head to head · open source
Joplin vs nocturne_memory
Joplin has 56,429 GitHub stars, 6,297 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nocturne_memory has 1,359 stars, 168 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 23 days ago. Joplin leads on adoption by 4,052% (56,429 vs 1,359 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; nocturne_memory is written in Python under MIT. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, nocturne_memory 12%. Joplin 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
| Joplin | nocturne_memory | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 168 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Joplin if
- You weight community size — 56K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick nocturne_memory if
- You want the nocturne_memory feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and nocturne_memory fits your workflow better
About Joplin
Joplin is a free, open source, privacy focused note taking and to do application that keeps notes as Markdown on your own device and synchronises them, end to end encrypted, across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
read the full Joplin overview →
About nocturne_memory
Nocturne Memory is an MIT licensed, Python based Long Term Memory Server that speaks the Model Context Protocol, giving MCP capable agents persistent, structured, rollbackable memory across sessions, models and tools — built for anyone running Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Codex or another MCP client who is tired of an agent that forgets who it is.
read the full nocturne_memory overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or nocturne_memory more popular?
Joplin has 56,429 GitHub stars and nocturne_memory has 1,359. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and nocturne_memory free?
Both are open source. Joplin has no licence declared in this registry, and nocturne_memory is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Joplin and nocturne_memory?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and nocturne_memory in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Joplin or nocturne_memory?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,429 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose nocturne_memory if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.