Setup guide

CodaMail Notebook on Linux

Keep your CodaMail notes in step with the Joplin app on Linux.

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Step 1: create an auth pair

Your notes live in your CodaMail account. The app signs in with a sync auth pair, which is a randomly generated username and password created just for this. It is not your account password, and it can be revoked on its own.

  1. In webmail, go to Settings → DAV Server.
  2. Choose Create New Token and give it a name you will recognise, such as the device you are setting up.
  3. Under CodaMail Notebook Permissions, enable the access you want:
    • Allow access to CodaMail Notebook data (read) is required.
    • Allow creating and updating lets the app save changes back.
    • Allow deleting lets it remove notes and notebooks.
    For normal two-way syncing, enable all three.
  4. Save it, then copy both the username and the password.

The password is shown once, when the auth pair is created. It cannot be recovered afterwards. If you lose it, delete the auth pair and create a new one.

Step 2: install the app

CodaMail Notebook uses the same open format as Joplin, which is free and open source. Two options:

  • AppImage. A single file you download, mark executable and run. Nothing is installed system wide.
  • Install script. Joplin's own recommended method:
    • wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/laurent22/joplin/dev/Joplin_install_and_update.sh | bash
    This downloads a shell script from GitHub and runs it, which also sets up a desktop icon. If you would rather not pipe a script to your shell, use the AppImage instead.

Step 3: point it at your account

  1. Open Tools → Options → Synchronisation.
  2. Set Synchronisation target to WebDAV.
  3. Fill in the three fields below.
  4. Choose Check synchronisation configuration. It should report success.
  5. Choose Synchronise.
  • WebDAV URL: https://codamail.com/dav/cmnotebook/
  • WebDAV username: the generated username, which looks like ABCD1234@codamail.com
  • WebDAV password: the matching password from the same auth pair

The exact URL is also shown as CodaMail Notebook sync URL on the auth pair screen, so you can copy it from there.

Unlike some other WebDAV services, you do not need to create a folder first. The location already exists on your account. Enter the URL exactly as shown, including the trailing slash.

Step 4: encryption

If you encrypted your notes in webmail, the app will download them and show them as encrypted until you supply the master password. Open its encryption settings and enter the same master password you set in webmail, and it will decrypt everything.

That password never reaches our servers, from either side. We cannot reset it and we cannot read your notes without it. If you lose it, the notes cannot be recovered by anyone, including us.

If something does not work

  • “WebDAV directory not found” almost always means the URL is wrong. Check it matches the sync URL on the auth pair screen exactly, trailing slash included.
  • Authentication errors mean the username and password are not a matching pair, or the auth pair has no Notebook permissions. Both values come from the same auth pair, and at least the read permission must be enabled.
  • Notes appear but stay unreadable means the set is encrypted and the master password has not been entered in the app yet. See Step 4.
  • Prefer the terminal? The terminal client is configured with a few commands, using sync target 6 for WebDAV:
    • joplin config sync.target 6
    • joplin config sync.6.path https://codamail.com/dav/cmnotebook/
    • joplin config sync.6.username YOUR-SYNC-USERNAME
    • joplin config sync.6.password YOUR-SYNC-PASSWORD
    • joplin sync
    For an encrypted set, add your master password with joplin config encryption.masterPassword YOUR-MASTER-PASSWORD, then run joplin e2ee decrypt.

More

The full CodaMail Notebook reference covers everything the web app can do, including notebooks, tags, to-dos, attachments, version history and encryption in detail.