AFFiNE
Privacy-first workspace that combines docs, whiteboards and databases, an open-source Notion alternative.
- Note-taking & Editors
- TypeScript
- MIT / AFFiNE EE License
- Source-available
- Docker
- Actively maintained
GitHub stats
- GitHub stars
- 73,246
- Forks
- 5,335
- Open issues
- 650
- Commits, last 12 months
- 752
- Last commit
- Oct 4, 2026
- Latest release
- v0.27.4Aug 18, 2026
- Created
- Jul 31, 2022
- License
- MIT (client) and AFFiNE Enterprise Edition licence (server)Source-available
Data from the GitHub API, refreshed daily.
About AFFiNE
Privacy-first workspace that combines docs, whiteboards and databases, an open-source Notion alternative. AFFiNE is source-available under the MIT (client) and AFFiNE Enterprise Edition licence (server) and written mainly in TypeScript, so you can read the code, run it on your own hardware and keep full control of your data.
The project has 73,246 stars and 5,335 forks on GitHub, with 752 commits over the last year. It ships a Docker image, which makes it a good fit for a small VPS or a home server running Docker Compose.
Topics
- editor
- crdt
- knowledge-base
- markdown
- miro
- notion
- rust
- rust-lang
- whiteboard
- wiki
Self-hosted alternative to
AFFiNE can replace these commercial products. Compare every option on each page.
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What is AFFiNE?
AFFiNE is a source-available app you can host on your own server, listed in our Note-taking & Editors category. Privacy-first workspace that combines docs, whiteboards and databases, an open-source Notion alternative. The source code lives at github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE, where it has 73,246 stars.
Is AFFiNE free and open source?
Not by the OSI definition. AFFiNE is source-available rather than open source: its code is public under the MIT (client) and AFFiNE Enterprise Edition licence (server), which is not an OSI-approved open-source license. This is a custom license: the source is public, but it adds conditions that OSI-approved licenses do not, such as limits on commercial, hosted or production use. Read it before you deploy. Check the license in the repository before using it commercially.
Can I run AFFiNE with Docker?
Yes. AFFiNE provides a Docker image, so you can run it on any Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose installed. The project README lists the image name and the environment variables to set.
What are the best alternatives to AFFiNE?
Popular self-hosted alternatives to AFFiNE include Excalidraw, Memos and Joplin. AFFiNE itself is a self-hosted alternative to Notion and Dropbox Paper.
Is AFFiNE actively maintained?
The most recent commit to AFFiNE was on Oct 4, 2026 with 752 commits in the past twelve months. The latest release is v0.27.4, published Aug 18, 2026. Check the open issues on GitHub to gauge how quickly maintainers respond.