Self-hosted, privacy-first knowledge workspace with block-level references, Markdown WYSIWYG editing, and AI agent collaboration.
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What is it?
AFFiNE is a workspace app for writing notes, drawing diagrams and planning projects in one place. Its edgeless canvas can hold rich text, sticky notes, embedded web pages, multi-view databases, linked pages, shapes and slides, so documents and whiteboards live in the same space.
The project emphasizes local-first storage, keeping data on the user's disk, with real-time sync and collaboration across web and cross-platform clients. It is built on the BlockSuite editor and uses a CRDT-based data layer, with a Rust engine (y-octo) at its core.
AFFiNE includes an AI assistant that can turn outlines into slides, summarize articles into mind maps, and help with task lists. Users can self-host it with Docker, and the community edition is released under the MIT license.
Key features
- 01Edgeless canvas that mixes docs, sticky notes, databases, shapes and slides
- 02Local-first data storage on your own disk
- 03Real-time sync and collaboration across web and cross-platform clients
- 04Built-in AI for generating slides, mind maps and outlines
- 05Self-hosting with Docker
Use cases
- Combining meeting notes with whiteboard diagrams in one workspace
- Turning an outline into a presentation draft
- Building a personal or team wiki that stays on your own server
- Planning projects with linked pages and multi-view databases
Quick start
- 1
Try the live demo in your browser
- 2
Read the self-host guide to set up your own instance, starting with Docker
- 3
Download the desktop app from the releases page
Things to know
- The metadata gives no clear license (NOASSERTION), so check the repository's license terms before reuse.
- Code contributions require signing a Contributor License Agreement before pull requests can be merged.
- Self-hosting setup is documented on an external site rather than in the README itself.
Topics
FAQ
- What is AFFiNE?
- An open-source, local-first knowledge base that merges docs, whiteboard canvas and tables in one workspace, as an alternative to Notion and Miro. AFFiNE is a workspace app for writing notes, drawing diagrams and planning projects in one place. Its edgeless canvas can hold rich text, sticky notes, embedded web pages, multi-view databases, linked pages, shapes and slides, so documents and whiteboards live in the same space.
- Is AFFiNE free to use? What license does it have?
- AFFiNE is open source under the Other license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
- Is AFFiNE still maintained?
- Actively maintained. The last commit to AFFiNE was on Oct 12, 2026.
- What can I use AFFiNE for?
- Combining meeting notes with whiteboard diagrams in one workspace Turning an outline into a presentation draft Building a personal or team wiki that stays on your own server Planning projects with linked pages and multi-view databases
- How do I install AFFiNE?
- Try the live demo in your browser Read the self-host guide to set up your own instance, starting with Docker Download the desktop app from the releases page
- Where can I get AFFiNE?
- The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE
Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.
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