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I frequently look up tutorials and find a really useful one after a bit of searching. However, after a while I forget and have to look for these tutorials again, sometimes unsuccessfully.

Is there a way to store these articles in a database that is searchable by keywords, tags, categories? Ideally, I would be able to search for a topic, then a list of relevant articles would appear along with my personal notes about how this article is useful.

It'd be especially useful if there's a cross-platform, cloud-based solution.

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  • If it’s a Web app, self-hosted or hosted? If it’s not a Web app: for which OS? (or do you want to require it to be a Web app?)
    – unor
    Jul 18 '16 at 15:54
  • Using a browser bookmark is not an option?
    – rrirower
    Jul 18 '16 at 15:54
  • Web-app can be either self-hosted or hosted. Desktop app should be cross-platform (Linux, Mac, Win). Browser bookmark is good for web link, but sometimes I want to mention book chapters and add my own review. Plus, I want to store the article's text itself just in case the links go cold.
    – Heisenberg
    Jul 18 '16 at 15:58
  • Hm, so some kind of bookmarks which would store the webpage itself along and allow you to put annotations/markers in would fit? If so, and you're using Firefox, maybe the ScrapBook addon is worth a look.
    – Izzy ♦
    Jul 18 '16 at 16:25
  • I already thought of Evernote with each article being a note in a notebook. It fulfills all requirements above, the only problem is that I don't know how locked-in I am. I really like the idea of owning my data to be backed up and shared.
    – Heisenberg
    Jul 18 '16 at 16:31
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Have you thought of using Pocket (acquired by Mozilla so we kinda know it will stick around)? I used it for a while and it does quite a decent job:

  • lets you save links,
  • lets you tag them by categories,
  • lets you search your tags,
  • all of the above for free,
  • if you are ready to pay for a premium version ($5/month), it will keep a personal backup of all the articles and web pages you save.

BUT

  • there's no note or summary field for inputting one's own remarks. It all depends on how critical the note taking function is for you.

I had a similar issue a while ago, where I wanted to keep track of books/articles I read with my own notes (keeping notes makes me feel like I retain the information better). And, I solved it by making an app on Simitless. I made an Articles Database template from it, if you want to either copy or inspire from it to make your own.

For articles, I usually

  • input the URL,
  • a short summary of why I thought it was interesting at the time,
  • assign some tags,
  • assign categories and topics,
  • for the full content, depending on the source, I would either copy/paste the text,
  • or print the page to PDF with Chrome and upload it as a file to the app. I haven't found a solution that lets me grab the content automatically yet,
  • in addition, you can import your list of articles (if you have one) and you can always export your database,
  • (it is a web app, so OS independent).

For sources that I trust will remain online (Instructables, Khan Academy, etc.), I tend not to save the content as I assume it will be there later.

Full disclosure: I am part of the team that made Simitless so my opinion might be biased.

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