Anytype got too restrictive. We are looking again.

A while back we wrote about leaving Notion for Anytype: local-first, encrypted, no block wall. We meant it. This is the update, and it is less flattering. Anytype turned out too restrictive for how we actually work, so it is in the graveyard now and we are looking again.

What we still like

None of the original wins went away. Your data is local, it works offline, it is end-to-end encrypted, and there is no member-count cap counting down. For a private personal brain, that is still a strong base.

Where it got too restrictive

• The object and type model is rigid. You bend your notes to fit its shapes rather than the other way around, and changing a type later is painful.
• Querying is thin. After Notion databases, the filters and views feel narrow, so the data you put in is hard to slice back out.
• There is no real API or scripting. Automating anything, or piping notes into our own tools, is mostly off the table.
• Import and export are lossy. It is its own format, so getting work in or out cleanly is a fight.

Each one is survivable. Together they meant we were working around the tool more than with it, which is the opposite of why we left Notion.

What we are testing instead

• Obsidian: plain Markdown files on disk, local, with a deep plugin ecosystem. The most flexible, least locked-in option.
• AppFlowy: open source and closer to the Notion database model, if we want structure back.
• Logseq: outliner-first, local Markdown, good for daily notes and linking.

We have not picked a winner. Local-first, flexible, and genuinely private is a hard trio to get all three of at once, which is exactly why this keeps being a series.

Next step: if you went to Anytype on our word and hit the same wall, tell us what you tried. The graveyard and the rest of the kit are on the tools page. If you want a hand picking a stack that will not box you in later, write to us at hello@gattyworks.com.