head to head · open source
SiYuan vs mindforger
SiYuan has 46,429 GitHub stars, 3,012 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped today. mindforger has 2,719 stars, 173 forks, 625 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. SiYuan leads on adoption by 1,608% (46,429 vs 2,719 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; mindforger is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. SiYuan has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, mindforger 6%. SiYuan was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (markdown), 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
| SiYuan | mindforger | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 173 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SiYuan if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mindforger if
- You want the mindforger feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and mindforger fits your workflow better
About SiYuan
SiYuan is an open source, self hosted knowledge management system built for privacy first workflows. It operates as a local first workspace where users store data in encrypted repositories on their own infrastructure, avoiding reliance on third party cloud services. The project lives in the productivity and utilities ecosystem, specifically targeting note taking and knowledge management use cases, and positions itself as a privacy respecting alternative to Notion.
read the full SiYuan overview →
About mindforger
MindForger is a free, open source thinking notebook and Markdown editor for people who keep private remarks — ideas, personal plans, gift tips, how tos, dreams, business vision, finance strategy, auto coaching notes — on their own machine and want to find and connect them again instead of scattering them across the file system, cloud, web, and Post it notes.
read the full mindforger overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or mindforger more popular?
SiYuan has 46,429 GitHub stars and mindforger has 2,719. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and mindforger free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and mindforger under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and mindforger?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and mindforger in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, SiYuan or mindforger?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (46,429 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose mindforger if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.