head to head · open source
devdocs vs open-knowledge
devdocs has 39,461 GitHub stars, 2,643 forks, 196 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. open-knowledge has 4,241 stars, 279 forks, 38 open issues and last shipped yesterday. devdocs leads on adoption by 830% (39,461 vs 4,241 stars). devdocs is written in Ruby under MPL-2.0; open-knowledge is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. devdocs has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, open-knowledge 7%. open-knowledge was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (docs), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | open-knowledge | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Ruby | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 279 |
| 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 open-knowledge if
- You want the open-knowledge feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and open-knowledge 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 open-knowledge
OpenKnowledge is a markdown IDE and LLM wiki tool in the Content & Publishing / Documentation & Knowledge Base category. It is written in TypeScript, licensed under GPL 3.0, and listed on GitHub with 4214 stars, 275 forks, and 38 open issues. It is an AI native editor for knowledge bases, LLM wikis, specs, and notes, and it is described as private, local, and free.
read the full open-knowledge overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is devdocs or open-knowledge more popular?
devdocs has 39,461 GitHub stars and open-knowledge has 4,241. devdocs has the larger community by that measure.
Are devdocs and open-knowledge free?
Both are open source. devdocs is licensed under MPL-2.0 and open-knowledge under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between devdocs and open-knowledge?
devdocs is written in Ruby and open-knowledge in TypeScript. 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 open-knowledge?
Choose devdocs if you want the larger community (39,461 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose open-knowledge if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.