Best self-hosted note-taking & editors
[Note taking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Note-taking) editors.
We track 22 self-hosted note-taking & editors projects. The median health score in this category is 60, against 8 projects rated healthy or better and 1 showing little recent activity. The table below is ordered by health score, not popularity — the most starred project in a category is frequently not the best maintained one.
| # | Project | Health | Activity | Stars | Built with | Last release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TriliumNext Notes Cross-platform hierarchical note taking application with focus on building large personal knowledge bases (fork of Trili | Thriving · 99 | 38k | Nodejs, Docker | 25 Sept 2026 | |
| 2 | Joplin Note taking application with markdown editor and encryption support for mobile and desktop platforms. Runs client-side a | Thriving · 92 | 57k | Nodejs | 25 Sept 2026 | |
| 3 | Memos Knowledge base that works with a SQLite db file. | Thriving · 88 | 63k | Docker, Go | 19 Sept 2026 | |
| 4 | Docs Collaborative note taking, wiki and documentation platform that scales. | Healthy · 81 | 17k | K8S | 16 Sept 2026 | |
| 5 | HedgeDoc Realtime collaborative markdown notes on all platforms, formerly known as CodiMD and HackMD CE. | Healthy · 81 | 7.4k | Docker, Nodejs | 21 Aug 2026 | |
| 6 | SilverBullet Note-taking application optimized for people with a hacker mindset. | Healthy · 80 | 6.2k | Docker, Deno | 22 Sept 2026 | |
| 7 | Jotty Lightweight but powerful alternative for managing your personal, file based, notes and checklists. | Healthy · 70 | 2k | Docker | 5 Sept 2026 | |
| 8 | Standard Notes Simple and private notes app. Protect your privacy while getting more done. That's Standard Notes. | Healthy · 69 | 6.6k | Ruby | 17 Sept 2026 | |
| 9 | draw.io Diagram software for making flowcharts, process diagrams, org charts, UML, ER and network diagrams. | Steady · 63 | 8.4k | Javascript, Docker | 25 Sept 2026 | |
| 10 | Many Notes Markdown note-taking web application designed for simplicity. | Steady · 61 | 1.1k | Docker | 1 Sept 2026 | |
| 11 | Livebook Realtime collaborative notebook app based on Markdown that supports running Elixir code snippets, TeX and Mermaid Diagra | Steady · 60 | 5.9k | Elixir, Docker | 18 Sept 2026 | |
| 12 | Blinko A personal note tool with AI features. | Steady · 59 | 11k | Docker | 20 Jun 2026 | |
| 13 | Note Mark Minimal web-based Markdown notes app. | Steady · 59 | 767 | Docker | 1 Sept 2026 | |
| 14 | Overleaf Web-based collaborative LaTeX editor. | Steady · 58 | 18k | Ruby | 26 Feb 2015 | |
| 15 | bewCloud File sharing + sync, notes, and photos (alternative to Nextcloud and ownCloud's RSS reader). | Steady · 58 | 1.2k | Docker | 13 Aug 2026 | |
| 16 | Plainpad Modern note taking application for the cloud, utilizing the best features of progressive web apps technology. | Steady · 57 | 448 | PHP | 7 Sept 2026 | |
| 17 | Neverkin Collaborative writing, worldbuilding and D&D-session-planning app. Tools for organizing your notes and stories. | Steady · 57 | 15 | Nodejs, Docker | 21 Sept 2026 | |
| 18 | flatnotes Database-less note-taking web app that utilises a flat folder of markdown files for storage. | Steady · 54 | 3.2k | Docker | 29 Aug 2026 | |
| 19 | plumio Markdown notes taking app with live preview, document encryption, multi-user support, multi-organization capabilities an | Steady · 53 | 139 | Nodejs, Docker | 11 Aug 2026 | |
| 20 | DailyTxT Encrypted diary Web application to save your personal memories of each day. Includes a search function and encrypted fil | Slowing · 40 | 504 | Docker | — | |
| 21 | Writing Lightweight distraction-free text editor, in the browser (Markdown and LaTeX supported). No lag when writing. | At risk · 8 | 1.1k | Javascript | — | |
| 22 | Turtl Totally private personal database and note taking app. | Unrated | — | CommonLisp | — |
Which one should you run?
If you want the safest bet on longevity, TriliumNext Notes is the best-maintained project in this category right now at 99/100. Joplin is the closest runner-up (92/100) — see the side-by-side comparison.
A health score measures whether a project is alive and shipping. It does not measure whether it has the feature you need. Use it to rule options out, then compare on features.