250713 Install Joplin in Arch Linux and configure custom data path

I use Joplin for note taking, and it’s a necessary software for me now. The Joplin data folder is in the NTFS driver so they are safe after I install Arch. It is known for a long time that Joplin does not allow (at least officially inside Joplin) the user to set a custom path for data storage.

Install from Discover (flatpak)

I first tried to install Joplin on Arch from the KDE Plasma’s Discover. I saw Joplin created a data folder (profile folder) at ~/.config/joplin-desktop.

Then I created a symbolink: I link ~/.config/joplin-desktop to the folder in the NTFS drive.

ln -s [TARGET] [LINK_NAME]

Before I use symbolink Joplin can start normally, however, after I use the link Joplin GUI no longer appear. Though I can see in the system monitor that Joplin is running, there is not even an error message popped up.

Install from AUR

I don’t know what cause the problem, but I can try to use other versions.
Thus, I tried to install Joplin from AUR. I didn’t managed to do that. Installation failed because it requires nodejs<23. I don’t understand, but I tried to install nodejs and saw the version is higher than 23. Well, I’d not bother with the versioning things. So, I gave up this way.

Install from AppImage

In fact, we don’t even need to “install”. Just make the file executable and double click, then it will run. And, importantly, it works with the symbolink profile folder.