head to head · open source
Open-Notebook vs MiaoYan
Open-Notebook has 41,579 GitHub stars, 4,775 forks, 110 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MiaoYan has 8,732 stars, 522 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open-Notebook leads on adoption by 376% (41,579 vs 8,732 stars). Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript under MIT; MiaoYan is written in Swift under MIT. Open-Notebook has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, MiaoYan 6%. MiaoYan 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 | MiaoYan | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 42K | ★ 8.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 522 |
| 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 MiaoYan if
- You want the MiaoYan feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and MiaoYan 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 MiaoYan
English 简体中文 MiaoYan Lightweight Markdown note taking app for macOS Features Fantastic : Local first, no data collection, split editor & preview, wikilink backlinks, LaTeX, Mermaid Beautiful : Minimalist design, three column layout, dark mode, macOS 26 glass, distraction free Fast : Swift 6 native, better performance than Electron based apps Simple : Lightweight, version history, keyboard shortcuts, auto formatting Installation 1. Mac App Store (paid, automatic updates): 2. Homebrew : 3. GitHub Releases : download the latest DMG from GitHub Releases (macOS 11.5+) All three options share the same codebase and…
read the full MiaoYan overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Open-Notebook or MiaoYan more popular?
Open-Notebook has 41,579 GitHub stars and MiaoYan has 8,732. Open-Notebook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open-Notebook and MiaoYan free?
Both are open source. Open-Notebook is licensed under MIT and MiaoYan under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Open-Notebook and MiaoYan?
Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript and MiaoYan in Swift. 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 MiaoYan?
Choose Open-Notebook if you want the larger community (41,579 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose MiaoYan if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.