head to head · open source
Open-Notebook vs Darkwrite
Open-Notebook has 39,222 GitHub stars, 4,548 forks, 110 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Darkwrite has 315 stars, 14 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open-Notebook leads on adoption by 12,351% (39,222 vs 315 stars). Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript under MIT; Darkwrite is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Open-Notebook has attracted 12% 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 1 topic tag (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
| Open-Notebook | Darkwrite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 315 |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.5K | ⑂ 14 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Open-Notebook if
- You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 Open-Notebook
Open Notebook is an open source, privacy focused research notebook that replicates and extends Google’s Notebook LM functionality. It runs locally or self hosted, letting users manage AI powered research workflows without surrendering data to cloud providers. Built with TypeScript, Next.js, React, SurrealDB, and LangChain, it targets researchers, students, and knowledge workers seeking control over their data and tools.
read the full Open-Notebook 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 Open-Notebook or Darkwrite more popular?
Open-Notebook has 39,222 GitHub stars and Darkwrite has 315. Open-Notebook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open-Notebook and Darkwrite free?
Both are open source. Open-Notebook is licensed under MIT and Darkwrite under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Open-Notebook and Darkwrite?
Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript 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, Open-Notebook or Darkwrite?
Choose Open-Notebook if you want the larger community (39,222 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Darkwrite if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.