How to Install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04

Introduction

Before we begin talking about how to install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04, let's briefly understand – What is Joplin?

Joplin is a powerful note-taking application that boosts productivity and organizes all your digital information. This open-source software allows you to create and manage notes efficiently, keeping them synchronized across multiple devices. With Joplin, you can effortlessly capture ideas, make to-do lists, save web page snippets, and even encrypt sensitive data. Take control of your note-taking experience with Joplin's user-friendly features and enjoy seamless organization and accessibility at your fingertips.

In this tutorial, you will install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04. We will also address a few FAQs on how to install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04.

Advantages of Joplin

1. Productivity Boost: Joplin enhances your productivity by allowing you to efficiently create, organize, and synchronize notes across devices.
2. Multi-Platform Support: Joplin is compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, ensuring seamless access to your notes from any device.
3. Rich Features: Joplin offers a range of features like to-do lists, markdown support, attachments, and search, providing a comprehensive note-taking experience.
4. Web Clipper: Capture web content instantly with Joplin's web clipper, saving articles, images, and snippets for later reference.
5. Security and Privacy: Joplin enables encryption for your notes, ensuring the privacy and protection of sensitive information.

Install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04 via APT

Step 1: Updating System Packages Before Joplin Installation

We must first make sure our Ubuntu system is current. By doing this, the possibility of software conflicts or compatibility problems during installation is reduced. You can update your system packages in the following ways:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

The command sudo apt update obtains details about the most recent packages and their dependencies. It'll bring your local package index up to date. However, if APT is informed about these new versions through apt update, then sudo apt upgrade will download the most recent versions of the packages that are already installed on the system.

Step 2: Download Joplin Installation Bash Script on Ubuntu 22.04

By default, the Joplin application is not available in Ubuntu's standard repositories. But the Joplin team offers an automated bash script that does the downloading and installation of the program. This script can be run directly from our terminal and is hosted on GitHub.

To download and run the Joplin bash script, use this command:

wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/laurent22/joplin/dev/Joplin_install_and_update.sh | bash

Content is fetched from the web using the wget command. It works flawlessly when downloading files straight from servers using the command line. In this case, -O -prints the downloaded file to your console by redirecting it to stdout. The Joplin installation script can be found at the URL that appears after the command.

The | (pipe) enters the command on the right and uses the output of the command on the left—in this case, the output of our wget command—as input.

This script is then executed by the bash command, which downloads and installs Joplin.

Install on Joplin on UBuntu 22.04 via Snap

As an alternative to the APT-based method, you can install Joplin using the Snap package manager. Canonical created Snap, a software packaging and deployment system, for Linux-based operating systems. Software developers can distribute their applications directly to users by using the snapd tool and packages, which are compatible with various Linux distributions.

Because snaps are meant to be self-contained software packages that include their dependencies, system libraries are not a requirement for them. They are therefore perfect for easy installation and maintenance, especially on systems where you don't want to mix dependencies with the rest of your system or where the required software isn't available in the standard repositories.

Step 1: Ensuring Snap is Installed on Ubuntu for Joplin

We need to make sure Snap is installed on your Ubuntu system first. Snap is preinstalled on Ubuntu 16.04 and later versions, so unless you manually removed it, it should already be installed.

Quickly install it or verify that it is installed by using the following command:

sudo apt install snapd

Use sudo apt install snapd here. The snapd service is installed using snapd. The background service that oversees and preserves your snaps is called snapped.

Step 2: Install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04 via Snap Command

Installing Joplin is the next step after making sure Snap is installed on your machine. To download and install Joplin from the Snap store, use the following command:

sudo snap install joplin-desktop

In this case, the snap service is instructed to locate, download, and install the joplin-desktop package by running sudo snap install joplin-desktop. The command's sudo component verifies that you have the right authorization to install software on the system.

Install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04 via Flatpak and Flathub

Another tool for managing packages, deploying software, and virtualizing applications on Linux is called Flatpak. Users can run applications in a sandbox environment, separate from the rest of the system.

Similar to Snap, Flatpak lets developers bundle their apps with their dependencies in order to address software dependencies and simplify the software distribution process. Let's get started with using the Flatpak package manager to install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04.

Step 1: Enabling Flathub for Joplin on Ubuntu

You must first enable the Flathub repository before installing Joplin via Flatpak. Serving as a vast repository for Flatpak applications, Flathub is the de facto app store for the Flatpak package management system.

Run the following command to add Flathub as a repository in your Flatpak configuration:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

This command adds the flathub repository if it isn't already there in your Flatpak configuration after checking to see if it does. You can use a wide range of applications, including Joplin, as a consequence.

Step 2: Install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04 via Flatpak Command

The Flatpak install command can be used to install Joplin if Flathub is enabled. Use the following command in your terminal to accomplish this:

flatpak install flathub net.cozic.joplin_desktop -y

Joplin can be installed from the Flathub repository with this command. To ensure a seamless installation process, the -y option in this case authorizes all prompts from the flatpak install command.

Launching Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04

We've now covered a variety of methods for installing Joplin on Ubuntu using APT, Snap, and Flatpak, among other package managers. The next step is to open Joplin and explore its features after you have installed it using your preferred method.

Command-line Interface Joplin Launch Methods on Ubuntu

Depending on which installation method you selected, the command to use to start Joplin from the terminal will vary. The corresponding commands for each method are as follows:

APT Method: To start Joplin, use the following command if you installed it using the APT package manager:

joplin

Snap Method: Launch Joplin with the following command if you installed it using the Snap package manager:

snap run joplin-desktop

Flatpak Method: To launch Joplin if you installed it using Flatpak, type the following command:

flatpak run net.cozic.joplin_desktop

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Joplin Launch Method on Ubuntu

Launching Joplin is a simple process if you would rather work with the GUI than the command line. Here's how to go about it:

• The 'Show Applications' icon, which is often found at the bottom left of your screen in the Ubuntu dock, should be clicked.
• Enter 'Joplin' in the search bar that displays. The Joplin application icon will appear as you type.
• To open the application, click the 'Joplin' icon.

Tips for Getting Started with Joplin on Ubuntu Linux

We've put together a few pointers to help you get the most out of Joplin now that it's installed on your Ubuntu system. These suggestions address customization, general use, and a few more features.

General Usage Tips with Joplin on Ubuntu

The following are crucial guidelines to improve your overall Joplin experience:

• Synchronize Your Notes: You can synchronize your notes on several devices with Joplin. Navigate to Tools > Options > Synchronization, select Dropbox, OneDrive, or another sync target, and then click the 'Synchronize' button located in the upper right corner.

Joplin > Tools > Options > Synchronization

• Search Functionality: To locate particular notes quickly, use the search bar located at the top of the Joplin interface. You can conduct a note-by-note or content search.
• Markdown Support: Joplin allows you to format notes in Markdown. Spend some time learning the fundamentals of Markdown if you're not familiar with it; it's worth the effort to create well formatted notes.
• Tagging Notes: Organize and find your notes more quickly by using the tagging feature. By entering a tag in the note properties 'Tags' field, you can attach a tag to a note.

Customization Tips with Joplin on Ubuntu

Joplin offers a plethora of customization options that enable you to tailor the application to your preferences:

• Theme Customization: You can select a light or dark theme for your Joplin application under Tools > Options > Appearance.

Joplin > Tools > Options > Appearance

• Layout Customization: You can change the note interface's layout in Joplin. You can create your own custom layout or select from a number of pre-set layouts by going to View > Change Application Layout.

Joplin > View > Change Application Layout

Advanced Tips with Joplin on Ubuntu

Those who want to experiment with some of Joplin's more sophisticated features can use these pointers:

• Web Clipper: You can save web pages as notes straight away with Joplin's web clipper tool. You can use Tools > Options > Web Clipper to activate this browser extension tool.

Joplin > Tools > Options > Web Clipper

• End-to-End Encryption: To protect the privacy of your notes, Joplin offers end-to-end encryption as an option. This can be turned on by going to Tools > Options > Encryption.

Joplin > Tools > Options > Encryption

Managing Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04

Managing your Ubuntu Linux Joplin installation, including updating and uninstalling the program, will be covered in this section. This covers the procedures for the three installations—APT, Snap, and Flatpak—that we covered. Let's get started and discover how to update and, if needed, uninstall the Joplin app.

Update Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04

APT Update Command for Joplin on Ubuntu

You will be aware that Joplin was manually installed using a bash script if you installed it via the APT method. You can set up a cron job to download and execute this bash script automatically in order to maintain Joplin up to date.

The job can be scheduled to run at a predetermined time interval, or, for desktop users, it can be set to run each time you log in to your computer. Let's examine how to configure this.

Use the following command in your terminal to edit your crontab file:

crontab -e

Add the following line to Joplin so that it is updated each time you log into your system:

@reboot /path/to/your/joplin_update_script.sh

Don't forget to replace the real path of your update script for "/path/to/your/joplin_update_script.sh."

Snap Update Command for Joplin on Ubuntu

The following command can be used to manually initiate an update for Snap:

sudo snap refresh joplin-desktop

Alternatively, to examine every Snap installation:

sudo snap refresh

Flatpak Update Command for Joplin on Ubuntu

Using the following command, you can update any installed Flatpak applications, including Joplin, for Flatpak:

flatpak update

You can indicate that you want to update just Joplin in this way:

flatpak update net.cozic.joplin_desktop

Remove Joplin from Ubuntu 22.04

Here are the techniques to remove Joplin from your Ubuntu Linux system according to the kind of installation.

APT Remove Command for Joplin on Ubuntu

You must remove the Joplin directory in order to uninstall the APT version of Joplin. You can use the following command to accomplish this:

rm -rf ~/.joplin

Snap Remove Command for Joplin on Ubuntu

You can use the following command to get rid of Joplin that was installed using Snap:

sudo snap remove joplin-desktop

Flatpak Remove Command for Joplin on Ubuntu

Lastly, you can use the following command to uninstall Joplin if you installed it using Flatpak:

flatpak uninstall net.cozic.joplin_desktop

In every scenario, keep in mind that uninstalling Joplin will also remove your notebooks and notes, so make sure you have a backup in case you want to keep your data.

FAQs to install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04

Conclusion

We hope this tutorial helped you understand how to install Joplin on Ubuntu 22.04.

If you have any queries, please leave a comment below, and we’ll be happy to respond to them for sure.