head to head · open source
fsnotes vs Darkwrite
fsnotes has 7,497 GitHub stars, 578 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Darkwrite has 315 stars, 14 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped yesterday. fsnotes leads on adoption by 2,280% (7,497 vs 315 stars). fsnotes is written in Swift under MIT; Darkwrite is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. fsnotes has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Darkwrite 4%. Darkwrite was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (macos, notes-app), 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
| fsnotes | Darkwrite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.5K | ★ 315 |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Swift | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 578 | ⑂ 14 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick fsnotes if
- You weight community size — 7.5K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Darkwrite if
- You want the Darkwrite feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Darkwrite fits your workflow better
About fsnotes
FSNotes is a fast, native Markdown and plain text note taking app for macOS and iOS, written in Swift 5 and released under the MIT licence, built for people who want their notes kept as portable files rather than inside a proprietary database.
read the full fsnotes overview →
About Darkwrite
Darkwrite is an open source, cross platform desktop note taking application written in TypeScript and built on Electron, made for people who want to write notes without distraction, accounts, or a server holding their data.
read the full Darkwrite overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is fsnotes or Darkwrite more popular?
fsnotes has 7,497 GitHub stars and Darkwrite has 315. fsnotes has the larger community by that measure.
Are fsnotes and Darkwrite free?
Both are open source. fsnotes is licensed under MIT and Darkwrite under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between fsnotes and Darkwrite?
fsnotes is written in Swift and Darkwrite 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, fsnotes or Darkwrite?
Choose fsnotes if you want the larger community (7,497 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Darkwrite if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.