Logseq: FLOSS web outliner, compatible with Org Roam now

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Logseq is a Roam-like thing in the browser that supports both Markdown and Org Mode. It uses Github as a backing store, which means that you can use it both in the browser, and via Emacs + (Ma)Git. As of this bug fix Logseq seems to have good (basic) compatibility with Org Roam! Please note it’s required to modify config.edn, as indicated below.

{:journal-basis "daily" 

 :project {
           ;; Selected public notes can be published to https://logseq.com/your-project-or-your-username.
           :name ""
           :alias ""
           ;; your twitter handle
           :twitter ""
           ;; description supports both hiccup and html
           :description ""}
:org-mode/insert-file-link? true ;; add this, file continues below
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Just to get the tiger out of the room: This is unparalleled work and benefit for our Roam and org-mode fan community.
Can’t thank you enough for your efforts and I will follow up each step you take!
Jochen

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I can claim zero credit for it but I’m sure the folks who made Logseq would like to see your review!

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Anyone use both logseq and org-roam?

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This would be interesting to test out. I like the graph visualization in Logseq. However, with file IDs, it would seem Logseq isn’t compatible with v2.

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Hmm, I believe it is working also with file IDs. From version 0.2 of Logseq. I filed issues for that in November last year (#695, #696). But please verify if your use case differs from what I reported!

One issue that still isn’t resolved is files with file-level property drawers and TITLE-keywords. Logseq doesn’t recognise the title in that case and the name of the notes are taken from the filename. If you’d like to help me bump that issue up in importance, please visit the link below and add a note or a thumbs up. This is the github issue: Org mode title not parsed if file-level property block exist in file · Issue #2286 · logseq/logseq · GitHub.

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I missed that issue on Github, thank you. I will definitely check if Logseq is compatible with my current file set.

Cool, I’ll do both. I always use #+title.

In your experience, has editing files in Logseq played havoc with org-roam by any chance?

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Due to the compatibility issues I haven’t edited the files in my org-roam collections that much yet. So nothing much to say on the topic just yet, sorry.

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I don’t think Logseq plays nice with org-roam for 3 reasons:

  1. They hack the syntax a lot.
  2. Even for the basic org-mode syntax, due to their parser implementation (mldoc), there are some inconsistencies.
  3. Org-roam v2 is not compatible any more. One can use logseq as first-citizen and use org-logseq though.

These are problems that I don’t think they will solve in forseeable future. Therefore, I’d recommend that people consider Logseq a separate software.

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I just posted a comment in a thread about logseq/org-roam on Reddit and I’m sharing it here now since it would be nice to hear from other people who are using both logseq and org-roam.

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about how org-roam vs/plus logseq. I’ve been using org-roam almost since the beginning and I’m very happy with it. Just a few things missing that keep making me think of other tools such as logseq or Obsidian. Most importantly:

  • not being restrained to Emacs: access on mobile, sharing/collaborating with others
  • queries: simple and powerful ways of querying like in logseq
  • transclusion: I’ve been using org-transclusion right from the start and I love it. Overall, the user experience still is more seamless in logseq in my view. I think making the org-roam buffer editable could be big boost on this front.

With that being said, I do want to stick with org-roam. I love living inside Emacs and org-mode and it’s invaluable to have all the editing and org-mode features natively available. Plus, I get to use org-babel and tables and all that good stuff.

So I’m now trying to stick with org-roam and use logseq on top whenever I need it. Currently, this is basically just for mobile use or when I want to access/edit my stuff on a different computer. I was really pleasantly surprised that most things work just fine:

  • the org markup is okay
  • ID-based file and heading links work for following them in logseq
  • images get displayed inline
  • journal is compatible with my org-roam-dailies
  • org-agenda: when I add my org-agenda-files folder, it automatically provides me with a rudimentary agenda in the journal because it picks up all the dates

Two things don’t work yet (for me):

  • Creating links from logseq creates file links instead of ID links to pages. I can follow those in org-mode, but it’s obviously not ideal. Links to “blocks” don’t follow the org-roam conventions.
  • logseq queries don’t work great. Basic queries work, but not the more interesting complex ones.

All in all, I’m happy to stick with org-roam. I view logseq as a nice “free” option on top. Also, the logseq developers are very active, so I’m hoping the compatibility will get even better in the future.

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