SiYuan
Knowledge basesA local-first knowledge base with block links and Markdown editing.
SiYuan is a note-taking and knowledge app for people who want to link ideas at a finer level than whole pages. Every paragraph, heading or list item is a block that can be referenced from anywhere, so notes build into a connected knowledge base. Data stays on your own device, and most features are free, even for commercial use.
- Block-level references and two-way links between any pieces of content.
- Exports to Markdown, PDF, Word and HTML, with OCR and web clipping.
- Databases, spaced-repetition flashcards and embedded SQL queries.
What people use it for
Connect research notes at the block level
Write notes in the block editor and reference a single paragraph or heading from another document instead of the whole page. Backlinks on each document show where it is referenced, with filtering and search, and link graphs show connections across the workspace. Embed a SQL query block to collect every block that matches a condition.
Study with linked notes and flashcards
Link PDF annotations into your notes so each highlight points back to its source. Turn key blocks into flashcards and review them on a schedule set by the FSRS spaced-repetition algorithm. Tesseract OCR reads text from images you add to your notes.
Run a private notes server for the browser
Run the b3log/siyuan Docker image with the serve command, a mounted workspace folder and port 6806, and set a strong lock screen password so nobody else can open your data. OIDC sign-in with Google, Microsoft, GitHub or a custom provider can replace the password. The server edition works in a browser only and cannot export to PDF, HTML or Word.