I’ve spilled plenty of pixels here on Uncorrected about outliner applications. I’m a big user of OmniOutliner and Bike, and OmniFocus certainly has its roots in the former application. But there are many more, and even a website dedicated to outliner software. Enjoy!
Kosshi Outliner
macosxguru featured Kosshi on Bicycle for Your Mindrecently, so I downloaded the trial. Kosshi reminds me of Workflowy, but Mac-native without the need to constantly log in. (Speaking of Workflowy, I just logged in again recently and was met with a lengthy captcha ordeal that reminded me at least partly why I stopped using Workflowy).
Unlike Bike and OmniOutliner, Kosshi’s back end is a database rather than individual files. There are positives and negative to this approach; database apps allow for some neat features, including linking to your own notes and content in the app. Drafts, Ulysses, and Apple Notes are all examples of this approach, well-implemented.
Kosshi supports Markdown; imbedding images, videos, and PDFs; @ and # tags; internal linking; and bookmarking. It’s fast and stable in my testing as well. Some Workflowy features that I would miss would be duplicating and mirroring items, and there’s now way to grab a link to an item or note in Kosshi so that you can reference it from another application. No support for Hookmark, at least not yet, either.
There are a number of pre-programmed keyboard shortcuts that allow you to move items within the app, which is a great way to keep you hands on the keyboard while you’re working.
Outliner Software (website)
From the Bicycle for Your Mind post on Kosshi Outliner I referenced above, I learned about the existence of the Outliner Software website. It’s a forum for outliner and note-taking application nerds. Discussions about Drafts, Ulysses, Bike, and other writing apps abound.
MojoPad
MojoPad is not strictly an outliner, but it’s a modern recreating of Gus Meuller’s VoodooPad. I used the lite version of VoodooPad a while back, and have, from time to time, found myself searching to see if the app was still available (and it is!).
MojoPad, like Kosshi, keeps its data in a database, and uses the concept of a wiki for its pages. CamelCasing words creates links, so you can keep adding information to your pages and linking (and creating) as you go. It supports rich text, plain text, and Markdown.
MojoPad is a great-looking app, and retains the spirit of VoodooPad. No iOS support, though.
MindNode Next
Mind maps are a thing… just not really my thing. I’ve used MindNode for a while now, at first mostly to try to understand mind maps and mapping, and to create a few flowcharts when I needed them.
MindNode has a toggle to switch between mind map and outline views, and this feature cleanly illustrates the indelible relationship between mind maps and outliners. The first time I tried the toggle, it was like a facepalm moment: Mind maps are outlines, and outlines are mind maps.
MindNode Next represents an evolution from the original MindNode. One very notable change is Next’s internal database structure, whereas the original MindNode stored its data in individual files. Next’s database structure allows for linking between maps, which can be helpful.
Even if you don’t use mind maps, MindNode is a fantastic outliner. It’s quite possibly the prettiest outliner I’ve used.