head to head · open source
docsify vs xyd
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars, 5,785 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. xyd has 115 stars, 9 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. docsify leads on adoption by 27,357% (31,575 vs 115 stars). docsify is written in JavaScript under MIT; xyd is written in TypeScript under MIT. docsify has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, xyd 8%. docsify was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (docs, documentation, markdown), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| docsify | xyd | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 115 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 9 |
| 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 xyd if
- You want the xyd feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and xyd 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 xyd
Docs Framework for future dev. Quickstart [!IMPORTANT] Node 22.12+ is required Our Philosophy 1. Developer Experience designed to be easy to use, with a focus on developer experience 2. Extendability customize every part of documentation 3. Rich Content create engaging documentation with interactive components and dynamic content capabilities 4. Batteries Included everything to build docs at scale is here 5. Open we believe that docs frameworks should be fully open source Major Features 🎨 Themes Built in themes: Solar, Gusto, Poetry, Picasso, Opener, and Cosmo 🚀 Plug & Play Dev Server Instant development…
More in Content & Publishing
Related comparisons
More Documentation & Knowledge Base projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Documentation & Knowledge Base field.
Frequently asked questions
Is docsify or xyd more popular?
docsify has 31,575 GitHub stars and xyd has 115. docsify has the larger community by that measure.
Are docsify and xyd free?
Both are open source. docsify is licensed under MIT and xyd under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docsify and xyd?
docsify is written in JavaScript and xyd 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 xyd?
Choose docsify if you want the larger community (31,575 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose xyd if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.