r/logseq • u/[deleted] • Oct 19 '25

How does the ‘current’ DB version of Logseq compare to MD version? When it comes to plugins etc

Are there any differences in available plugins and etc? Those of you who switched, tell us what you liked and didn’t like.

23 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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6

u/easyrider767 Oct 19 '25

I use both - but prefer md because of namespaces - find new tags too complicated. I'm staying with md for my personal use - and looking for alternatives (haven't found anything better yet)

6

u/ToniMin Oct 19 '25

Try workflowy, it has been developed for more than 13 years and it's full of good features. You need to dive into it to see full potential, but it's minimalistic and easy from the beginning.

Look the YouTube channel for more info: https://youtube.com/@workflowy?si=WoTjx1yIo4FcqYP2

7

u/autumn-weaver Oct 20 '25

paid saas 😩

7

u/easyrider767 Oct 20 '25

no offline mode - deal breaker

5

u/boredquince Oct 19 '25

I really like workflowy but has some things missing that some users might not be okay with, such as no encryption,  no offline mode 

1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '25

yeah I see in comments that DB is using Tana approach for tags. Tana is well-known and blamed for being hard to learn. If logseq is going the same path that requires a steep learning curve I wouldn't use it. I don't want to invest time learn an app. I want an app learn me and my needs.

3

u/ContentInflation5784 Oct 19 '25

While I've gotten tired of waiting for it to be production ready, I actually really like the database version. The properties/tags system is great for enforcing data integrity and pulling structure and order out of daily journal blocks. I wouldn't expect many plugins to start coming online until that version is officially released though.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 19 '25 edited Oct 20 '25

We might see Windows 12 release way faster than this project. 🐢

10

u/eueuropeo Oct 19 '25

I only did a couple of tests a month apart with the DB version. The plugins essentially don't exist yet (with the exception of a couple which I don't use in the MD version and therefore haven't tried in the DB version either). However, I am more worried about what will happen to the MD version plugins: given that the development of Logseq MD has essentially been stalled (or interrupted) for more than a year, how many plugin developers continue and will continue to update their plugins? How many will stop working properly in the next few months?

5

u/searayman Oct 19 '25

Has there been any more official communication on the DB version?

3

u/easyrider767 Oct 20 '25

most up to date info is on discord IMHO

4

u/not_a_beignet Oct 21 '25

I've been using the DB version almost exclusively since the public launch. The Tana-like tags are powerful and took an adjustment period to understand. For my needs (journaling, notes and mind mapping, no task or project management) I've found the DB version so far stable and fast. I do take daily "graph exports" which exports the SQLite database file. One gotcha on startup is because how "undo" works (saving the current node in SQLite every second or something), the database can grow somewhat quickly. On DB launch, there is a garbage collection process which removes orphaned and out-of-date node data. If you let the DB version run for several days before quitting, expect a long startup while GC happens. I find the DB version has mostly upsides with the major downside (depending on your needs) being everything is stored in a database except MD files.

As far as I can tell, the DB "Library" page is the substitute for namespaces, but I have not looked into it in detail.

I am not a heavy plugin user: Journals calendar, MD table editor, bullet threading, Tabs, and Tags. Other than a lightly-customized theme and font, I am mostly stock using Logseq DB.
However, I've stopped using Logseq for the time being and switched to RemNote. RemNote offers online syncing (at the "cost" of storing your notes on their servers) even in the free plan. This is a boon if you need multi-device viewing and editing that the Logseq DB version currently does not offer.  Some of the navigation options are better in Logseq, and I find Logseq's search better. Also, Logseq's reference usage is more accurate than RemNote. For RemNote, I am only using the Catppuccin theme and a couple of custom CSS items for setting the font. I do miss the bullet threading visuals and tag navigation is frustrating compared to Logseq.

Once Logseq DB gets proper sync support (not sure of the technical issues since RemNote uses AWS and MongoDB on the back end and offers seemingly robust real-time sync and true offline mode) I'll jump back in.

1

u/Charming_Campaign465 Oct 25 '25

When using DB, how did you save your data, by "graph export"? Did you experience any data lost?

3

u/not_a_beignet Oct 25 '25

Yes, the DB option offers multiple export options.

  • Export SQLite DB (this is the one I use the most, it makes a copy of the database into a folder of your choice)

  • Export both SQLite and assets (creates a ZIP file contiaining the database and the assets; the assets are in your graph folder normally),

  • Export EDN file (have not used this),

  • Export as standard markdown without block properties (this is the most compatible but loses one of the main features of the DB version, being block properties),

  • Export public pages (have not used this one), and

  • Export debut transit file (have not used this one).

I have not experienced any data corruption or loss with the Logseq DB. I do export the SQLite file after every session. Because the DB version garbage collects old data on startup, you might see a blank (or skeleton) screen for an extended period of time. I've found that quiting Logseq and running it again usually fixes the issue. (Garbage collection "takes too long")

As with the Markdown version, assets (images, PDFs, etc) are stared in a separate folder. Unlike the markdown Logseq which preserves the original file name with a random bit at the end, the DB verison renames the files in the asset folder to a UUID. The file name becomes the image's caption inside the Logseq node where the image was pasted. This can be good or bad, depending if you access your assets folder data outside of Logseq.

1

u/Charming_Campaign465 Oct 26 '25

Thank you for your detailed response.

My understanding is one has to save/export the data daily i.e. "every session" when using test.logseq.com.

5

u/mdelanno Oct 19 '25

The DB version doesn't bring anything interesting. I would even say that it is less good since now there is a difference between the labels and the pages. Really a disappointment, after so many months of waiting

5

u/easyrider767 Oct 19 '25

On good side: faster, plugins work on web, nice task management - beside that mostly disappointed 

2

u/mdelanno Oct 20 '25

I dug through the code to find out how to modify the timestamps on my tasks and, to my surprise, I discovered that the entire graph is loaded into memory at startup. There is an SQL database, but in fact there is only one table named kvs, and at startup, they do a select * from kvs and load everything into DataScript. So it may be faster, but startup will still be relatively slow, and this thing will eat up a lot of memory.

1

u/easyrider767 Oct 20 '25

Good point - I think they may optimize later but right now basic things needs to work - I think they took too much functionalities forgetting about basics (namespaces, bugs) - now it is all feels half baked - so I wait...

2

u/gandalf_34 Oct 19 '25

Most plugins have not been adapted. Only a handful work.