head to head · open source
SiYuan vs TidGi-Desktop
SiYuan has 46,436 GitHub stars, 3,011 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped today. TidGi-Desktop has 2,003 stars, 116 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SiYuan leads on adoption by 2,218% (46,436 vs 2,003 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; TidGi-Desktop is written in TypeScript under MPL-2.0. SiYuan has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, TidGi-Desktop 6%. SiYuan was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (local-first, note-taking), 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 | TidGi-Desktop | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 116 |
| 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 TidGi-Desktop if
- You want the TidGi-Desktop feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and TidGi-Desktop 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 TidGi-Desktop
TidGi Desktop is a free, MPL 2.0 licensed, cross platform desktop note taking and knowledge management application built on TiddlyWiki and running as an Electron app, aimed at people who want their notes stored locally as files they own, backed up to Git automatically, and optionally published as a blog.
read the full TidGi-Desktop overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or TidGi-Desktop more popular?
SiYuan has 46,436 GitHub stars and TidGi-Desktop has 2,003. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and TidGi-Desktop free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and TidGi-Desktop under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and TidGi-Desktop?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and TidGi-Desktop 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, SiYuan or TidGi-Desktop?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (46,436 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose TidGi-Desktop if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.