mdSilo vs NoteDiscovery
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
NoteDiscovery
Self-hosted Markdown knowledge base with graph view
| Feature | mdSilo | NoteDiscovery |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 63 · Good | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 851 | ★ 2,812 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Obsidian, Roam Research | Obsidian, Notion |
What are mdSilo and NoteDiscovery?
mdSilo
mdSilo is an open-source note-taking and personal knowledge management application that supports backlinks, a graph view, and Markdown editing. It can run on the desktop or be self-hosted as a web app for personal use.
- Bidirectional backlinks
- Graph visualization
- Markdown editor
- Built-in RSS reader
NoteDiscovery
NoteDiscovery is a self-hosted Markdown knowledge base featuring wikilinks, a graph view, a drawing editor, and LaTeX and Mermaid rendering. It is designed for building and exploring a connected personal knowledge base.
- Wikilinks and graph view
- Drawing editor
- LaTeX and Mermaid support
- Self-hosted knowledge base
mdSilo vs NoteDiscovery: key differences
MdSilo is written in TypeScript, while NoteDiscovery is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for mdSilo versus MIT for NoteDiscovery. MdSilo is the more established project (first released 2022), while NoteDiscovery arrived in 2024. NoteDiscovery has the considerably larger community, at 2,812 GitHub stars versus 851. NoteDiscovery lists first-class Docker deployment; mdSilo does not.
Why pick each one
Choose mdSilo if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose NoteDiscovery if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is mdSilo or NoteDiscovery better?
Neither is universally better. NoteDiscovery has the larger community, while mdSilo is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are mdSilo and NoteDiscovery free and open-source?
Yes. mdSilo is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and NoteDiscovery under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mdSilo and NoteDiscovery with Docker?
mdSilo: check the project docs for container support. NoteDiscovery: yes.