Roam Research alternative
A Roam Research alternative that keeps your outline yours
If your Roam graph has become more to manage than it helps you see, SpacebarX gives your work a simpler home. Keep projects, plans and next actions in one private tree—then let the right view show you what matters now.
Start with one project · Keep your Roam graph unchanged · No card required
When the hierarchy matters more than the graph
Roam is designed for connections that emerge over time. SpacebarX is designed for work that needs a clear place, a next action and a structure you can move through without friction.
| What changes when you switch | SpacebarX | Roam Research today |
|---|---|---|
| Where your outline lives | Yes: On your device by default. Optional sync uses your own Google Drive or Dropbox. | Hosted graphs support real-time collaboration; local-only use is also offered. |
| Working offline | Yes: Create, edit and search offline, including in the browser. | Offline behaviour was not established from the reviewed public pages. |
| The shape of active work | Yes: One continuous tree. Zoom into any branch and keep the hierarchy visible. | A graph of pages, blocks and references. |
| What needs attention today | Yes: Today view is built in and free. See overdue, today and upcoming dated work in one place. | Daily notes are the default landing surface. |
| One item in two places | Yes: Mirrors are built in and free. Reuse an item across branches without duplicating it. | Block references are central to the graph workflow. |
| Finding the right thing | Yes: Search and jump to any item on your device. Save useful searches and views with Pro. | Live queries can interrogate a graph of blocks and pages. |
| AI control | Yes: Use your own provider key. Requests go straight from your browser to the provider you choose. | Official AI support was not established from the reviewed pages. |
| Starting cost | Yes: Free forever with no item cap, plus monthly, yearly and lifetime Pro options. | Current plan details should be confirmed directly with Roam before deciding. |
Give your work a clearer place to live
See the plan instead of searching the graph
In SpacebarX, a project has one visible home. Organise it into a clear tree, zoom into the branch you are working on, and move ideas as the plan changes. No page naming, graph browsing or link archaeology required.
Turn notes into a practical daily system
Dates are part of the outline. The Today view gathers overdue work, today, tomorrow and the coming week, then moves recurring work forward when you complete it. Your next action does not have to be hidden in yesterday’s daily note.
Keep your outline private without giving up sync
The original SpacebarX outline lives on your device. When you choose to sync, it moves through a Google Drive or Dropbox account you already control. There is no SpacebarX server in the data path and no hosted graph required for your personal work.
Use one finished system for focused work
SpacebarX combines keyboard-first editing, search, mirrors, Outline, Today, Board, Table, Mind map and own-key AI in one product. Spend less time building a knowledge system and more time moving the work forward.
Keep Roam if relationships are the work
Roam remains the better fit if block references, backlinks, live queries, a graph overview, daily-note thinking, real-time collaboration or native desktop and mobile apps are central to your workflow. SpacebarX does not replace a shared, graph-based knowledge system. It gives structured projects and personal work a calmer place to live and progress.
Move one Roam project—not your whole graph
This is a conversion, not a one-click graph import. Start with a Roam page that is already a real hierarchy: a project, a long outline or structured research. Convert it to OPML, import it into SpacebarX, and keep your original graph intact while you test.
Choose a hierarchy-shaped page
Start with a project, plan or long outline—not a set of atomic linked notes.
Convert it to OPML
Turn the page’s nested structure into an OPML file that SpacebarX can import.
Run it from SpacebarX
Use the outline and Today view for a week before deciding what else belongs here.
What can transfer
Bullet text, nested structure, headings and checkboxes can transfer when the conversion includes them. Daily-note content becomes ordinary outline items.
What remains in Roam
Block references, page links, backlinks, graph data, queries and extension-added attributes do not transfer. Keep them in Roam, where they continue to work.
The safe approach
Bring across only the work that benefits from a clear hierarchy and daily priorities. Keep your linked, exploratory knowledge graph in Roam. There is no need to force both kinds of thinking into one tool.
Questions before you switch
Does SpacebarX have block references and backlinks?
Can I move my Roam graph across in one go?
Can I try SpacebarX without changing my Roam graph?
Convert one Roam project. See what clear structure feels like.
Keep your graph exactly as it is. Bring one active project into SpacebarX and see what changes when the plan, next action and bigger picture live in one focused outline.