Athens Research vs Tangent Notes
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Athens Research | Tangent Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 22 · At risk | 75 · Good |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | EPL-1.0 | MIT |
| Language | Clojure | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,298 | ★ 556 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Roam Research, Obsidian | Obsidian, Roam Research |
What are Athens Research and Tangent Notes?
Athens Research
Athens is an open-source knowledge graph and networked note-taking tool inspired by Roam Research, supporting block references and bidirectional links. It can be self-hosted with a multiplayer server for shared knowledge bases.
- Block references
- Bidirectional links
- Multiplayer self-hosting
- Knowledge graph view
Tangent Notes
Tangent is a free, local-first note-taking application that stores notes as plain Markdown files and links them together into a connected map. It focuses on capturing and connecting ideas without a cloud dependency.
- Local-first storage
- Linked note map
- Plain Markdown files
- Session history
Athens Research vs Tangent Notes: key differences
Athens Research is written in Clojure, while Tangent Notes is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — EPL-1.0 for Athens Research versus MIT for Tangent Notes. Tangent Notes is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Athens Research. Athens Research is the more established project (first released 2020), while Tangent Notes arrived in 2022. Athens Research has the considerably larger community, at 6,298 GitHub stars versus 556. Athens Research lists first-class Docker deployment; Tangent Notes does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Athens Research if…
- Released under the EPL-1.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.3k GitHub stars
- Written in Clojure
Choose Tangent Notes if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Athens Research or Tangent Notes better?
Neither is universally better. Athens Research has the larger community, while Tangent Notes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Athens Research and Tangent Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Athens Research is licensed under EPL-1.0 and Tangent Notes under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Athens Research and Tangent Notes with Docker?
Athens Research: yes. Tangent Notes: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Athens Research or Tangent Notes?
Tangent Notes has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Athens Research. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.