head to head · open source
docsify vs fern
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars, 5,785 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. fern has 3,830 stars, 372 forks, 343 open issues and last shipped yesterday. docsify leads on adoption by 724% (31,575 vs 3,830 stars). docsify is written in JavaScript under MIT; fern is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. docsify has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, fern 10%. fern 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
| docsify | fern | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 372 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick docsify if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick fern if
- You want the fern feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and fern fits your workflow better
About docsify
A magical documentation site generator. Gold Sponsor via Open Collective Docsify turns one or more Markdown files into a Website, with no build process required. Features No statically built HTML files Simple and lightweight Smart full text search plugin Multiple themes Useful plugin API Emoji support Quick Start Get going fast by using a static web server or GitHub Pages with this ready to use Docsify Template, review the quick start tutorial or jump right into a CodeSandbox example site with the button below. Showcase A large collection of showcase projects are included in awesome docsify. Links Documentation…
read the full docsify overview →
About fern
🌿 What is Fern? Fern is a platform that transforms your API definitions into production ready SDKs and beautiful documentation in minutes. With Fern, you can offer your users: 🧩 Type safe SDKs in multiple languages, including TypeScript, Python, Java, Go, Ruby, PHP, and C 📘 Developer documentation featuring an interactive UI and auto generated API + SDK references ✨ AI Search powered by an assistant trained on your docs, APIs, and SDKs that can instantly answer a developer's questions Fern supports leading API specifications including OpenAPI (REST, Webhooks), AsyncAPI (WebSockets), Protobuf (gRPC), and…
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Frequently asked questions
Is docsify or fern more popular?
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars and fern has 3,830. docsify has the larger community by that measure.
Are docsify and fern free?
Both are open source. docsify is licensed under MIT and fern under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docsify and fern?
docsify is written in JavaScript and fern 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, docsify or fern?
Choose docsify if you want the larger community (31,575 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose fern if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.