Notes on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and the terminal, synced through your own server: Joplin pairs its open-source clients with Joplin Server, the official self-hosted backend that replaces Dropbox, OneDrive, or Nextcloud as the synchronization target. Notes are Markdown with inline attachments (images, PDFs, audio), organized into hierarchical notebooks and sub-notebooks with cross-cutting tags, alongside to-do lists with reminders and alarms. End-to-end encryption is the headline feature: enabled in the clients, it encrypts sync payloads on-device before upload, so the server stores blobs it cannot read - genuine protection even if the host is compromised. The desktop app offers both Rich Text and Markdown editors, extended by a plugin ecosystem, custom themes, and an Extension API for writing your own scripts; a Web Clipper for Chrome and Firefox captures full pages or screenshots straight into notebooks. Joplin Server ships as a Docker image with SQLite for evaluation and PostgreSQL for production, offers a filesystem storage driver for large content, and includes multi-user support and note sharing - all free under AGPL-3.0 when self-hosted. Notes stay in an open format, so the exit path always exists.

Standard Notes keeps your notes, files, and tags encrypted on your device before anything touches the network, meaning the server stores only ciphertext it cannot read. Cross-platform sync across desktop, mobile, and web delivers fast, conflict-free updates on unlimited devices with the same zero-knowledge guarantee that only your password can decrypt your content. The V2 server architecture condenses everything into four Docker containers consuming roughly 570MB RAM total (down from 13 containers and 1.7GB in the legacy setup), with startup under one minute. Revision history automatically preserves every version of every note, so recovering deleted text or reverting to a previous state never depends on manual backups. A nested tag system organizes thousands of notes with hierarchical categorization that goes well beyond flat folder structures, while search operates entirely on client-side decrypted content. File attachments of any type encrypt and sync alongside notes with identical end-to-end protection. Multiple editor options span plain text, Markdown with preview, and rich formatting to fit different writing workflows. Two-factor authentication via TOTP with email backup codes adds a second barrier beyond your password. An optional separate container serves the web frontend, providing browser access to your encrypted vault without depending on standardnotes.com infrastructure. With 5,500+ GitHub stars and active development, the project continues expanding editor plugins and sync improvements.

A notes app that is deliberately not a second brain: notesd keeps your grocery lists, journals, and work notes on a server you run, and syncs them to your phone for fully offline use. The web app and the native Android and iPhone apps each keep a complete local copy, so you can write on a subway and watch everything merge when a connection returns; conflicting edits are combined, or preserved as a linked conflicted copy instead of silently overwriting. Notes are stored as Markdown, so exporting your data or mirroring it to a folder of .md files is always one command away. Tags typed anywhere in a note, including nested ones like #home/garden, collect automatically in the sidebar, and Spaces keep work, personal, journal, and recipes in separate contexts. Full-text search runs across titles and bodies, indexed and ranked both on the server and on your phone. Individual notes can be locked with AES-256-GCM encryption performed on your device, unlocked by password, passkey, or biometrics, while the server only ever stores ciphertext. A few accounts per server, each with its own database, make it easy to host notes for family or friends. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. MIT licensed.

Anchor is a self-hosted note-taking app that keeps every note on your own server and on your devices, so your ideas stay searchable and editable even with no connection at all. Open the web app or the phone app and start typing; the rich text editor handles headings, checklists, highlights, and formatting from a slash menu, and everything saves locally first. When a connection comes back, changes sync automatically across your devices, so the thought you captured on a train is waiting on your desk. Organize with colored tags, pin the notes you live in, archive the ones you are done with, and set one-time or repeating reminders so a note resurfaces when it matters. Notes can carry image and audio attachments, custom backgrounds, and a full version history you can roll back. Share a note with another user as view-only or editable, search titles and body text across everything including the archive, and recover deleted notes from the trash during the recovery window. Bring an existing library with you through Markdown import, a full Anchor backup, or a Google Keep export, and take everything out again the same way. An admin panel controls registration and shows system statistics, and OpenID Connect sign-in through providers like Authelia or Keycloak can replace local passwords entirely. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. AGPL-3.0 licensed.

Every line an indentable bullet, every bullet a first-class block that can be referenced, embedded, and queried anywhere: Logseq is a privacy-first, local-first knowledge platform built around the block outliner. The daily journal is the system's beating heart - each day opens a fresh date-stamped page where tasks, meeting notes, and fleeting ideas land as blocks without filing decisions, then connect later through [[wikilinks]] with automatic bidirectional backlinks and ((block references)) that transclude any bullet into any page. Everything persists as plain Markdown or Org-mode files on disk - git-friendly, greppable, and owned forever, with sync via iCloud, Dropbox, Syncthing, Git, or an optional end-to-end encrypted service. Built-in tooling goes beyond notes: TODO/DOING task states with scheduling, native PDF annotation with area highlights, spaced-repetition flashcards, whiteboards for visual thinking, Zotero integration for researchers, and Datalog-powered queries that build dynamic views across the entire graph. A marketplace of hundreds of community plugins and themes adds AI chat, Ollama local-model integration, and custom workflows. Written in Clojure/ClojureScript, AGPL-3.0 licensed with 320+ contributors, and completely free - the local-first Roam for people who refuse subscriptions and lock-in.

TriliumNext organizes notes in an infinitely deep tree where any single note can be cloned into multiple branches without duplication, building personal knowledge bases that mirror how ideas actually connect rather than forcing a single rigid folder hierarchy. Carrying forward the original Trilium project under active community stewardship with nearly 37,000 GitHub stars, the application is built on TypeScript with a CKEditor 5 WYSIWYG editor supporting rich text, tables, images, KaTeX math expressions, Mermaid diagrams, Excalidraw canvases, mind maps, spreadsheets with XLSX and CSV import/export, and code blocks with full syntax highlighting. A built-in JavaScript scripting engine runs on both frontend and backend, enabling custom widgets, automated workflows, scheduled tasks, and direct interaction with external REST services through a typed Script API. Full-text and fuzzy search with attribute-based queries locates any note instantly across databases tested at over 100,000 notes without performance degradation. The v0.104 release introduced importers for OneNote, Notion, Google Keep, Anytype, and Obsidian alongside 16 dedicated security fixes. Per-note AES encryption, OpenID Connect authentication, and TOTP two-factor protection safeguard sensitive content. The sync server keeps desktop clients, the progressive web app, and mobile devices in lockstep with zero third-party cloud dependency. Web Clipper captures content directly from browsers. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. AGPL-3.0 licensed.

For people whose notes number in the tens of thousands, Trilium Notes is the hierarchical note-taking application built specifically for large personal knowledge bases - actively maintained as TriliumNext. Notes arrange into arbitrarily deep trees where every note is both content and container, and cloning lets a single note live in multiple places at once - bash notes belong under both Linux and Scripting, and Trilium refuses to make you choose. A WYSIWYG editor handles rich text, tables, math, and syntax-highlighted code blocks with Markdown-style shortcuts, while dedicated note types cover Excalidraw sketches, mind maps, geo maps with GPX tracks, relation maps that visualize connections between notes, and tables with typed columns. The attribute system is the power layer: labels attach queryable metadata (#year=1999, #author), relations create named links between notes, and both inherit down the tree - feeding full-text search, saved queries, and scripting. Scripting is Trilium's deepest differentiator: JavaScript code notes run on events like note changes or hourly schedules, build custom widgets, and add server-side logic, turning the knowledge base into a programmable platform. Protected notes encrypt sensitive content, note hoisting focuses on subtrees, and the self-hosted server syncs desktop clients across devices.

The entire wiki - content, code, and interface - is built from "tiddlers," small addressable units of information that link, transclude, tag, and filter into each other: TiddlyWiki is a non-linear personal notebook with a design philosophy unlike anything else in this catalog. Instead of pages in a hierarchy, you compose views by pulling tiddlers together on demand, which is why researchers, zettelkasten practitioners, and GTD devotees have sworn by it for two decades. The whole application is JavaScript, and the UI itself is written in hackable WikiText - customization goes as deep as rewriting the interface from inside the wiki. Self-hosting runs the Node.js version, which upgrades the classic single-HTML-file architecture in the ways that matter for a server: every tiddler is stored as an individual text file (Git-friendly, organizable), edits save through the HTTP API from any modern browser including phones, and one installation can serve multiple wikis blending shared and unique content. The plugin ecosystem covers graph visualizations, themes, languages, and hundreds of community extensions, declared per-wiki in a simple tiddlywiki.info file; the newer MultiWikiServer plugin adds multi-user accounts and tiddler sharing. Your notes stay usable for decades, independent of any corporation - the project's founding promise. BSD-licensed.

Backed by over 45,000 GitHub stars and described as the tool that replaces Notion, Evernote, and Anki in a single Docker container, SiYuan is the privacy-first knowledge management system where every paragraph, heading, and list item is a uniquely addressable content block. The block-level architecture enables bidirectional links, transclusion embeds, and SQL query blocks that dynamically aggregate content across your entire workspace, while the knowledge graph visualization maps relationship networks between documents and blocks. Built-in databases support table views with relation and rollup columns, filter composition, sorting, and template-based calculations for structured data management alongside freeform notes. The FSRS spaced repetition engine turns any content block into a flashcard with scientifically calibrated review scheduling, eliminating the need for separate memorization tools. AI integration connects to OpenAI-compatible APIs for writing assistance, translation, summarization, and Q&A chat, with semantic search using embeddings and reranking for intelligent content retrieval. The Bazaar community marketplace delivers plugins, themes, templates, and widgets through a managed extension system with TypeScript plugin APIs. End-to-end encrypted synchronization works across S3-compatible storage, WebDAV servers, or SiYuan's own cloud service, while Tesseract OCR extracts searchable text from images and the web clipper captures pages from Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. Export targets include Markdown with assets, PDF, Word, and HTML. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. AGPL-3.0 licensed.

Papyra gives you a calm, private home for notes that stays as easy as sticky notes while quietly linking everything together like a wiki. Cards pin, colour, and drag into place on your desk, and opening one drops you into an editor where slash commands insert headings, checklists, tables, or maps without leaving the keyboard. Type two brackets to link another note, and backlinks gather the other direction automatically, following the note even if you rename it. Notes save themselves, and every earlier version is kept, so you can scrub back through history and restore the draft you actually wanted. Sharing a note lets several people type in it together with visible cursors, comments in threads, and mentions that bring the right person in. Private notes lock behind a PIN or your fingerprint and sit encrypted on disk, while a daily journal page collects the day with a mood and a calendar to browse the year. Search covers notes, to-dos, and attachments with highlighted matches, and image text and audio transcripts can join the index. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. GPL-3.0 licensed.

Poznote serves as an all-in-one personal knowledge base and digital workspace designed to bridge unstructured thinking and structured documentation. The platform pairs a responsive Markdown editor with live side-by-side rendering, KaTeX mathematical notation, and interactive Mermaid diagram compilation. Creative thinkers can switch instantly to an embedded Excalidraw infinite canvas to sketch system architectures, design mind maps, and create interface wireframes alongside their written notes. Every directory within the workspace can be toggled into an agile Kanban board where nested folders become customizable workflow columns and notes transform into draggable task cards. Task management views aggregate checklists across documents into unified priority queues with due date reminders and completion filters. An integrated bi-directional Git synchronization engine connects user workspaces directly to personal GitHub or Forgejo repositories, versioning edits automatically on save. The software also provides an integrated Model Context Protocol server that enables AI coding assistants to search notes, create documents, and query knowledge repositories securely. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. MIT licensed.

PenX delivers an open-source structured note-taking application that functions as a personal database disguised as an elegant editor — combining the outline workflow of Workflowy and Roam Research with the structured data capabilities of Tana through MetaTags that transform every note into a queryable database record. The local-first architecture stores all data on-device using PGLite, an in-process PostgreSQL-compatible engine, ensuring data ownership regardless of cloud connectivity. End-to-end encryption protects all synchronized data so that even the sync server cannot read your notes, tasks, ideas, or documents. GitHub-based version control provides out-of-the-box backup and history with full commit-level recovery. MetaTags are the core innovation — attaching structured tags to any note converts it into a database entry with typed fields, enabling table views, filters, and queries across your knowledge base without imposing rigid folder hierarchies. The daily notes workflow encourages free-form capture while MetaTags handle organization automatically, letting you record thoughts without deciding physical location upfront. AI-driven features assist with content generation, summarization, and intelligent search across your personal data hub. Real-time sync keeps web, desktop, and mobile in perfect alignment. Cross-platform availability includes web, desktop for Windows, macOS, and Linux, iOS, and Chrome extension. Deploy the web service via Next.js with pnpm using tRPC and Prisma. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. AGPL-3.0 licensed.

Notes are personal, and Plainpad keeps them that way by running entirely on your own server instead of a vendor cloud. Class notes, trip plans, lyrics, and side-project ideas sit in one fast list that searches instantly and opens in any modern browser, adapting to phones, tablets, and desktops. Added to a home screen it launches like an app, and offline editing keeps writing possible when the connection drops. Turning on encryption stores titles and content encrypted at rest, so even database access does not expose what you wrote. One installation supports unlimited accounts with administrator and user roles, and every person keeps a private notebook no one else can read. There are no note limits, no device limits, no ads, and no tracking of any kind. Moving in is scripted through the built-in REST API, which can import collections from files and other note services into the right accounts. The stack asks only for PHP and MySQL, or a single Docker Compose command, and a sample data seeder can populate a fresh install with realistic study notes for evaluation. Simplicity is the design goal: the interface stays quiet, loads quickly, and leaves the words in front. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. GPL 3.0 licensed.

SilentSuite is an end-to-end encrypted sync service for your calendar, contacts, and tasks, where the server stores only ciphertext and cannot read a single event, name, or plan. Encryption happens on your devices with keys derived locally, so record contents are sealed before upload and opened only on another trusted device of yours. Manage everything in the web app, sync a phone through the Android adapter's system calendar, contacts, and task providers, or connect desktop apps like Thunderbird and GNOME Calendar through the local Bridge. The Bridge speaks CalDAV and CardDAV only on localhost, then forwards encrypted records upstream, so standard desktop clients work without ever exposing plaintext to the server. Import and export keep exit paths open, and because sync rides the open Etebase protocol, your data model stays inspectable rather than locked into a proprietary format. Self-hosting unlocks every feature at no cost: one Compose file starts the sync server and PostgreSQL, with open registration you can close after your own account exists, nightly backup tooling, and Umbrel packaging. Signing up hosted users is not required at all; the same web app, Android adapter, and Bridge run against your own server with your domain. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. AGPL-3.0 licensed.