head to head · open source
docsify vs mapnik
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars, 5,785 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. mapnik has 3,973 stars, 839 forks, 730 open issues and last shipped yesterday. docsify leads on adoption by 695% (31,575 vs 3,973 stars). docsify is written in JavaScript under MIT; mapnik is written in C++ under LGPL-2.1. docsify has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, mapnik 21%. mapnik 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 | mapnik | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 4.0K |
| License | MIT | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | JavaScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 839 |
| 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 mapnik if
- You want the mapnik feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and mapnik 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 mapnik
Mapnik is an open source toolkit for developing mapping applications. At the core is a C++ shared library providing algorithms and patterns for spatial data access and visualization. Mapnik is basically a collection of geographic objects like maps, layers, datasources, features, and geometries. The library doesn't rely on any OS specific "windowing systems" and it can be deployed to any server environment. It is intended to play fair in a multi threaded environment and is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at web based development. For further information see and also our wiki documentation. Installation See…
read the full mapnik overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is docsify or mapnik more popular?
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars and mapnik has 3,973. docsify has the larger community by that measure.
Are docsify and mapnik free?
Both are open source. docsify is licensed under MIT and mapnik under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docsify and mapnik?
docsify is written in JavaScript and mapnik in C++. 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 mapnik?
Choose docsify if you want the larger community (31,575 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose mapnik if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.