Announcement: Trilium transitions into maintenance mode

[zadam]

Describe feature

Hello, some of you might have noticed that the pace of development slowed down in the recent months.

In short, my time priorities changed and I now have other things on which I want to spend more of my time.

I intend to continue maintaining Trilium for the foreseeable future, not least because I use it heavily. This includes fixing bugs and upgrading electron/node.js/libraries like CKEditor or Mermaid. I assume I will be, from time to time, adding small improvements to existing features as well. On the other hand, I don't plan adding any new major functionality (that includes large PR contributions). If you're a glass-half-full type of person, this should make Trilium more stable than it used to be.

In the eventuality that some developer (or a group of developers) would like to take over the development, I'd recommend simply forking this repository and going from there, the repository contains everything needed. I don't have any copyright or trademark on the Trilium name, the icon etc, although I think it would be practical to differentiate the new fork somehow. If some fork gains traction, I'm happy to feature it prominently on the README, next to the notice on the maintenance status.

Thank you for your understanding.

Additional Information

No response

[rom1dep]

This is too bad, I was having the impression that Trilium was finally getting the recognition it deserves in places like hackernews (where the topic of PKMS and notes-taking apps comes back every other week), and even had some folks around me ask about it with enthusiasm. I hope this announcement isn't going to turn newcomers away from a very stable and complete app, which, moreover, has no real competition out there (self-hosted, data-consistent, local ; the best alternatives generally score 2 out of 3). Perhaps is it time to release a 1.0 to do it justice?

In any case, thanks for the good work! I really wish you success and fun in whatever comes next for you (while secretly hoping that you will stick around for a while ;) )

[zerebos]

As a developer, I completely understand and empathize with this move. Maintaining and actively developing a project like this is a lot of work even beyond what the public sees. Hopefully what you've decided to switch your priorities to is a bit less stressful 😄

I don't plan adding any new major functionality (that includes large PR contributions)

For me, this is the saddest part for end-users. Does this include the default share theme changes I had been working on? I had other plans/ideas in the works, but I guess I will table them and consider forking at a later time as I make progress (and/or if there's interest).

[foozzi]

Thanks for the amazing project!

[Nriver]

Thank you for your outstanding efforts! Feel free to dedicate the time to the activities you truly enjoy.

[meichthys]

I feared this day would come, but I'm glad you were able to make the necessary decision and that you have gifted this to the community with such an open license! Thank You!

@rauenzi : "consider forking at a later time as I make progress (and/or if there's interest)."

You have interest here. I would prefer a quick fork (or perhaps a restructuring into a Github organization with perhaps @zadam in an owner (or co-owner) role, but not responsible for all day-to-day project management. This would hopefully avoid the loss of momentum that this project had been gaining, and give life to some larger potential contributions.

[zerebos]

I'm up for either path @meichthys. Moving this existing repository into a new org (and setting it up) is still some management overhead for zadam that I'm sure he does not want to deal with at this time. And while links and such would redirect, it can still be less than ideal and cause issues to move the repository to a new url.

If I do end up forking separately, and I determine I have time to be active, I would likely put it in a GitHub org as well. That would open up possibilities for forking other Trilium-related repos and potentially updating them (e.g. trilium sender for android).

[deajan]

@zadam Thank you for your work and time. I know you struggled alot lately (especially with sync ^^).
Being an open source developper myself, I know that hobby projects can become too big for a one man show without sacrificing too much rest & family time, so I truly understand your decision.

The idea of a github organization where trilium could be hosted, with perhaps multiple maintainers makes sense. This way, you can still hold a maintenance role, but give potential developper roles and co-maintainers.

Currently running 0.63.1-beta. Which version should be used mainstream ? The latest release or the beta version ?

As said before, Trilium is the only solution I am aware of that ticks all the checkboxes (open source, self hosted, offline sync). Being a heavy trilium user myself, I don't mind chipping in sponsorship to whoever might step up as (co-)maintainer. I hope other users might feel the same.

[SiriusXT]

Thank you for developing this awesome software. I think the current functions of trilium are relatively complete. If new functions are constantly added, it will only make the software more and more bloated. Entering maintenance mode to fix bugs and improve stability is a good choice.

[XaverStiensmeier]

Just when I found it ... For now I will continue getting into it both in the estimation that it is already a great open source project and that maybe someone else might pick it up. Thank you for the time you've put into this project!

[perfectra1n]

Definitely a huge bummer as I've used this ever since first starting my career, and as @deajan said, this is really the only solution that I'm aware of that allows offline, self-hosted, and is open source. I've loved Trilium through and through, throughout the years, and I've relied on it in situations that other software just couldn't fulfill.

I hope you're able to find some enjoyment in whatever you head to next @zadam, but all the best wishes to you ♥

But yes, transitioning the project underneath a GitHub Organization would be great in order to allow the project to maintain the steam that it's had. I know that once projects enter maintenance mode that typically the main contributor rolls off of the project completely, rather quickly - leading to vulnerabilities and bugs to sprout. So hopefully moving the project under a GitHub Org would help combat that! I would be more than happy to contribute financially just as I have done in the past.

Additionally, I think that that the Trilium community could benefit from something like a Discord server! :)

[sathyamvellal]

Trilium changed my life, or at last gave me a notes system that I always wanted. Thanks for all your efforts!

[ProfDoof]

@meichthys @rauenzi, I'm still working on my PhD so I don't have as much time to work on it as I would like, but I definitely want to work on this as I want to work it into my workflow more in-depth and being able to go work on code for it would definitely help me with that. Let me know if you guys decide to fork and put it in an Org. I'll definitely keep an eye on it and try to contribute where I can.

[advisorgee]

I just finished testing a bunch of different notes apps, and this one was hands down the best of them. I am going to continue using it and I do hope one of the above people can fork it and keep this alive.

[Potjoe-97]

Hi Zadam, I've been a long time user of trilium and I would like to thank you for all your work on this project. Thanks to your work, I've been able to organize my thoughts, complete my thesis, go through teacher certifications, and I'm finally teaching humanities. Trilium has been (and will still be) a wonderful companion to my work. I hope your next projects will give you satisfaction!

[estaticfear]

Thanks you for best app ever! i still using it along time

[Senectus]

I fully understand, but I'm sad about it. I run two instances on my home setup one for me one for my son and its been a real boon for both of us.

[dvai]

Thank you for creating such an amazing software! I agree with your decision, Trilium is already perfect enough. Just do what you are interested in!

[jdelta1]

Thank you so much for Trilium, we cannot thank you enough. You should be incredibly proud of what you've built! I'm sure there will be some talented folks willing to fork and potentially take it further, but I'm super happy with the current state. Wish you the best!

[signup2k]

Thank you so much for this project. Wish you the best.

[0xbismarck]

Thank you for creating this wonderful FOSS community. I've been using Trilium since last summer, and I'm sad to see it make the change. Like others, this is one of the few apps that met my criteria for fulfilling my note taking needs and is also FOSS. I hope what comes next for Trilium cultivates the community as you have.

[justyns]

Thank you for creating Trilium! I plan on continuing to use it as long as I can. I'm not a great javascript developer, but I'd be more than happy to help out where I can in the future too.

[tidalvirus]

I'm happy with the features Trilium already has, and I was actually not expecting it to change much - considering other bits in the docs that implied any additions could/should be done by Javascript within the app itself. Basically, I like that my note taking system won't be changing every few months, and making me re-learn how to use it :P.

Perhaps I'm missing something where some new functionality would be substantially better?

The only thing I do care about is that updates occur to keep it secure, if, say, a library was found to have an issue. And it sounds like zadam@ is still going to do that. I'm not sure if that also translates to an up to date docker build? (I actually only use the web app for all my usage)

[eliandoran]

@rauenzi , @meichthys , @SiriusXT ,

I've discussed a bit with @zadam about the possibility of having a GitHub organization with multiple contributors/owners. His wish is to keep the existing repo as it is, in maintenance mode with small patches here and there.

Nevertheless, he encourages us to create a GitHub organization on our own and fork the existing repo in order not to have a bottleneck on the development side. In doing so, we also need to make sure to somehow rebrand the application in order to make it clear that we are working on a different version than the original. One example is how we have the vanilla paperless, which got forked into paperless-ng and then paperless-ngx.

We'll have to think what the next steps are, provided you are willing to contribute. Feel free to email me at my public email address on GitHub.

---

For everyone, I guess this would also be the time to consider some big feature updates that we never got around to doing, for example adding support for translations, a plugin system, etc. Feel free to pitch in any ideas and we'll see if we can manage them.

[zerebos]

As I said above I'm definitely interested in being involved, I will be sure to email you later.

[rom1dep]

I've discussed a bit with @zadam about the possibility of having a GitHub organization with multiple contributors/owners. His wish is to keep the existing repo as it is, in maintenance mode with small patches here and there.

Not that I bear much weight in this discussion, but I would tend to think that an organization is the most desirable outcome here. This community is already quite small, and spreading it thinner across several forks would only be detrimental on the long run:

• As a user, it takes a ridiculous amount of effort and technical knowledge to compare the different alternatives, their capabilities and their maintenance status. Betting on the "wrong" fork also means running an insecure/incompatible/buggier version, and being on our own for anything support-related or for migrating to a better supported version.

• As a maintainer, it takes an unnecessary amount of effort to keep an eye on the different forks, their code, their issues, their dependencies, and incorporating changes becomes exponentially harder with time and the increasing number of forks

At least having an org would alleviate most of those problems: Issues, PRs, discussions, support, documentation (and community management at large) could be kept in one place and pooled. Maintainership could pass from hand to hand without entire "reboots". Forks outside of the org would remain an option for the most adventurous or disruptive ideas.

That said, I can also understand why @zadam would prefer spin-off projects: all the above then becomes someone else's problems, Zadam remain in control of the code they run for themselves, the project returns to a state of being "low-profile" and personal.
But even there, an organization could bring valuable benefits: Trilium in its current form could exist under the new org as "Trilium Legacy", so people could run either "Zadam's version" (the "Legacy" one), or "Trilium Next". Both could be found and compared in one place, the migration path would be one, Zadam could even get some help with maintaining the "Legacy" version without having to argue about new features and moderation as much, and that would certainly contribute to carrying Zadam's ideal for Trilium on the very long run.

For everyone, I guess this would also be the time to consider some big feature updates that we never got around to doing

Could this become a new forum/"Discussions" subcategory?
I am personally very happy with the current Trilium, but I would love to see explorations towards new editors (so we could finally have paragraphs embeddings), and towards "Databases" (as a mean to visualize and edit metadata/attributes as tables, not unlike what's possible in Notion, Tana, … we have the right model there, but just lack some convenience and polish).

[eliandoran]

@rom1dep , I agree that an organization would be best given the circumstances. We also have to consider the fact that Trilium is a one-man show; even after we create the organization it will take a lot of time until any other developer will gain the experience necessary to develop and not just maintain the application. I think @zadam 's wish to have a fork repo/org with a different branding is a good middle-ground.

My plan is to create soon an organization to bring us together, both for development and ideas. Certainly we'll have our own discussion forum to see what we can do. The first step is to come up a decent name for the org.

[meichthys]

My plan is to create soon an organization to bring us together, both for development and ideas.

Thanks @eliandoran I agree with your sentiments wholeheartedly, so I will follow your lead on this 👍

[rom1dep]

@eliandoran : Looking forward to the new organization and to see how things will shape up! Exciting times ahead for sure :)

Since, as you said, Trilium is mainly a one-man show, I think it would give a ton of confidence to future adopters if the new org "builds upon" (or absorbs) the current project rather than "forks out" of it, but my earlier message was enough, and I'll leave my rambling at that :)

"Trilium Next" is the best name I can come up with in this context.

Edit: by the way, how come my previous comment has been "minimized" and hidden? Does it come out as inadequate?

[meichthys]

@rom1dep sorry about hiding your comment. It was showing up twice for me but now it just shows once (I've unhidden the note).

I also agree that it would be nice to have the new project build upon this existing project, but we must respect zadam's preference here.

In keeping with the spirit of the existing project, I would like to propose a new name of "Trilidium" for a few reasons:

• Trillidium is a species of Trillium (like the new project would be a species or descendent of Trilium)
• The one "L" spelling of Trillidium would match the one "L" spelling of Trillium which zadam chose for the current project. This would also give our new project a very unique namespace.
• Trilidium is similar enough to understand that it must be related to Trilium, yet different enough to indicate that it is something different

[rom1dep]

I also agree that it would be nice to have the new project build upon this existing project, but we must respect zadam's preference here.

If this is how @zadam wants it, there's no arguing :)

In keeping with the spirit of the existing project, I would like to propose a new name of "Trilidium"

That's actually an amazing name!

[0xbismarck]

I'm sure if the README for this project links to a preferred fork, that can help steer users the right direction.

[SiriusXT]

Establishing a GitHub organization to continue developing Trillium is a great idea, and I would be happy to participate in this project.

"Trilium Next" is the best name I can come up with in this context.

I think "Trilium next" is a simple, memorable, and good name.

In addition to multi-language support and plug-in systems, public cloud services and mobile clients are also key features to attract more users.

[deajan]

@eliandoran I am not a frontend dev, but ping me once the organisation is created. Pretty sure I can help.

One of the main feature requests that zadam said was too big for Trilium has always been multi user support (permissions at least). This is the kind of feature that would bring larger Entreprise audience, with perhaps more developpers / sponsoring / whatever, thus making Trillidium / Trilium Next / trilium-ngx a first class success story.

My company is willing to host trilium instances for free if needed.

[meichthys]

multi user support (permissions at least).

Yes. This 👍 At the very least being able to password protect individual nodes in the tree with unique passwords.

[fangs32]

Thanks for zadam's efforts! Actually, the features Trilium already has now is totally enough for me. Hope that every contributor who wants to take over the development will not forget that, Trilium is a PERSONAL knowledge base. That's the core difference between Trilium and many other work productivity tools, I think.

[AkechiShiro]

Please let us know if the Trilium next organization will be created or not and notify us here, so we know if Trilium moves to an org at some point and maybe more contributors may want to join.

[meichthys]

@AkechiShiro yes, that's the plan 👍

[Br0kenSilos]

@zadam First I would like to say THANK YOU for creating an nurturing Trilium into the wonderful piece of software that it is. I have only been using it for about 7-8 months but I dont know how I ever lived without it. While I am not a dev of any kind, and therefore have not really been able to take advantage of some of the more advance features, Trilium has helped me manage to take notes of the various aspects of my life and keep them organized. As a systems administrator, I have more notes on things that I care to admit and Trilium is an absolute godsend. So I really hate to see that you are letting go of this wonderful project. OTH, I totally understand and wish you nothing but the best. I cannot thank you enough.

Going forward, like I said, I am not a developer so I cannot really help with coding. But if I can find a way to contribute, I will. As for the new name... I kinda of like "Trilium Next".

[XaverStiensmeier]

I am very new to Trilium. I am happy to follow the future development for now, but I am unsure whether I am able to contribute much. I think an organization is the right way to go. So far I, too, like "Trilium Next" the most.

[rodrigoalexandrecosta]

First of all, thank you very much @zadam for this incredible piece of software. Trilium has changed the way I deal with a lot of stuff in my life and I'm definitely very grateful for it.

I also have a lot of interest in the next phase (fork/organization) and for sure will help in any way I can. I'm a backend developer, but I don't know anything about frontend and javascript in general, I work with Python and previously with Java. To be honest, Trilium was the first real thing that made me consider to learn frontend because I just have no talent for it. Anyway, between frontend stuff and Electron (and life, in general) there is a lot of things to study and to practice, so I'll probably won't be able to help with code at first.

Anyway, I'm excited for the next steps.

[zerebos]

As far as the naming and feature discussion of the potential fork goes, I think that should be saved for the discussions section of the fork (or whatever communication platform is decided on) if and when it's made as it doesn't really fit here. I did reach out to @eliandoran via email, so hopefully we'll see something made somewhat soon.

For now if anyone is interested in brainstorming, I have a Trilium-focused Discord server that can be used since it's a bit faster pace and more synchronous than email/github. https://discord.gg/eTaTXUgcBr

[clq]

I would also like to say thank you so much. I don't see Trilium going into maintenance mode as a bad thing: it is a great tool, and has everything I would need from it and more. As I see it, you've finished what I presume you set out to do - build a tremendous piece of software that does exactly what you need it to do - and you made it available and free (in every sense), so others with the same needs can benefit from it. I'll be interested in following any forks (and grateful to people who put their time into working on them!), but even if Trilium stays the way it is now forever, it is exactly what I want from an application like this and will continue to be just that. Thank you!

[eliandoran]

Hi, @rauenzi , @meichthys , @SiriusXT , @deajan , @rom1dep .

Sent you invitations for https://github.com/TriliumNext. For the moment I've kept this name since it has a certain ring to it, and it's especially easy to understand it's going to be a newer generation of Trilium. Nevertheless, I also like @meichthys 's proposal; we can always consider changing the name of the org if necessary.

If anyone else wants to be part of the org, let me know in https://github.com/TriliumNext/Notes/discussions/1.

From now on I would kindly ask you to redirect any questions or ideas for Trilium Next on the new discussions page: https://github.com/TriliumNext/Notes/discussions

@rauenzi 's Discord also seems like a good place for short discussions.

@zadam , I've also given you honorary owner status for the org. Feel free to join, without any pressure or responsibilities.

[AkechiShiro]

Hi @eliandoran I would like to be part of the organization if that's okay, I would like to help better the actual Trilium or help as best as I can (I can help in documentation, and also triage bug report/reproduce and investigate).

[yllekz]

Happy to see where this goes. I'm not really a developer but I have definitely hitched my wagon to Trilium after migrating my stuff from OneNote to it. Curious to see where things go from here.

[rom1dep]

I also like @meichthys 's proposal; we can always consider changing the name of the org if necessary.

Just an idea…, why not both? I suspect that many here are rather pleased with the current Trilium, its features and its compromises, and would rather prefer things to remain slow and stable. "Trilium Next" could then be the name of the umbrella org, having "Trilium Legacy" as the "stable" continuation of the present Trilium (with a migration path from one to the other), and "Trilidium" as the more ambitious and "disruptive" spin-off (probably not too unlike Matrix's Synapse vs Dendrite).

I think it's strikes a good balance because:

• people looking for a maintained version of Trilium would have an easy time finding the org (it retains the name and the "spirit")
• it offloads the burden of community management and maintenance off of Zadam's plate while providing continuity
• it acknowledges present and future users' needs alike, maximizing the chances for the org to attract diverse users and contributors
• future contributors can be exited about getting involved with interesting tech AND a large user-base

Discord also seems like a good place for short discussions.

Please, no. There is no shortage of open and inclusive chat platforms based on standard and future-proof protocols. Decentralized is best, so my vote there would go towards XMPP and Matrix.

[zerebos]

It doesn't make sense to have the current Trilium under the org because they are separate projects run by separate people. It is Zadam's desire to keep them separate and we should respect that. We also don't have the experience or knowledge to maintain it the same way he does so there wouldn't be much offloading.

As for Matrix/XMPP, I'd personally rather not. In the end, I'm a user and I don't find the usability of these worthwhile. Either way, it's a discussion for the org and not here.

[rom1dep]

It doesn't make sense to have the current Trilium under the org because they are separate projects run by separate people.

@rauenzi If the org can afford it, I think it makes perfect sense to have the org take care of the maintenance of the current codebase (besides possibly other, more ambitious plans), just as a future-proofing measure. I only wish Zadam the best, but this whole thread is them informing us that they are distancing themselves from the project. How far and how long, only time will tell. In the interim, the org will be uniquely positioned to carry on.

It is Zadam's desire to keep them separate and we should respect that.

I see nothing indicating that this goes against their will. I will let Zadam speak for themself.

[thfrei]

@zadam I'm grateful for your application and i'd like to thank very much for your effort and for working with me, back in the day of the excalidraw integration. 🚀 (https://github.com/zadam/trilium/pull/2798)

All the best to you in your future! Do what is best for you, and do what you want. You made the software open, what more could anyone want.

Cheers! 🎇🎆🥳

[j-tirelli]

@zadam You have truly built an amazing tool that I have only scratched the surface of, but have quickly come to love and use daily. Every time I turn around and want some feature I find it's already been integrated. @thfrei's Excalidraw integration is just one example (you combined my favorite whiteboarding tool with my favorite nested note-taking application!).

My mind is regularly blown by the utility of this open-source app you have given to the world freely. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.