Plaintext Files

Last updated Jan 17, 2025

Knowhow stored in Notions and Google Docs will not scale (what if you need to change something?), we can’t do a search and replace. But why not use what developers have for ages for knowledge, too?

Similar to Markdown, plaintext files are future-proof.

Every device, including ones long gone, and ones not invented yet, can read and edit plain text. Whether future virtual reality or a chip you can implant in your earlobe, plain text will be there. Will Microsoft Word? Evernote? Notion? Maybe. Maybe not.

Plaintext files are:

1. Portable
2. Un-Commercial
3. Offline
4. No Dependencies
5. Easiest to convert

Here’s a good video on how to do that and work with a team, mainly with git and GitHub, but all with Plain text: The Plain-Text Team.

See Local First.

File Over App is a term by Steph Ango, see more on the link.

See

• Creating Local First Collaboration Software with Automerge - YouTube by Daniel Kahneman

Read more on Markdown vs Rich Text.

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Created 2023-05-27