This seems overly complicated. Let the editors be editors.
I recently created a Go application for myself after not finding a note-taking application I liked. Instead of implementing an editor, the application just creates the `%Y-%m-%d.md` file and then opens it in my preferred editor. I have other features, but in the end, all it does is create files or pipe data into the editor I want to use.
I have the same thing; it's a TUI app written in python; all it does is create files with the proper format and has some mild browsing capabilities. It's super nice.
journal # opens 2026-03-07.md in vim
journal yesterday # opens 2026-03-06.md in vim
journal weekly # pipes 2026-03-01 – 07.md into vim
journal monthly # pipes 2026-03-01 – 31.md into vim
journal monthly last month # pipes 2026-02-01 – 28.md into vim
I added support for other editors. For the editors that don't support stdin, it creates a temporary file for the generated pages ("weekly", "monthly", etc.)
It fits my needs perfectly. It removes the friction of note taking. It's easy to backup, search, convert the notes. If I want to use another editor like a WYSIWYG markdown editor, it's trivial to change.
I have been using the self-hosted ActualBudget for ~6 months and found it mostly perfect. The mobile version of the site is not complete but it's at least usable for managing transactions. The only drawback is no user accounts, but you can have multiple budgets.
I was originally on YNAB4, and then financier.io for ~2 years.
I recently created a Go application for myself after not finding a note-taking application I liked. Instead of implementing an editor, the application just creates the `%Y-%m-%d.md` file and then opens it in my preferred editor. I have other features, but in the end, all it does is create files or pipe data into the editor I want to use.
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