Questions and answers
The basics
What is Aloha?
A viewer for the notes you already have. It opens your Obsidian vault or Notion pages and shows them as a small town: folders as lands, notes as houses, links as roads. You can also write notes in Aloha itself.
Is Aloha free?
Yes. Aloha runs in your browser and costs nothing. There is nothing to install and no account to make.
Do I need an account?
No. Open app.aloha.place and choose where your notes are. Notes you write in Aloha itself are kept in that browser.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Tap the ground to walk there, or slide a finger to steer. Add it to your home screen and it opens like an app.
Does it work offline?
Yes, once it has loaded. Aloha installs as a web app and can open your map without a connection. Notion pages need a connection to update.
Which browsers does it work in?
Recent Chrome, Edge, Arc, Safari and Firefox, on a computer or a phone. The town is drawn in 3D, so the browser needs WebGL 2. Writing to an Obsidian vault needs Chrome, Edge or Arc on a computer.
Which languages does it speak?
English for now. If you’d like Aloha in your language, write to us; translations help a lot.
Your notes
Does it work with Obsidian?
Yes. Open your vault folder and Aloha shows it as a town. It reads and writes the same Markdown files, in Chrome, Edge and Arc; other browsers open the vault read-only. More about Obsidian.
Does it work with Notion?
Yes. Sign in with Notion and choose the pages Aloha may see. They open as a town, database rows show their fields as a small table, and simple pages can be edited from Aloha. More about Notion.
Where are my notes kept?
Where they already are. An Obsidian vault stays in its folder on your device, Notion pages stay in Notion, and notes written in Aloha are kept in your browser. Our server keeps no copy of your notes. Privacy.
What if I clear my browser data?
Notes written in Aloha itself live in the browser’s storage, so clearing the site’s data clears them. Your Obsidian vault and Notion pages aren’t affected.
Can I get my notes out?
With an Obsidian vault or Notion there’s nothing to export: your notes never left. Notes written in Aloha can be shared, copied as Markdown or downloaded as .md files.
What happens when I delete a note?
In an Obsidian vault the file goes to the vault’s .trash folder; in Notion, the page goes to Notion’s trash. Either way you can undo it for a few seconds. You also get to pick how the house goes: burn, blow-up, tornado, sink or meteor.
Using it
Can I use it with the keyboard?
Yes. WASD or the arrow keys walk, / finds, M shows the whole map, Space opens the house you’re standing at. All keyboard shortcuts.
What are you working on?
What we’re working on now and next is on the roadmap. Ideas welcome.
How can I help?
Share it, tell a friend, or tell us what’s missing. The ways are on Help Aloha grow.
How do I get in touch?
Write to hello@aloha.place.