Dnote vs nb 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 | Dnote | nb Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 78 · Good | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,084 | ★ 8,410 |
| First released | 2017 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Simplenote | Evernote, Notion |
What are Dnote and nb Notes?
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
nb Notes
nb is a command-line and local web tool for plain-text note-taking, bookmarking, and archiving with Git-backed versioning and syncing. It works entirely in the terminal and supports encryption.
- Plain-text notes and bookmarks
- Git-backed sync
- Optional encryption
- Tagging and search
Dnote vs nb Notes: key differences
Dnote is written in Go, while nb Notes is built with Shell. Nb Notes is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Dnote. Dnote is the more established project (first released 2017), while nb Notes arrived in 2019. Nb Notes has the considerably larger community, at 8,410 GitHub stars versus 3,084. Dnote lists first-class Docker deployment; nb Notes does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Dnote if…
- Stays out of the way for developers
- Quick capture from terminal
Watch out for
- Terminal-first workflow
- Limited rich formatting
Choose nb Notes if…
- Powerful for terminal users
- Versioned with Git
Watch out for
- Command-line only
- No graphical client
Frequently asked questions
Is Dnote or nb Notes better?
Neither is universally better. nb Notes has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dnote and nb Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Dnote is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and nb Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dnote and nb Notes with Docker?
Dnote: yes. nb Notes: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Dnote or nb Notes?
nb Notes has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Dnote. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.