Documents and notes decision
Diarly
A small team or solo developer can recreate a usable local-first journaling app and optional AI features, but reproducing Diarly's native Apple apps, iCloud sync, and platform polish (the product's primary user-facing differentiators) is non-trivial—so building a narrow replacement is realistic, but matching the full paid product is not.
Visit website↗Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need — the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship.
What a replacement has to do
- A local-first journaling app that lets a user write Markdown entries, attach media, search and browse by calendar/timeline, and optionally run simple AI tasks (prompts, transcribe audio) via an external API.
What it still won’t have
- Native iPhone/iPad/Mac/Apple Watch apps and App Store distribution
- Sync via iCloud (native device-to-device cloud sync)
- Built-in biometric unlocking integrated with platform keychains
- Polished native UI/UX and long-term app polish across Apple platforms
- Tight platform integrations (Health App, Apple Journaling Suggestions) described on the site
What remains hard
- Product polish and ongoing maintenance
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 15 seats.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a local-first diary web/Electron app using React (TypeScript) + SQLite (better-sqlite3) + Node backend packaged with Tauri/Electron. Implement: a Markdown editor (with autosave and full-screen), encrypted local storage for entries and attachments (AES-256, store keys in OS keychain), image/audio/video attachments and playback, audio recording and upload, advanced full-text search and calendar/timeline views, export/import to Markdown, user-configurable cloud sync via WebDAV/Dropbox (optional), and an optional AI assistant feature that sends text or audio to an external API (configurable API key) for replies/transcription. Exclude: building native iOS/macOS/watchOS App Store apps and iCloud sync. Require: error handling for disk/encryption/IO failures, unit tests for storage and search, end-to-end test for create/edit/search/export, and CI that runs tests and builds cross-platform installers.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 4 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- 3/3 assessment runs agreed+4
- Evidence score67
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time — so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 4
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productDiarly — Secure, simple & beautiful diary app.
- official pricingDiarly Pricing — Free & Premium Plans
- open sourcestreetwriters/notesnook
- open sourcestandardnotes/app
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
