head to head · open source
open-knowledge vs nowen-note
open-knowledge has 4,258 GitHub stars, 281 forks, 38 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nowen-note has 525 stars, 79 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. open-knowledge leads on adoption by 711% (4,258 vs 525 stars). open-knowledge is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; nowen-note is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. open-knowledge has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, nowen-note 15%. open-knowledge was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (knowledge-base), 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
| open-knowledge | nowen-note | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.3K | ★ 525 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 281 | ⑂ 79 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick open-knowledge if
- You weight community size — 4.3K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick nowen-note if
- You want the nowen-note feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and nowen-note fits your workflow better
About open-knowledge
OpenKnowledge is a markdown IDE and LLM wiki tool in the Content & Publishing / Documentation & Knowledge Base category. It is written in TypeScript, licensed under GPL 3.0, and listed on GitHub with 4214 stars, 275 forks, and 38 open issues. It is an AI native editor for knowledge bases, LLM wikis, specs, and notes, and it is described as private, local, and free.
read the full open-knowledge overview →
About nowen-note
Nowen Note (弄文笔记) is a GPL 3.0, self hosted knowledge base, daily journal and task workspace written in TypeScript for individuals and teams who want their notes, attachments and indexes to live on their own NAS or server.
read the full nowen-note overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is open-knowledge or nowen-note more popular?
open-knowledge has 4,258 GitHub stars and nowen-note has 525. open-knowledge has the larger community by that measure.
Are open-knowledge and nowen-note free?
Both are open source. open-knowledge is licensed under GPL-3.0 and nowen-note under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between open-knowledge and nowen-note?
open-knowledge is written in TypeScript and nowen-note 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, open-knowledge or nowen-note?
Choose open-knowledge if you want the larger community (4,258 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose nowen-note if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.