What software can export a Zettelkasten archive to Org-roam seamlessly without any side-effects?

Annabella

Hi,
A week ago, I realized that my zettling was terrible. The fault was in the shallow understanding I had gained from the incomplete sources I grabbed off the internet. Then, I discovered "How To Take Smart Notes," decided to read it, I'm reading it, and it's fantastic.
My problem is that I want to have my archive in Org-roam. However, I'd need to learn Org-roam first, and for that, I need an archive. Therefore, I need temporary software to have my archive in. That software should be able to export my archive to Org-roam without broken links, missing tags/files, etc. Otherwise, the software files should be readable by Org-roam.
Is there any software that meets my needs?

learning_ran

It is better to just wait for Org-roam version-2 to come out soon.

Not sure what the format of your notes. If it is Markdown, maybe try some introductions like this: https://emacs.stackexchange.com/questions/5465/how-to-migrate-markdown-files-to-emacs-org-mode-format

kohled

+1 on holding off from diving too deep into learning org-roam until v2 comes out, since it's a 'major redesign'. Judging from the steady rate of the primary maintainer's commits, v2 will be out much sooner rather than later.

To get an archive to practice with, I used fabio-berger's roam-migration tool to decent effect. Everything didn't come through perfectly, but there was plenty enough to work with to get to know org-roam.

Wishing you well with your experiments.

Annabella

@learning_ran

It is better to just wait for Org-roam version-2 to come out soon.

I'm not in a hurry, so I will wait for that.

Not sure what the format of your notes. If it is Markdown, maybe try some introductions like this: https://emacs.stackexchange.com/questions/5465/how-to-migrate-markdown-files-to-emacs-org-mode-format

I don't have any Permanent Notes, yet. I only have Literature Notes, which are in Zotero, and several semi-Permanent Notes in Notion. How well does Markdown work with Org-roam? Could I make my Permanent Notes in Markdown, and import them to Org-roam (version-2) without any side-effects or problems?

Annabella

@kohled

+1 on holding off from diving too deep into learning org-roam until v2 comes out, since it's a 'major redesign'. Judging from the steady rate of the primary maintainer's commits, v2 will be out much sooner rather than later.

I'm glad to hear that it's in good hands and making steady progress towards completion. Thanks for telling me so.

To get an archive to practice with, I used fabio-berger's roam-migration tool to decent effect. Everything didn't come through perfectly, but there was plenty enough to work with to get to know org-roam.

Will I be able to import my Permanent Notes to Org-roam (version-2) without any side-effects if I make them with that? I don't want to go through the same issue I had the first time I tried to run a Zettelkasten. I used to use Evernote until it became unreliable, not only for my Zettelkasten but for everything else I had there. I migrated to Notion, but I had to transfer everything manually, and it was horrible. I'd like to avoid the same happening twice at all costs.

Wishing you well with your experiments.

Thanks a lot!

kohled

@Senketsu

Will I be able to import my Permanent Notes to Org-roam (version-2) without any side-effects if I make them with that? I don't want to go through the same issue I had the first time I tried to run a Zettelkasten. I used to use Evernote until it became unreliable, not only for my Zettelkasten but for everything else I had there. I migrated to Notion, but I had to transfer everything manually, and it was horrible. I'd like to avoid the same happening twice at all costs.

I was a heavy Evernote user some time ago. I can empathize with the drag of getting everything out of it. The experience strongly motivated my shift to plaintext for much of what matters most to me.

I'm not familiar with Notion, so unfortunately I won't be of much help there.

In short, I conjecture it's a non-trivial task to get everything out of Notion and into org-roam with zero side effects. That's just a guess though, cuz what do I know (shrug).

In long , I converted md to org using the above referenced script and had success with ≈90% of the notes. Links came through fine. Some title material was a bit messy because I used a multimarkdown header for many notes. Octothorpe tags created dead links.

I imagine it's possible to get everything to convert cleanly with some precision pandoc-ing or crafting a snazzy shell script but that's beyond my present skillset - for now !

FWIW, I found the process of manually re-processing, re-reading, and rewriting notes quite useful. It made me re-examine, re-digest, and refine what I put into the zettelkasten. And as I'm a relative emacs noob, it gave me reason to practice org-roam shortcuts and get dialed in using the doom framework - e.g. modal editing.

That said, I confess I'm not super result-oriented with how I use the slipbox. I mostly dive into wormholes of my own thought, resonances, and affinities and let my creative unconscious marinate in the primordial mess. So time spent tinkering with it is never wasted. It's actually entirely the point, at least for me. Admittedly, my experience may not apply to most.

Lastly, regarding using markdown with org-roam, there's md-roam. I haven't used it myself, so I can't comment upon its efficacy or ease-of-use. Perhaps I'll experiment with it, see how it works.

Hope this proves useful in some way.

Annabella

@kohled

I was a heavy Evernote user some time ago. I can empathize with the drag of getting everything out of it. The experience strongly motivated my shift to plaintext for much of what matters most to me.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who had to deal with migrating out of Evernote. Makes me feel a little better.

I'm not familiar with Notion, so unfortunately I won't be of much help there.

The notes I have in Notion aren't a problem because they're just rough Permanent Notes lacking elaboration.

In long , I converted md to org using the above referenced script and had success with ≈90% of the notes. Links came through fine. Some title material was a bit messy because I used a multimarkdown header for many notes. Octothorpe tags created dead links.

If there's the chance of losing content, then I won't use the program. I don't want to risk it, but thanks for the follow-up and detailed explanation.

That said, I confess I'm not super result-oriented with how I use the slipbox. I mostly dive into wormholes of my thought, resonances, and affinities and let my creative unconscious marinate in the primordial mess. So time spent tinkering with it is never wasted. It's actually entirely the point, at least for me. Admittedly, my experience may not apply to most.

I'm more intentional with my Zettelkasten. I don't go down rabbit holes, but rather follow my interests, and use it for GTD projects. E.g., I'm now learning about the ZK Method and blogging (on hold), and have several projects for which I need to read.

Lastly, regarding using markdown with org-roam, there's md-roam. I haven't used it myself, so I can't comment upon its efficacy or ease-of-use. Perhaps I'll experiment with it, see how it works.

I'll check it out.

Thanks for your comment!