Open source alternatives to Obsidian

5 projects on starwire do the same job. Ranked by how much of what Obsidian does each one covers, read from its README and website. Ties go to the most active.

What Obsidian does

  1. Markdown notes in local filescore
  2. Linked notes and backlinkscore
  3. Graph view
  4. Plugins and themes
  5. Sync across devices
  6. Canvas
  7. Search

Each dot in the table is one job, in this order. Square dots are core jobs and count double. Full means yes, half means partly. "See the evidence" under a project shows the line behind each one. Coverage is what a project documents, not how well it works or how hard it is to move to. How we score this

ProjectCoversStarsCommits, 12 weeksLast releaseClosed vs openedSetupLicense
siyuanLocal-first markdown note app with AI agent access and self-hosted sync Replaces it83%47k+105
4,647
 4 days ago100% Install like an app AGPL-3.0
Covers all 2 core jobs. Partly: Search. Not shown: Canvas.See the evidence
  • Markdown notes in local filescoreYesLocal-first markdown note app
  • Linked notes and backlinkscoreYesBlock-level reference and two-way links
  • Graph viewYes探索链接关系图
  • Plugins and themesYesCommunity marketplace
  • Sync across devicesYes端到端加密同步
  • CanvasNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • SearchPartly反链面板支持过滤搜索
flintElectron markdown workspace with a local graph view and Ollama support Replaces it72%150
16
 57 days agoToo few Install like an app MIT
Covers all 2 core jobs. Partly: Search. Not shown: Plugins and themes; Sync across devices.See the evidence
  • Markdown notes in local filescoreYesNotes stay on your device
  • Linked notes and backlinkscoreYeslinked-note navigation, a visual graph
  • Graph viewYesInteractive force-directed note graph
  • Plugins and themesNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Sync across devicesNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • CanvasYesInfinite board for visual thinking
  • SearchPartlyDrag, zoom, pan, search, and depth filtering
open-knowledgeMarkdown editor and knowledge base with AI features and agent skills Replaces it67%4.8k+33
1,095
 yesterday75% Install like an app GPL-3.0
Covers 1 of 2 core jobs. Partly: Linked notes and backlinks. Not shown: Plugins and themes; Canvas.See the evidence
  • Markdown notes in local filescoreYesopening any existing folder on your computer that contains markdown
  • Linked notes and backlinkscorePartlygraph wiki link viewer
  • Graph viewYesgraph wiki link viewer
  • Plugins and themesNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Sync across devicesYespowered by git/GitHub under the hood
  • CanvasNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • SearchYesfile navigator, search, tabs, graph wiki link viewer
edgeeverKnowledge base with native MCP support, runs on Cloudflare Workers or Docker Same job, different way39%3.2k+80
1,889
 4 days ago93% Needs a server AGPL-3.0
Covers 0 of 2 core jobs. Partly: Markdown notes in local files; Canvas. Not shown: Linked notes and backlinks; Graph view; Plugins and themes.See the evidence
  • Markdown notes in local filescorePartlySeamless toggle between rich-text WYSIWYG & raw Markdown
  • Linked notes and backlinkscoreNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Graph viewNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Plugins and themesNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Sync across devicesYesInstant all-platform sync
  • CanvasPartlyCanvas-based structured visual card layouts
  • SearchYesMillisecond-level full-text search
tolariaDesktop app for managing markdown-based knowledge bases Covers one part33%21k+42
874
 4 days ago100% Install like an app AGPL-3.0
Covers 1 of 2 core jobs. Not shown: Linked notes and backlinks; Graph view; Plugins and themes; Canvas; Search.See the evidence
  • Markdown notes in local filescoreYesYour notes are plain markdown files
  • Linked notes and backlinkscoreNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Graph viewNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Plugins and themesNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Sync across devicesYesYour vaults sync seamlessly through iCloud or Files
  • CanvasNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • SearchNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.

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