Overview
SiYuan is a privacy-first, local-first personal knowledge management system with block-level references, bidirectional links, and a Notion-like block editor. It stores data locally as a graph of blocks and supports Markdown, databases, flashcards, and end-to-end encrypted sync. It can be self-hosted via Docker for browser access.
Key features
- Block-level references and bidirectional links
- Notion-like block editor with Markdown support
- Local-first storage as a graph of blocks
- Databases, flashcards, and end-to-end encrypted sync
- Self-hostable via Docker for browser access
Our take
SiYuan covers a lot of ground for a knowledge base: a Notion-like block editor, block-level references, databases, and even flashcards, all on a local-first foundation. Unlike some desktop-only competitors, it can run in Docker and be reached through a browser, which makes it one of the easier knowledge tools to genuinely self-host (difficulty is a fair 2/5). End-to-end encrypted sync is a nice touch if you want your own devices in sync without trusting a third party. The main caveats are that it's a dense, feature-heavy app with its own conventions, so there's a learning curve, and you're committing to its block model and data layout rather than plain portable files. A managed option exists if you'd rather not run the container yourself.
Ideal for: Individuals who want a Notion-style block editor they can actually run in a browser on their own server.
Where it falls short of Notion
- Primarily single-user; no real-time team collaboration.
- Official cloud sync and some features require a paid subscription.
- Documentation and UI are translated from Chinese and can be uneven.
- Smaller English-language community and plugin ecosystem.
We list the gaps honestly so you can decide if the trade-off is worth owning your data.
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