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File Over App

Last updated Jan 17, 2025

File over app is a philosophy: if you want to create digital artifacts that last, they must be files you can control, in formats that are easy to retrieve and read. Use tools that give you this freedom.

File over app is an appeal to tool makers: accept that all software is ephemeral, and give people ownership over their data. stephango.com

Creating innumerable digital artifacts, but most of these artifacts are out of our control. They have proprietary formats that make them incompatible with older systems:

If you want your writing to still be readable on a computer from the 2060s or 2160s, it’s important that your notes can be read on a computer from the 1960s.

All the apps will eventually become obsolete. It’s the plain text files we create that are designed to last.

Related Unix Philosophy

Another philosophy to use note taking is the Unix Philosophy which stands for simplicity, modularity, and efficiency to address the majority of needs (90%) rather than striving for perfection.


Origin: RW File Over App by Steph Ango
References:
Created 2024-11-07