head to head · open source
devdocs vs flatnotes
devdocs has 39,461 GitHub stars, 2,643 forks, 196 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. flatnotes has 3,224 stars, 214 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped 20 days ago. devdocs leads on adoption by 1,124% (39,461 vs 3,224 stars). devdocs is written in Ruby under MPL-2.0; flatnotes is written in Vue under MIT. devdocs has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, flatnotes 7%. devdocs was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| devdocs | flatnotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Ruby | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-08-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 214 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick devdocs if
- You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick flatnotes if
- You want the flatnotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and flatnotes fits your workflow better
About devdocs
DevDocs is an API documentation browser that combines multiple developer documentations into a single, clean and organized web UI with instant search, offline support, a mobile version, a dark theme and keyboard shortcuts, and it is aimed at developers who need to read and search API and reference documentation quickly.
read the full devdocs overview →
About flatnotes
flatnotes is a self hosted, database less note taking web app that keeps every note as a Markdown file in a flat folder, built for individuals and small teams who want a browser based editor without handing ownership of their notes to a hosted service.
read the full flatnotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is devdocs or flatnotes more popular?
devdocs has 39,461 GitHub stars and flatnotes has 3,224. devdocs has the larger community by that measure.
Are devdocs and flatnotes free?
Both are open source. devdocs is licensed under MPL-2.0 and flatnotes under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between devdocs and flatnotes?
devdocs is written in Ruby and flatnotes in Vue. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, devdocs or flatnotes?
Choose devdocs if you want the larger community (39,461 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose flatnotes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.