Open Source Notes & Knowledge Software
Notes & Knowledge software provides a centralized system for capturing ideas, drafting documents, and organizing research. These tools use markdown formatting, bidirectional linking, and hierarchical structures to turn scattered thoughts into a searchable knowledge base. This type of software is for individuals and teams who need to manage complex sets of interconnected notes and tasks. Self-hosting these apps ensures that personal journals and proprietary research stay on private hardware. These tools allow you to manage your own encryption keys and synchronization methods for all written content.
This page lists 58 open source tools in the Notes & Knowledge category. The most popular are AppFlowy, Affine and Memos. Most use the AGPL-3.0 or MIT license, and 36 offer an official Docker image.
Floral Notepaper
A lightweight cross platform desktop sticky note tool with Markdown editing and real time preview capabilities.
Personal Management System
A self-hosted central hub for organizing personal data, finances, contacts, and daily productivity tasks.
Deta Surf
A browser and notebook hybrid for researching, summarizing, and organizing web pages, PDFs, and videos in one place.
flatnotes
A self-hosted, database-less note taking web app that utilizes a flat folder of markdown files.
ByteStash
A self-hosted web application for storing, organizing, and managing code snippets with AI assistant integration.
tiez-clipboard
Manage clipboard history with tags and synchronize copied content across devices using WebDAV and MQTT.
MarkFlowy
A lightweight markdown editor with integrated AI capabilities for content summarization and multi language translation.
CrossPaste
Sync clipboard content across multiple devices using a serverless architecture with end to end encryption.
Lotion
A desktop client for Notion that provides a multi-tab interface and custom themes for Linux users.
Zim
A graphical text editor for maintaining a collection of wiki pages stored as plain text files.
P3X OneNote
An independent desktop wrapper for OneNote that allows multiple account sessions on Linux and other platforms.
Enclosed
Send end-to-end encrypted notes and files using configurable expiration dates and automatic self-destruction options.
TidGi
A local-first knowledge management tool based on TiddlyWiki with integrated Git backup and blogging capabilities.
jotty·page
A self-hosted application for managing personal checklists and notes using a file-based storage system.
Otter Wiki
A minimalistic wiki for collaborative content management using Python, Markdown, and Git for version control.
Amical
Local AI dictation and note taking software that formats speech to text based on the active application.
Minutes
Records meetings and voice memos locally to create a queryable markdown archive for AI agents.
eLabFTW
An electronic lab notebook for research teams to store experiments and manage laboratory resource databases.
CookCLI
Command line tools and an embedded web server for managing recipes using the Cooklang format.
Beaver Notes
A local-first note-taking application providing Markdown support, note linking, and encrypted storage for personal knowledge management.
Zen
A minimal note taking application that stores markdown notes in a local sqlite database with full text search.
Bar Assistant
A specialized recipe management system for home bars with ABV calculations and ingredient inventory tracking.
Many Notes
A Markdown note-taking web application that stores files in the filesystem for full user control.
RecipeSage
Collaborative recipe management with meal planning, smart shopping lists, and automated imports from web URLs.
wastebin
A minimal self-hosted pastebin for storing and sharing text snippets with encryption and markdown support.
Note Mark
A minimal web-based markdown notes application with a responsive interface and local file storage.
Paaster
A secure pastebin application featuring end-to-end encryption for the confidential sharing of code and text.
Darkwrite
An offline first note editor with rich text formatting, custom themes, and local storage for private note taking.
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