# Dynalist Dynalist is an [[Outliner]] application created by [[Erica Xu]] and [[Shida Li]], launched in 2016. It built on [[Workflowy]]'s minimalist outliner concept while adding features power users wanted: full Markdown support, multiple documents, file organization, date handling, and more formatting options. Dynalist became popular among productivity enthusiasts who found Workflowy too minimal but wanted to stay in the outliner paradigm rather than switching to traditional note apps. The same team later created [[Obsidian]] in 2020, applying lessons learned from Dynalist to build a [[Local-First Software|local-first]], Markdown-based knowledge management tool. While Obsidian became their primary focus, Dynalist continues to be maintained. Dynalist represents a middle ground in the outliner space: more powerful than Workflowy, more structured than Roam Research, but still centered on the infinite nested list paradigm. It supports both cloud sync and offline use. ## Dynalist vs Workflowy ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ DYNALIST vs WORKFLOWY │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ WORKFLOWY (2010) DYNALIST (2016) │ │ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │ │ │ • One document │ │ • Multiple docs │ │ │ │ • Minimal │ │ • Full Markdown │ │ │ │ • Tags │ │ • Dates/calendar│ │ │ │ • Limited │ → │ • Folders │ │ │ │ formatting │ │ • More features │ │ │ │ • Pure simplicity│ │ • Power user │ │ │ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ │ │ │ │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌─────────────────┐ │ │ │ OBSIDIAN (2020) │ │ │ │ Same creators │ │ │ │ Local-first PKM │ │ │ └─────────────────┘ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` ## Core Features | Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | **Multiple documents** | Organize in folders | | **Full Markdown** | Headers, bold, italic, code | | **Dates** | Due dates, date picker, calendar | | **Tags** | Categorize and filter | | **Zoom** | Focus on any bullet | | **Bookmarks** | Quick access to locations | | **Search** | Across all documents | | **Cross-links** | Link between documents | ## Use Cases | Use Case | How Dynalist Helps | |----------|---------------------| | **Project management** | Nested tasks, dates, tags | | **Note-taking** | Structured Markdown notes | | **Writing** | Outline before prose | | **Task management** | Due dates, recurring tasks | | **Documentation** | Organized, searchable | ## Strengths | Strength | Description | |----------|-------------| | **Balance** | More than Workflowy, less than Notion | | **Speed** | Fast, keyboard-driven | | **Markdown** | Full formatting support | | **Organization** | Folders and documents | | **Dates** | Calendar integration | ## Limitations | Limitation | Description | |------------|-------------| | **Cloud-only** | No true local-first | | **Less active** | Team focused on Obsidian | | **No graph** | Pure hierarchy | | **Limited backlinks** | Basic compared to Obsidian | ## References - https://dynalist.io/ - https://blog.dynalist.io/ ## Related - [[Erica Xu]] - [[Shida Li]] - [[Obsidian]] - [[Workflowy]] - [[Outliner]] - [[Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)]] - [[Hierarchical Organization]]