head to head · open source
Open-Notebook vs iwe
Open-Notebook has 41,710 GitHub stars, 4,794 forks, 110 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. iwe has 1,816 stars, 94 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Open-Notebook leads on adoption by 2,197% (41,710 vs 1,816 stars). Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript under MIT; iwe is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Open-Notebook has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, iwe 5%. iwe 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
| Open-Notebook | iwe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 42K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 94 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Open-Notebook if
- You weight community size — 42K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick iwe if
- You want the iwe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and iwe fits your workflow better
About Open-Notebook
[![Forks][forks shield]][forks url] [![Stargazers][stars shield]][stars url] [![Issues][issues shield]][issues url] [![MIT License][license shield]][license url] Open Notebook An open source, privacy focused alternative to Google's Notebook LM! Join our Discord server for help, to share workflow ideas, and suggest features! Checkout our website » Follow @lfnovo on X for updates 📚 Get Started · 📖 User Guide · ✨ Features · 🚀 Deploy Deutsch Español français 日本語 한국어 Português Русский 中文 A private, multi model, 100% local, full featured alternative to Notebook LM In a world dominated by Artificial Intelligence…
read the full Open-Notebook overview →
About iwe
IWE Memory system for you and your AI agents Turn your thinking into queryable context IWE turns a directory of markdown files into a knowledge graph — a connected structure you browse from your editor and your AI queries from the command line. Same files, same links, two interfaces. No cloud, no database, no lock in. Version everything with git. IWE is for people who want database style queries on their notes — "all drafts under this subtree", "every accepted decision in Q1" — without moving them into an actual database. Write in Markdown , structure with links, give AI agents the tools to navigate your…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open-Notebook or iwe more popular?
Open-Notebook has 41,710 GitHub stars and iwe has 1,816. Open-Notebook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open-Notebook and iwe free?
Both are open source. Open-Notebook is licensed under MIT and iwe under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Open-Notebook and iwe?
Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript and iwe in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Open-Notebook or iwe?
Choose Open-Notebook if you want the larger community (41,710 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose iwe if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.