tessus @JackGruber Thanks for the reply.

@tessus

• The 2 apps must not run at the same time
• The profiles have to be on the same level

First item is simple enough.
What do you mean when you say "profiles on the same level"?

This question might disqualify me from the group who "really really really know what they are doing".

[tessus]

@night_crawler

What do you mean when you say "profiles on the same level" ?

The schema of the database and the code paths for all features must be the same for the cli and desktop app.

e.g. in the macOS app when you go to About you will see Profile Version: 39. The terminal app must also use that profile version. However, I don't think the profile version is shown in the cli app. I have to check.

@night_crawler

First item is simple enough.

I wish that were true. People often forget that one is running and then the second instance screws up the states in the database and both apps behave weirdly or stop working altogether.

You have been warned! There will be no help whatsoever, if you run into issues or destroy your notes. So unless you know how to fix stuff, which requires in-depth knowledge of how Joplin works, this is really a bad idea.

[night_crawler]

@tessus

You have been warned! There will be no help whatsoever, if you run into issues or destroy your notes. So unless you know how to fix stuff, which requires in-depth knowledge of how Joplin works, this is really a bad idea.

I hear you. Thanks for the explanation!
I don't have in-depth knowledge of how joplin works at the moment. So I will stay away from running both Desktop Client and CLI client on the same system.

Btw, it's safe to use them on separate computers but use the same sync target (Nextcloud in my case), right?

[tessus]

@night_crawler

So I will stay away from running both Desktop Client and CLI client on the same system.

You can run both on the same system. Just don't use the same profile (by either using a sym link or the --profile parameter).
It means that both apps use their own local database for the notes and thus you basically have the notes twice on your system. The cli app uses ~/.config/joplin and the desktop app ~/.config/joplin-desktop.

@night_crawler

Btw, it's safe to use them on separate computers but use the same sync target (Nextcloud in my case), right?

Sure, otherwise sync wouldn't work.

[night_crawler]

Thanks @tessus !
I will try out cli app on a separate system or VM. I don't even know if it can support all my use cases.

Appreciate the help and explanation here.