SiYuan

What is SiYuan?

SiYuan is a self-hosted, privacy-first knowledge management application with block-level editing, backlinks, databases and graph views. It stores content locally and supports sync through your own server or third-party storage you choose.

Best for

Users who want block-level editing and full data ownership

Why choose SiYuan

SiYuan is built around blocks rather than pages, which changes how notes work. Any paragraph, list or table is a referenceable object, so you can link to a specific idea and see everywhere it has been used, embed it inside other documents, and query your whole notebook for blocks matching a condition. That model suits people whose notes are a network of thoughts rather than a filing cabinet, and everything stays in local files you can read without the application.

Replaces

• Notion
• Obsidian
• Roam Research

Key features

• Block-level editing and block references
• Database views over blocks
• Graph and backlink navigation
• Markdown export

What to watch out for

Block references are powerful and take time to internalise; the first week feels like fighting the tool, and many people never quite click with it. The project is developed primarily by a small team and its documentation, while extensive, is not always in fluent English. Synchronisation between devices is designed around its own paid service, with self-hosting available through a server component that adds real complexity. It is also heavy enough for a desktop application that very old machines will notice it.

How to deploy

• Docker
• Desktop app

Getting started

Install the desktop app and use it alone for a while before setting up any synchronisation, because the block model is the thing to learn first. Decide on a notebook structure early and resist creating a new notebook for every topic — the query and reference features work best over a smaller number of well-maintained notebooks. If you self-host the sync server, back up its storage directory along with the workspace data. Export a Markdown copy periodically as an escape hatch; even a well-designed format benefits from a plain-text fallback.

Typical setup

Most users run the desktop application locally and sync between devices through a self-hosted server component on a home machine or small VPS, with the workspace stored in a directory that is backed up. Synchronisation is end-to-end encrypted, so the server does not need to be trusted with content. Notebooks are usually organised by broad domain rather than by document, because the query and reference features work better across a smaller number of well-kept notebooks.

Who should look elsewhere

Not for anyone who wants tags-first, folder-light note taking, because the block model will feel like unnecessary complexity. The documentation, while thorough, is not always idiomatic English, and syncing depends on either its own service or running a server component — friction that a simpler notes app avoids entirely.

Project health

• GitHub stars: 46,582
• Last code push: 2026-10-01
• Open issues: 16
• Status: actively developed

Figures pulled from the GitHub API and refreshed periodically.