AFFiNE: Self-Hosted Knowledge and Collaboration Platform

AFFiNE is an open-source workspace that merges documents, whiteboards, and databases into a single unified platform. With over 62,000 GitHub stars, it represents a new generation of knowledge management tools that refuse to force your thinking into one format. Write a document, drag it onto a whiteboard, connect it to a database — AFFiNE treats these as different views of the same knowledge rather than separate tools.

Self-hosting AFFiNE gives your team a private, all-in-one workspace where documents, visual thinking, and structured data coexist.

Key Features

• Seamless switching between document, whiteboard, and database views for the same content
• Block-based editor with rich text, code blocks, embeds, and nested pages
• Infinite canvas whiteboard with freehand drawing, shapes, and connectors
• Kanban boards and table views for structured project management
• Local-first architecture — data lives on your device first, syncs when connected
• Markdown export and import for data portability
• Dark mode and customizable workspace themes
• AI-powered writing assistance for content generation and summarization

Why Self-Host AFFiNE?

Unified workspace, private data. Instead of scattering your team's knowledge across Notion, Miro, and Airtable — each with its own data policies — self-hosted AFFiNE keeps everything in one place on your infrastructure. Documents, whiteboards, and databases all live under your control.

Local-first by design. AFFiNE stores data locally before syncing to the server. Self-hosting the sync server means your team gets collaborative features while keeping the local-first privacy advantage. Data never passes through external clouds.

No per-user pricing. Cloud workspace tools charge per seat. AFFiNE on your VPS serves your entire team with no recurring per-user costs, making it practical for organizations of any size.

Open-source flexibility. Self-hosting lets you customize AFFiNE, contribute to its development, and integrate it with your existing toolchain. No feature gates, no premium tiers, no artificial limitations.

System Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 vCPUs	4 vCPUs
RAM	2 GB	4 GB
Storage	10 GB SSD	30 GB SSD
OS	Ubuntu 22.04+	Ubuntu 24.04

AFFiNE Cloud runs a Node.js backend with PostgreSQL and Redis. The local-first architecture means the server handles sync rather than rendering, so resource usage is moderate even with many users.

Getting Started

Deploy AFFiNE on your VPS using Docker Compose through Dokploy. Our deployment guide walks you through the backend setup including PostgreSQL, Redis, object storage for attachments, and SSL configuration.

Deploy AFFiNE with Dokploy →

Alternatives

• AppFlowy — AI-powered workspace for wikis and project management with a Notion-like interface
• Outline — Team wiki focused on clean, structured documentation
• Excalidraw — Collaborative whiteboard with a hand-drawn aesthetic
• Trilium Notes — Hierarchical note-taking for personal knowledge bases

FAQ

How does AFFiNE compare to Notion? AFFiNE offers similar document and database features to Notion but adds an integrated whiteboard canvas and a local-first architecture. The key differentiator is that AFFiNE lets you freely mix document blocks and whiteboard elements in the same workspace, while Notion separates these concepts.

What does local-first mean? Local-first means your data is stored on your device before being synced to the server. You can work offline, and your data is immediately available without network requests. When connectivity is restored, changes sync automatically. This provides better performance and privacy than cloud-first approaches.

Can I import from Notion? Yes. AFFiNE supports importing Markdown files, which you can export from Notion. Some advanced Notion database features may need manual recreation, but standard documents and pages transfer smoothly.

Is AFFiNE production-ready? AFFiNE is under active development and has reached a stable state for core features — documents, whiteboards, and databases. The team releases regular updates. For production use, self-hosting lets you pin to a specific version and update on your own schedule.

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App data sourced from selfh.st open-source directory.