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BatNoter vs Dnote

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
BA BatNoter Markdown notes web app that stores notes in your Git repo VS DN Dnote Simple command-line notebook with multi-device sync
FeatureBatNoterDnote
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score18 · At risk78 · Good
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcedocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 2,421★ 3,084
First released20222017
ReplacesStandard Notes, EvernoteEvernote, Simplenote

What are BatNoter and Dnote?

BatNoter

BatNoter is an open-source, Markdown-based note-taking web application that stores all notes in a user's own Git repository. It provides an editor with preview and keeps notes versioned and portable.

  • Notes stored in your Git repo
  • Markdown editor with preview
  • Versioned, portable notes
  • Self-hosted backend

Dnote

Dnote is an open-source, simple command-line notebook for programmers and terminal users. It captures quick notes without breaking focus and can sync through a self-hostable server.

  • Command-line note capture
  • Self-hostable sync server
  • Browser extension
  • Spaced-repetition digests

Read the full Dnote guide →

BatNoter vs Dnote: key differences

BatNoter is written in TypeScript, while Dnote is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for BatNoter versus AGPL-3.0 for Dnote. Dnote is the more established project (first released 2017), while BatNoter arrived in 2022.

Why pick each one

Choose BatNoter if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
  • Written in TypeScript
BatNoter details

Choose Dnote if…

  • Stays out of the way for developers
  • Quick capture from terminal

Watch out for

  • Terminal-first workflow
  • Limited rich formatting
Dnote details

Frequently asked questions

Is BatNoter or Dnote better?

Dnote is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider BatNoter if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are BatNoter and Dnote free and open-source?

Yes. BatNoter is licensed under MIT and Dnote under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run BatNoter and Dnote with Docker?

BatNoter: yes. Dnote: yes.

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