NoteDiscovery vs Reor
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
VS
Reor
Archived
AI-powered local-first personal knowledge management app
| Feature | NoteDiscovery | Reor |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,812 | ★ 8,551 |
| First released | 2024 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Obsidian, Notion | Evernote, Notion |
What are NoteDiscovery and Reor?
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
Reor
Reor is an open-source, private, local-first AI note-taking application. It automatically links related notes, runs AI models locally, and stores everything as plain Markdown files on your machine.
- Local AI models
- Automatic note linking
- Plain Markdown storage
- Semantic search
NoteDiscovery vs Reor: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Reor's repository is archived and no longer developed, while NoteDiscovery is actively maintained. Both projects are written in JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for NoteDiscovery versus AGPL-3.0 for Reor. NoteDiscovery is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Reor. Reor has the considerably larger community, at 8,551 GitHub stars versus 2,812. NoteDiscovery lists first-class Docker deployment; Reor does not.
Why pick each one
Choose NoteDiscovery if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Choose Reor if…
- AI features without sending data away
- Notes stay as portable files
Watch out for
- AI features need more RAM
- Younger project
Frequently asked questions
Is NoteDiscovery or Reor better?
Reor is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Reor if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are NoteDiscovery and Reor free and open-source?
Yes. NoteDiscovery is licensed under MIT and Reor under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run NoteDiscovery and Reor with Docker?
NoteDiscovery: yes. Reor: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, NoteDiscovery or Reor?
NoteDiscovery has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Reor. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.