head to head · open source
Docs vs open-knowledge
Docs has 16,838 GitHub stars, 639 forks, 370 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. open-knowledge has 4,258 stars, 281 forks, 38 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Docs leads on adoption by 295% (16,838 vs 4,258 stars). Docs is written in Python under MIT; open-knowledge is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Docs has attracted 4% 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 (knowledge-base), 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
| Docs | open-knowledge | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 4.3K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 639 | ⑂ 281 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docs if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- 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 Docs
Docs is an open source collaborative text editor for creating, editing, and sharing documents in real time. It lives in the open source documentation and knowledge base ecosystem, and it is built with Django and React for web native use. The repository describes Docs as a web native editor made for teams that need clean documents and sub documents without surrendering data to a hosted service.
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 Docs or open-knowledge more popular?
Docs has 16,838 GitHub stars and open-knowledge has 4,258. Docs has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docs and open-knowledge free?
Both are open source. Docs is licensed under MIT and open-knowledge under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docs and open-knowledge?
Docs is written in Python 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, Docs or open-knowledge?
Choose Docs if you want the larger community (16,838 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose open-knowledge if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.