head to head · open source
Tolaria vs Blinko
Tolaria has 19,807 GitHub stars, 1,381 forks, 49 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Blinko has 11,020 stars, 782 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped 22 days ago. Tolaria leads on adoption by 80% (19,807 vs 11,020 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 | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 782 |
| 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 is an open source desktop application for macOS, Windows, and Linux, written in TypeScript and licensed under AGPL 3.0. It manages markdown knowledge bases as local files, with each vault stored as a Git repository. The project lives in the personal knowledge management ecosystem as a local first, Git native tool for second brains, company documentation used as AI context, and assistant memory or procedures.
read the full Tolaria overview →
About Blinko
Blinko is AI powered note taking app. It lives in Productivity & Utilities / Note Taking & Knowledge Management category. Project targets individuals who need quick capture and organization of fleeting thoughts. It stores notes as plain text with Markdown. It supports self hosted deployment, so users keep notes and data in their own environment. Project uses TypeScript and GPL 3.0 license. GitHub metadata lists 11011 stars, 780 forks, and last push 2026 08 27. Project has 418 open issues. README lists live demo, official site, and documents.
read the full Blinko overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Tolaria or Blinko more popular?
Tolaria has 19,807 GitHub stars and Blinko has 11,020. 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 (19,807 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.