head to head · open source
Open-Notebook vs GitJournal
Open-Notebook has 39,222 GitHub stars, 4,548 forks, 110 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. GitJournal has 4,224 stars, 309 forks, 132 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. Open-Notebook leads on adoption by 829% (39,222 vs 4,224 stars). Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript under MIT; GitJournal is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0. Open-Notebook has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, GitJournal 7%. Open-Notebook was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (note-taking, 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 | GitJournal | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-05-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.5K | ⑂ 309 |
| 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 GitJournal if
- You want the GitJournal feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and GitJournal 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 GitJournal
GitJournal is a mobile first, privacy focused Markdown note taking app that stores every note in a Git repository of the user's choosing, built for people who want their writing to stay portable and version controlled instead of locked inside a proprietary sync service.
read the full GitJournal overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open-Notebook or GitJournal more popular?
Open-Notebook has 39,222 GitHub stars and GitJournal has 4,224. Open-Notebook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open-Notebook and GitJournal free?
Both are open source. Open-Notebook is licensed under MIT and GitJournal under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Open-Notebook and GitJournal?
Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript and GitJournal in Dart. 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 GitJournal?
Choose Open-Notebook if you want the larger community (39,222 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose GitJournal if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.