Open-source note-taking apps and wikis
Open-source tools for notes, personal knowledge and team documentation that keep your writing on your own devices or servers.
All 34 notes & knowledge bases projects
Showing all 34, ordered by health score.
-
87 ActiveJoplin
Joplin - the privacy-focused note taking app with sync capabilities for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
AGPL-3.0 paid features in reporelicensed 2022CLA- Setup
- 3 of 5
- Stars
- 57k
- Release
- 28 October 2026
-
85 Active
- Setup
- Builds
- Stars
- 63.4k
- Release
- 21 October 2026
-
83 ActiveMemos
Memos is an open-source, self-hosted note-taking app that brings your everyday thoughts together in a personal timeline. Your data stays yours, and you choose what to…
MIT- Setup
- 1 of 5
- Stars
- 64.2k
- Release
- 31 October 2026
-
82 Active
- Setup
- Builds
- Stars
- 13.8k
- Release
- 25 October 2026
-
81 Active
- Setup
- 3 of 5
- Stars
- 7.5k
- Release
- 21 August 2026
-
81 Active
- Setup
- 1 of 5
- Stars
- 2.9k
- Release
- 25 October 2026
-
81 Active
- Setup
- From source
- Stars
- 1.3k
- Release
- 26 October 2026
-
80 Active
- Setup
- 1 of 5
- Stars
- 38.6k
- Release
- 23 October 2026
-
80 Active
- Setup
- 2 of 5
- Stars
- 18.6k
- Release
- 28 October 2026
-
80 ActiveDocs (La Suite)
Docs is an open-source text editor: web-native, made for real-time collaboration, cleanly structured documents and sub-documents with full ownership of your data. Built…
MIT- Setup
- 4 of 5
- Stars
- 17k
- Release
- 26 October 2026
-
79 ActiveOutline
The fastest knowledge base for growing teams. Beautiful, realtime collaborative, feature packed, and markdown compatible.
Business Source License source-availablepaid features in repo- Setup
- 2 of 5
- Stars
- 41.1k
- Release
- 23 October 2026
-
79 ActiveQOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is a plain-text file notepad and todo-list manager with Markdown support and Nextcloud / ownCloud integration.
GPL-2.0- Setup
- 1 of 5
- Stars
- 5.9k
- Release
- 31 October 2026
-
77 ActiveAFFiNE
There can be more than Notion and Miro. AFFiNE(pronounced [ə‘fain]) is a next-gen knowledge base that brings planning, sorting and creating all together. Privacy first,…
MIT paid features in reporelicensed 2023CLA- Setup
- 3 of 5
- Stars
- 74k
- Release
- 18 August 2026
-
75 ActiveSiYuan
An open-source, privacy-first, self-hosted knowledge workspace where humans and AI agents work together 开源、隐私优先、自托管的知识工作空间，让人与智能体在此协作
AGPL-3.0- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 47k
- Release
- 29 October 2026
-
75 Active
- Setup
- Builds
- Stars
- 8.7k
- Release
- 26 October 2026
-
74 ActiveNotesnook
A fully open source & end-to-end encrypted note taking alternative to Evernote.
GPL-3.0 CLA- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 14.9k
- Release
- 26 October 2026
-
72 ActiveDocmost
Docmost is an open-source collaborative wiki and documentation software. It is an open-source alternative to Confluence and Notion.
AGPL-3.0 paid features in repo- Setup
- 2 of 5
- Stars
- 22.2k
- Release
- 25 October 2026
-
70 Active
- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 6.4k
- Release
- 12 October 2026
-
69 ActiveLogseq
A privacy-first, open-source platform for knowledge management and collaboration. Download link: http://github.com/logseq/logseq/releases. roadmap:…
AGPL-3.0 CLA- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 45.4k
- Release
- 7 October 2026
-
69 Active
- Setup
- 3 of 5
- Stars
- 19.1k
- Release
- 20 October 2026
-
69 Active
- Setup
- 2 of 5
- Stars
- 18.3k
- Release
- 26 February 2015
-
69 Active
- Setup
- From source
- Stars
- 4.7k
- Release
- 2 September 2026
-
68 Active
- Setup
- From source
- Stars
- 17.5k
- Release
- 30 September 2026
-
66 Active
- Setup
- From source
- Stars
- 7.6k
- Release
- 26 October 2026
-
64 Active
- Setup
- From source
- Stars
- 8.7k
- Release
- 10 July 2026
-
62 ActiveStandard Notes
Think fearlessly with end-to-end encrypted notes and files. For issues, visit https://standardnotes.com/forum or https://standardnotes.com/help.
AGPL-3.0 relicensed 2018- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 6.7k
- Release
- 23 October 2026
-
59 ActiveAnytype
Official Anytype client for MacOS, Linux, and Windows
Any Source Available License source-availableCLA- Setup
- Builds
- Stars
- 9k
- Release
- 3 October 2026
-
59 Active
- Setup
- From source
- Stars
- 2.2k
- Release
- None
-
58 Active
- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 29.1k
- Release
- 1 November 2026
-
52 ActiveBlinko
An open-source, self-hosted personal AI note tool prioritizing privacy, built using TypeScript .
GPL-3.0- Setup
- 2 of 5
- Stars
- 11.1k
- Release
- 20 June 2026
-
41 Activeflatnotes
A self-hosted, database-less note taking web app that utilises a flat folder of markdown files for storage.
MIT- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 3.3k
- Release
- 29 August 2026
-
40 ActiveAppFlowy
Bring projects, wikis, and teams together with AI. AppFlowy is the AI collaborative workspace where you achieve more without losing control of your data. The leading…
AGPL-3.0- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 78.1k
- Release
- 26 October 2026
-
36 ActiveQuartz
a fast, batteries-included static-site generator that transforms Markdown content into fully functional websites
MIT- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 13.5k
- Release
- 21 August 2023
-
18 Slowing
- Setup
- Docker
- Stars
- 2.9k
- Release
- 11 March 2026
No projects match these filters. Clear a filter to see more.
Our picks by use case
-
Markdown files you own
Logseq, Zettlr and Foam work on folders of plain Markdown files, so you can change tools without exporting anything.
-
Evernote replacements with sync
Joplin syncs notebooks through many storage services with optional end-to-end encryption, and Notesnook encrypts every note before it leaves your device.
-
Notion-style workspaces
AFFiNE mixes documents, whiteboards and databases, and SiYuan links notes at the level of single blocks.
-
Large personal knowledge bases
Trilium Notes organizes thousands of notes in a deep tree with scripting, and SilverBullet lets you query and program your notes with Lua.
- Trilium NotesAGPL-3.0health 80
- SilverBulletMIThealth 70
-
Team wikis and documentation
BookStack keeps documentation in shelves, books and pages, while Docmost and Docs (La Suite) add real-time collaborative editing.
- BookStackMIThealth 69
- DocmostAGPL-3.0paid features in repohealth 72
- Docs (La Suite)MIThealth 80
-
Quick capture
Memos collects short notes in a private timeline and runs from one small container.
- MemosMIThealth 83
-
Writing together live
Etherpad and HedgeDoc let many people edit the same document at once, in rich text or in Markdown.
-
Classic wikis that last
DokuWiki stores pages as text files without a database, and XWiki serves large organizations with structured data and fine-grained rights.
How to choose a note-taking app or wiki
The tools here answer different needs. Personal apps focus on quick capture, linking and offline access; knowledge bases add structure for thousands of notes; team wikis add permissions, real-time editing and sign-in. A useful first question is whether your notes should stay plain Markdown files or live inside an app's own database.
Files or database
Apps that store plain Markdown files, like Zettlr or MarkText, let you back up, search and move notes with any tool. Apps with their own database, like AFFiNE or Trilium Notes, offer richer features such as tables, canvases and relations, but leaving them takes an export.
Personal or team
Personal tools aim for speed and offline use on your own devices. Team tools need accounts, permissions, sign-in through your identity provider and real-time editing; BookStack and Docmost cover those, and Outline offers a polished editor under a source-available license.
Sync and encryption
Decide where your notes travel. Some apps sync through a service you already use, such as Nextcloud, WebDAV or iCloud Drive; others need their own sync server. For sensitive notes, prefer end-to-end encryption, as in Notesnook, Standard Notes or Joplin with encryption turned on.
License
Most tools here are open source, but Outline uses the Business Source License and Anytype a source-available license of its own, and both limit commercial use. AFFiNE, Joplin and Docmost keep their self-hosted servers or enterprise features under separate commercial terms.
Signs of life
Notes outlive most apps, so pick a project that will still be maintained in years. Check commits and releases on each card: AppFlowy had a single commit in its public repository in the last 90 days, and Wiki.js is between major versions, with 3.0 still in beta.
Drafted with AI from the projects’ READMEs and our data, then checked against that data on 30 October 2026. Report a correction
Which of these are really open source?
- Fully open source (29)OSI-approved license, no paid parts in the repository
- AppFlowy, Memos, MarkText, SiYuan, Logseq, Trilium Notes, Wiki.js, BookStack, Etherpad, Overleaf, Foam, Docs (La Suite), Notesnook, Zettlr, Quartz, Blinko, MiaoYan, TiddlyWiki, FSNotes, HedgeDoc, Standard Notes, SilverBullet, QOwnNotes, DokuWiki, flatnotes, Raneto, NoteDiscovery, Zim, XWiki
- Open source with paid parts (3)OSI license, but some features are under commercial terms
- AFFiNE, Joplin, Docmost
- Not OSI open source (2)Code is public, use is restricted
- Outline (Business Source License), Anytype (Any Source Available License)
- License changesNewest first
- AFFiNE: MPL-2.0 → MIT, 2023; Joplin: MIT → AGPL-3.0, 2022; Standard Notes: GPL-3.0 → AGPL-3.0, 2018
Read automatically from each repository’s license files every day. How we read licenses
Questions about open-source notes & knowledge bases
What are the most popular open-source notes & knowledge bases projects?
By GitHub stars: AppFlowy (78.1k), AFFiNE (74k), Memos (64.2k). By our health score, the most actively maintained are Joplin (87), MarkText (85), Memos (83).
Which notes & knowledge bases projects are fully open source?
29 of the 34 use an OSI-approved license with no paid parts in the repository, including AppFlowy, Memos, MarkText.
Which are the easiest to self-host?
Judged by the services in their compose files, Memos, Outline, Trilium Notes, Docmost need the least setup.
Which projects have changed their license?
AFFiNE (to MIT in 2023), Joplin (to AGPL-3.0 in 2022), Standard Notes (to AGPL-3.0 in 2018). Each project page links to the commit that made the change.