🚀 AFFiNE: The Open-Source Notion + Miro Replacement

Discover AFFiNE, the open-source, privacy-first knowledge base that combines Notion's docs and Miro's whiteboard into one powerful local-first platform.

🌟 One platform for docs, whiteboards, and databases — no more switching between tools.

In today's information-fragmented era, we often find ourselves trapped in this cycle: writing documents in Notion, brainstorming on Miro, managing tasks in Trello, with constant context-switching killing our efficiency. Now, a brand-new open-source solution — AFFiNE — is breaking down these walls and unifying planning, organizing, and creating into a single platform.

📖 What is AFFiNE?

AFFiNE (pronounced [əˈfain]) is an open-source knowledge base platform whose core mission is to create a unified digital workspace that seamlessly blends planning, organizing, and creating — the three pillars of traditional knowledge management. Think of it as:

🎯 Notion's powerful document editing + Miro's free-form visual whiteboard = AFFiNE

Unlike many cloud services, AFFiNE embraces a "local-first" philosophy, prioritizing the storage of your data on your local device. This means you have absolute control over your knowledge — no worries about vendor policy changes or data leaks — while still supporting offline use.

The AFFiNE project has already earned over 45k Stars on GitHub, reflecting strong attention and recognition within the developer community.

✨ Core Features & Advantages

🌈 Revolutionary Dual-Mode Editing

One of AFFiNE's most striking features is its innovative dual-mode editing interface:

• 📝 Paper Mode: A structured document editing experience powered by an advanced block editor with Markdown shortcuts — perfect for writing notes, articles, and reports.
• 🎨 Edgeless Mode: An infinitely extending canvas where you can freely draw, place text blocks, images, task cards, connection lines, and more — ideal for brainstorming, flowchart design, and visual planning.

💡 Key highlight: These two modes aren't isolated. A text block you add on the whiteboard can be seamlessly dragged into Document Mode for further editing, and vice versa. This content-block interoperability dramatically improves the flow of information.

🔒 Privacy First & Data Sovereignty

AFFiNE addresses some of the security and privacy limitations of Notion and Miro. Your data is stored on your local device first, giving you absolute control over your knowledge — a major advantage for individuals and organizations handling sensitive information.

🔓 Open & Transparent

AFFiNE is released under the MIT License, with its code fully open. This means:

• 🔍 Higher transparency and security (the community can audit the code)
• 🛠️ Greater freedom (self-hosting, customization)
• 🚫 Zero risk of vendor lock-in

👥 Real-Time Collaboration

Built on CRDTs (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types), AFFiNE supports multiple users editing the same document or whiteboard simultaneously with no conflicts, ensuring smooth teamwork. Even when cloud sync is enabled, the goal is to keep final data ownership and security with you.

🧱 Block-Based Editor & Flexibility

All content is built around blocks (text, images, to-dos, etc.) as the basic unit. These blocks can be freely combined and structurally managed, with future support for database-like functionality to enable intelligent content organization.

🤖 Multimodal AI Partner

AFFiNE integrates an AI assistant capable of helping with text generation, slide creation, mind mapping, and even code and prototype design — boosting creative efficiency. While the feature may still be in planning or early stages, it points to where the tool is heading.

⚖️ AFFiNE vs. Similar Products

🔄 AFFiNE vs. Notion

🔄 AFFiNE vs. Miro

🏆 AFFiNE's Unique Advantages

• 🎨 A true canvas experience: AFFiNE is one of the rare apps that lets you drop any element onto a borderless canvas — rich text, sticky notes, embedded web pages, multi-view databases, linked pages, shapes, even slides.
• 🔓 No vendor lock-in: Thanks to its open-source nature, you fully own your data and your tools.
• 🔄 An integrated workflow: No more bouncing between tools, so you lose less context.
• 🎛️ Highly customizable: Self-host, fork, and build your own AFFiNE as needed.

🛠️ Detailed AFFiNE Usage Guide

🚀 First-Time Setup & Interface

When you launch AFFiNE for the first time, you'll see a clean interface:

• 🏠 Create a workspace: Click "New Workspace" to create your first one and give it a name.
• 👀 Choose a view mode: At the top of the page, you'll find buttons to switch between "Paper" (document) and "Edgeless" (whiteboard) modes.
• 📁 Sidebar features: The left sidebar is for navigation — create folders and favorite pages.

📝 Document Editing Tips (Paper Mode)

In Paper Mode, AFFiNE offers a powerful block editor:

• ⚡ Quick command menu: Type / on any empty line to summon the quick command menu, where you can insert various content blocks.

• ⌨️ Markdown shortcuts: AFFiNE supports rich Markdown shortcuts, such as:

  • Type # + space to create an H1 heading
  • Type - + space to create a bullet list
  • Type [] + space to create a to-do item
• 🧩 Content block types: AFFiNE supports many block types — text, headings, lists, images, code blocks, databases, and more.

🎨 Whiteboard Creation Tips (Edgeless Mode)

Edgeless Mode gives you infinite creative space:

• 👋 Free dragging: Any element can be freely dragged, resized, and rotated.
• 🔗 Connect ideas: Use connection lines to link different ideas and concepts and build mind maps.
• 📑 Templates: AFFiNE ships with multiple built-in templates — mind maps, task planners, project management — importable with one click.
• ✏️ Drawing tools: Pen, eraser, and other drawing tools are supported for handwritten notes and sketches.

🔧 Advanced Features

• 📥 Import & export: AFFiNE supports importing Markdown, HTML, and more, and exporting to HTML and Markdown — making content migration easy.
• ☁️ Cloud sync: If you need cross-device sync or collaboration with others, register and sign in to an AFFiNE account and enable cloud sync.
• 👥 Team collaboration: Invite members into your workspace for real-time editing — you can see others' cursors and edits live.
• ⌨️ Keyboard shortcuts: Learning keyboard shortcuts can dramatically boost efficiency; find the full list in Settings.

💻 Downloading, Installing & Deploying AFFiNE

AFFiNE offers several installation methods to suit different needs and skill levels.

🖥️ Method 1: Desktop App (Recommended for most users)

The simplest, most recommended approach, especially for non-technical users.

• 🌐 Visit the official site: Open the AFFiNE official website and go to the download page.
• 💾 Choose your system version: Download the installer matching your OS (Windows, macOS, Linux).

• 📥 Install the app:

  • Windows: Double-click the .exe file and follow the install wizard.
  • macOS: Double-click the .dmg file and drag the AFFiNE icon into the Applications folder.
  • Linux: Install according to the file type you downloaded.
• 🚀 Launch and use: After installation, find the AFFiNE icon in your applications list or desktop and double-click to launch.

🐳 Method 2: Docker Deployment (For users with some technical background)

If you're comfortable with Docker, this is a fast way to deploy AFFiNE — especially on a server:

• 📥 Pull the AFFiNE image:

docker pull ghcr.io/toeverything/affine-self-hosted:pre-alpha

• ▶️ Run the container:

docker run -d -p 3000:3000 --name affine ghcr.io/toeverything/affine-self-hosted:pre-alpha

• 🌐 Access AFFiNE: Open your browser and visit http://localhost:3000.

📝 Note: Some deployment guides use port 3010 — adjust based on your specific configuration.

🎛️ Method 3: Deploy via 1Panel (Graphical Interface)

For users who prefer a GUI, you can deploy AFFiNE through the 1Panel control panel:

• 📥 Install 1Panel: Follow the official documentation to install 1Panel.
• 🚀 Install AFFiNE: Search for AFFiNE in 1Panel's App Store and click Install.
• ⚙️ Configure parameters: During installation, set the admin email, password, port, and other parameters.
• 🔓 Open the port: Allow the corresponding port (default 3010) in your server's firewall.
• 🌐 Access and use: Enter http://yourIP:3010 in your browser to access AFFiNE.

💻 Method 4: Build from Source (For Developers)

If you're a developer who wants to dig into the code or customize it, build from source:

• 🔧 Prepare the environment: Make sure Git, Node.js, and pnpm are installed.
• 📥 Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE.git

• 📦 Install dependencies:

npm i -g pnpm
pnpm i

• 🚀 Start the dev server:

pnpm start

• 🌐 Access AFFiNE: Once running, open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

🌍 Advanced Deployment: Public Network Access

If you want to share your locally deployed AFFiNE with team members, you can use an intranet penetration tool to enable public access:

• 📥 Install cpolar: Follow the official guide to install the cpolar intranet penetration tool.
• 🔗 Create a tunnel: Create a tunnel in cpolar pointing to your local AFFiNE port.
• 🌐 Configure a fixed domain: If needed, configure a fixed secondary subdomain for long-term access.
• 👥 Share access: Share the generated public URL with your team members.

💫 Conclusion

AFFiNE — an open-source knowledge base that fuses document editing, whiteboard drawing, and database functionality — offers an attractive choice for users pursuing data privacy and workflow integration. Its local-first architecture, open-source transparency, and dual-mode editing experience make it stand out among knowledge management tools.

Whether you're an individual looking for a Notion and Miro replacement, or a team in need of a secure, reliable collaboration platform, AFFiNE is well worth a try. As the project continues to evolve and the community keeps contributing, AFFiNE is poised to become a significant player in the knowledge management space.

Try AFFiNE — rethink the future of knowledge management and experience the seamless fusion of planning, organizing, and creating.

Note: This is the English translation of the original Chinese version.