head to head · open source
SurfSense vs TidGi-Desktop
SurfSense has 16,169 GitHub stars, 1,538 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped yesterday. TidGi-Desktop has 2,003 stars, 116 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SurfSense leads on adoption by 707% (16,169 vs 2,003 stars). SurfSense is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; TidGi-Desktop is written in TypeScript under MPL-2.0. SurfSense has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, TidGi-Desktop 6%. TidGi-Desktop was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| SurfSense | TidGi-Desktop | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | Custom / other | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 116 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SurfSense if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- 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 SurfSense
SurfSense is an open source NotebookLM alternative and privacy first knowledge base that can work with any AI model chosen by the user. It is a Python productivity and knowledge management project in the agent, RAG, LangChain, LangGraph, FastAPI, Next.js, and Ollama ecosystem. The project presents itself as an open web research platform for AI agents, with live data connectors and a built in knowledge base that keeps findings searchable with citations.
read the full SurfSense 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 SurfSense or TidGi-Desktop more popular?
SurfSense has 16,169 GitHub stars and TidGi-Desktop has 2,003. SurfSense has the larger community by that measure.
Are SurfSense and TidGi-Desktop free?
Both are open source. SurfSense has no licence declared in this registry, and TidGi-Desktop is licensed under MPL-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between SurfSense and TidGi-Desktop?
SurfSense is written in Python 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, SurfSense or TidGi-Desktop?
Choose SurfSense if you want the larger community (16,169 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose TidGi-Desktop if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.