head to head · open source
Tolaria vs Blinko
Tolaria has 20,423 GitHub stars, 1,409 forks, 49 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Blinko has 11,153 stars, 791 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Tolaria leads on adoption by 83% (20,423 vs 11,153 stars). Tolaria is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Blinko is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Tolaria has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Blinko 7%. Tolaria 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
| Tolaria | Blinko | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 20K | ★ 11K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 791 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Tolaria if
- You weight community size — 20K 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 Blinko if
- You want the Blinko feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Blinko fits your workflow better
About Tolaria
💧 Tolaria Tolaria is a desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux for managing markdown knowledge bases . People use it for a variety of use cases: Operate second brains and personal knowledge Organize company docs as context for AI Store OpenClaw/assistants memory and procedures Personally, I use it to run my life (hey 👋 Luca here). I have a massive workspace of 10,000+ notes, which are the result of my Refactoring work + a ton of personal journaling and second braining . Sponsors Tolaria is supported by a small panel of tools that help keep the project healthy, tested, and ready for AI assisted development. I…
read the full Tolaria overview →
About Blinko
Blinko Live Demo • Official Site • Documents • Telegram Chinese • Telegram English • 中文 Live Demo: username:blinko password:blinko Blinko is an AI powered card note taking project. Designed for individuals who want to quickly capture and organize their fleeting thoughts. Blinko allows users to seamlessly jot down ideas the moment they strike, ensuring that no spark of creativity is lost. 🚀Main Features 🤖 AI Enhanced Note Retrieval ：With Blinko's advanced AI powered RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation), you can quickly search and access your notes using natural language queries, making it effortless to find…
read the full Blinko overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Tolaria or Blinko more popular?
Tolaria has 20,423 GitHub stars and Blinko has 11,153. Tolaria has the larger community by that measure.
Are Tolaria and Blinko free?
Both are open source. Tolaria is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Blinko under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Tolaria and Blinko?
Tolaria is written in TypeScript and Blinko 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, Tolaria or Blinko?
Choose Tolaria if you want the larger community (20,423 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Blinko if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.