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Trilium
A note-taking and knowledge base application designed to help individuals and teams organize information hierarchically, annotate it, and sync it across devices via a self-hosted server. It emphasizes a flexible data model that supports text, code, tables, images, diagrams, and structured representations like boards, mind maps, and maps, within a single, navigable workspace.
Notes can be nested to any depth, and a single note can appear in multiple places within the hierarchy through cloning. The editor supports rich content... tables, images, mathematical expressions, and code blocks with syntax highlighting. Notes can be tagged with attributes and linked through relationships, which enables querying and organized knowledge networks. One feature is its built-in synchronization mechanism, allowing notes to be stored on a self-hosted server, enabling access from multiple devices and facilitating collaboration in a privacy-conscious environment. Beyond plain notes, it provides representations such as Kanban boards, mind maps, calendars, geospatial maps, and Mermaid diagrams, helping SMEs to model projects, workflows, and processes visually alongside textual content. This representation is done by a REST API for automation, a scripting layer for extensions, and a canvas tool for diagramming with Excalidraw-like capabilities.
Uniqueness
The concept of notes acting as both files and folders, which means any note can hold sub-notes while also containing its own information. This differs from traditional file systems where a folder cannot contain text on its own. Such a design supports dynamic and nested organizational structures without artificial constraints. The application supports note cloning, a feature allowing a single note to appear under multiple parents, effectively letting the same content be reused in different contexts without duplication. Trilium also implements automatic versioning, capturing changes to notes over time, which aids in tracking history and reverting edits if necessary. This combination of hierarchical structuring, cloning, and revisions offers tools for knowledge organization and management.
Visualizations
Trilium does more than simple note-taking it supports diverse content formats. Its editor handles rich text, including tables and images, and supports syntax highlighting for source code, useful for technical documentation. Users can also embed diagrams and drawings via built-in canvas notes powered by Excalidraw, as well as create flowcharts and sequence diagrams using Mermaid syntax. The application offers mind maps, Kanban boards, calendars, and geospatial maps as note types too. This wide is cool for capturing conceptual ideas visually as well as textual data. SMEs especially benefit from this as it allows them to maintain everything from project plans and workflows to product documentation, all within one integrated platform.
Benefits for Small and Medium Enterprises
For SMEs, it offers significant advantages. By self-hosting their knowledge base server, enterprises maintain full control over data privacy and compliance, which is something to think about these days. The synchronization mechanism enables teams to collaborate on notes and documentation across locations without relying on third-party cloud providers. The hierarchical and relational organization capabilities facilitate the structured storage of company knowledge such as policies, standard operating procedures, product specifications, support manuals, and training materials. The ability to link notes contextually reduces silos and improves information retrieval efficiency. Built-in automation through scripting and a REST API helps SMEs streamline routine document updates and integrations with other enterprise systems, reducing administrative overhead and better consistency.
Licensing and Cost Implications
Trilium Notes is distributed as free and open-source software under AGPLs licenses. This stipulation allows SMEs to use, modify, and redistribute the software without incurring license fees, which is good for organizations with tight budgets or those wishing to avoid vendor lock-in. While the software itself is free, companies should consider hosting expenses, such as server infrastructure and maintenance costs. The open-source model benefits from community-driven enhancements and transparency, building trust and adaptability. SMEs can choose between managing their own deployment or using managed service providers, depending on internal IT capabilities and resource availability.
It is a good tool and a great alternative to things like obsidian https://triliumnotes.org/