Docs
Collaborative note taking, wiki and documentation platform that scales.
Docs vs SiYuan
Two self-hosted Knowledge Management Tools apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Docs | SiYuan | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Collaborative note taking, wiki and documentation platform that scales. | Privacy-first personal knowledge management software, written in typescript and golang. |
| GitHub stars | 16,970 | 47,089 |
| Forks | – | 3.1k |
| Open issues (incl. PRs) | – | 10 |
| Commits (12 months) | 1.1k | 10.2k |
| Last activity | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-29 |
| Latest release | v6.0.4 (2026-10-26) | v3.8.10-alpha.5 (2026-11-03) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language / platform | K8S | Docker, Go |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU | ~512 MB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $5/mo | $3.5/mo |
| Categories | Note-taking & Editors, Knowledge Management Tools | Knowledge Management Tools |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- SiYuan is more popular on GitHub: 47.1k stars vs 17k for Docs.
- SiYuan had more commits in the last 12 months (10,170 vs 1,137).
- SiYuan published a release more recently (v3.8.10-alpha.5 on 2026-11-03; Docs's latest is v6.0.4 on 2026-10-26).
- Docs is licensed under MIT, SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Docs's license is permissive; SiYuan's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
- SiYuan is written in Go; the language of Docs is not listed upstream.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Docs: K8S; SiYuan: Docker.
- Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for SiYuan (~512 MB server) than Docs (~1 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.
Summary: SiYuan leads on GitHub popularity and commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Docs or SiYuan more popular?
SiYuan has more GitHub stars (47,089 vs 16,970 for Docs, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, Docs or SiYuan?
SiYuan had more commits over the last 12 months (10,170 vs 1,137). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-04 for Docs and 2026-10-29 for SiYuan. Our health labels: Docs is “Active”, SiYuan is “Active”.
What licenses do Docs and SiYuan use?
Docs: MIT. SiYuan: AGPL-3.0. Docs's license is permissive; SiYuan's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
Can I run Docs and SiYuan with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for SiYuan. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management software, written in typescript and golang.
Browse all self-hosted Knowledge Management Tools apps.