Collaboration & Productivity

SiYuan

Self-hosted personal knowledge workspace with block-level notes, bidirectional links and AI agents.

Official documentation

About SiYuan

SiYuan is an open-source (AGPL-3.0) personal knowledge management system built in Go with SQLite. Unlike cloud-based tools such as Notion or Roam Research, all your notes, attachments and history stay on your own VPS — encrypted at rest, accessible from any device via the web UI or the official desktop and mobile apps.

Every paragraph is a block — you can reference, embed and query any block from anywhere in your workspace. Bidirectional links and the built-in graph view give you a searchable map of how your ideas connect, without locking you into a folder hierarchy.

On a ServOrbit VPS, SiYuan runs in a single Docker container using fewer than 256 MB of RAM and exposes its interface on port 6806 — protected by a generated access code and proxied by nginx over HTTPS once you attach a domain.

What gets installed

Ready when the VPS starts

Compatible OS
Choice of Linux distributions
Application
SiYuan
Tech stack
DockerGoSQLite
Minimum RAM
< 256 MB
Minimum CPU
1 vCPU
Default port
6806
Access
root over SSH

Key features

  • Block-based editor — every paragraph, heading or image is an individually referenceable block.
  • Bidirectional links and graph view — see how your notes connect and navigate the knowledge graph in one click.
  • AI agents — built-in ChatGPT / Ollama / Claude integration for writing assistance and Q&A over your notes.
  • End-to-end encrypted sync — self-host your sync; local data never leaves your machine unencrypted.
  • Official desktop and mobile apps — native apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android.
  • Custom queries and templates — filter, sort and aggregate blocks with a SQL-like query language.

When to use this solution?

Replace Notion with a self-hosted alternative

Keep your project notes, meeting logs and personal wiki on your own VPS. SiYuan's block editor and databases cover the same ground as Notion pages — without the subscription or the data sharing.

Build a developer second brain

Link code snippets, architecture decisions and reading notes with bidirectional links. The graph view surfaces hidden connections between topics; the SQL query language lets you pull every note tagged #architecture into a dashboard.

Research and writing workspace

Use the daily journal for quick captures, embed referenced blocks in long-form drafts, and export finished pieces to Markdown or Word. The AI integration can summarise your notes or draft from a block outline.

Guide

Deploy SiYuan on your VPS

  1. Access SiYuan

    SiYuan does not require a domain name. Open an SSH tunnel from your local machine: ssh -L 6806:127.0.0.1:{{ expose_port }} root@<your-vps-ip> then open http://localhost:6806 in your browser. For permanent access from desktop or mobile apps, attach a domain from your ServOrbit dashboard — nginx proxies to the container over HTTPS — or use the free {app}.{dns_slug}.servorbit-dns.com subdomain included with every VPS.

  2. Enter your access code

    SiYuan is protected by a generated access code displayed in your ServOrbit credential vault. Enter it on the login screen. You can change it later from Settings → Account → Access auth code.

  3. Create your first notebook

    Click the + icon in the left panel to create a notebook. Inside a notebook you can create documents, daily notes or templates. Start typing to create block content — headings, paragraphs, lists, code blocks and tables are all separate, linkable blocks.

  4. Link notes and explore the graph

    Type [[ to insert a block reference to any note in your workspace. Open the graph panel from the left sidebar to visualise all bidirectional links. As your workspace grows, the graph becomes a navigable map of your knowledge.

Frequently asked questions

Questions about SiYuan

← Back to Collaboration & ProductivityAll applications
No. SiYuan runs on port 6806 and works without a domain via SSH tunnel: ssh -L 6806:127.0.0.1:<port> root@<vps-ip> then http://localhost:6806. For permanent HTTPS access from the desktop or mobile apps, attach a domain from your ServOrbit dashboard or use the free {app}.{dns_slug}.servorbit-dns.com subdomain.

Embed the deploy button

Maintaining a project that uses SiYuan? This button lets your readers deploy it on a VPS in one click, without reading Docker documentation.

Deploy SiYuan on ServOrbit
Markdown
[![Deploy SiYuan on ServOrbit](https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg)](https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=siyuan&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=siyuan)
HTML
<a href="https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=siyuan&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=siyuan"><img src="https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg" alt="Deploy SiYuan on ServOrbit" height="40"></a>

The button points to a VPS order with the template preselected. The image is served from servorbit.com — nothing to host on your side.

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Need help?

Browse our help center and FAQ, or reach our team — callback, WhatsApp or email.

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