By John Gruber
Day One — The journal you actually keep. Start with a chat, end with a journal entry. ⭐ 4.8 (400k)
My thanks to Day One Journal for once again sponsoring Daring Fireball. Day One first launched in 2011 and has been the stalwart of journaling apps on Mac and iOS ever since. Day One’s apps exhibit a commitment to technical and design excellence, and, more importantly, everything they do is deeply informed by the intense personal nature of keeping a journal. (Or journals — Day One lets you create as many separate journals as you want.) The Day One Mac app is Mac-assed and the iPhone and iPad apps are, well, iOS-assed. Fast, familiar, consistent, and intuitive.
Day One recognizes that many people struggle with journalling not because they can’t write, but because they don’t know how to begin or what a “good” journal entry about their day looks like. That’s why they built Daily Chat, a guided reflection experience that helps you talk through your day, organize your thoughts, and shape them into a journal entry.
Early testers commented: “Day One’s new Daily Chat is a true game changer for my daily journaling. The AI-powered chat makes capturing thoughts effortless and inspires creativity like never before. Writing my diary has never been this intuitive and fun!”
Try it for yourself, it will change the way you think about journaling.
★ Saturday, 4 July 2026