questionman1 Take a look at Joplin. It's a cross-platform app, which runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS. Joplin is a comfortable way to keep the notes in sync between all these devices.
No repo is required to install Joplin on Linux. It is installed with a single command, shown on the Joplin site.
ZIM works fine, is in the repos and well documented. No cloud "bs".
Velophil ...No cloud "bs"
True. That's the only weak point of the otherwise superb Zim.
Missing sync capabilities in Zim may be workarounded with Syncthing. Thanks to Syncthing, I sync Zim between Linux, Windows and Android. Syncronization works fine and is practically instant.
Syncthing is in Solus repo, iirc.
That was really cool; I've never compiled from source before but it was so easy. Granted all I did was copy what you wrote and it still looks like voodoo to me, but it was pretty cool compiling from source.
But getting ot the matter at hand, thank you also because I tried various alternatives mentioned here and none of them were particularly to my liking.
I tried this and the biggest gripe I have with it is that you can't reorder notes manually. It seems like such a simple feature but lots of note taking apps don't have it (heck I'm not sure if feathernotes has it).
Checkout Cherrytree. It's pretty simple in my opinion. I use Emacs and Org mode for my notes, tips, etc., but there's a bit of a learning curve with both Emacs and Org mode.
questionman1 you can always put in a package request for FeatherPad. Or reach out off the forums and I can help you get it running locally with a package build and local repository. Not responsible if something breaks though.
That's a good option, but algent gave me the instructions of compiling it myself and so far it seems to be working just fine 
I've been on the hunt for a straightforward note-taking app too. Something that just works without all the frills, you know?
I have two recommendations: Joplin and Obsidian.
Personally I switched to Obsidian now. With the extended query features it serves now also as my task planner. I subscribed to Obsidian sync to have all my notes on all devices. But there's other free methods for syncing as well.
NigelSanford sticky notes, notes, simplenote are all in the repos. Featherpad is pretty simple to package as well.
Check also on flathub. Maybe you can find there some nice note taking app that suits you.
Hey, I totally get wanting a simple note-taking app. Have you checked out https://notesonline.com? It might just be the alternative you're looking for. Keeping things organized and easily accessible – that's the goal.
NigelSanford I tried the ones with all the frills and strangely took to gnote the best, a pretty good gnome app, also in repo. No bells and whistles.
.....the strange thing about note-taking apps is I always migrate back to Gedit..
