Docs

What is Docs?

Docs is an open source, web-native document editor built for real-time collaboration. You write in a block-based canvas with slash commands, tables, and columns, organize pages into nested sub-documents, and edit alongside teammates with live cursors and presence — while keeping every document on infrastructure you own.

What is Docs best for?

Teams and public institutions that want Notion- or Google Docs-style collaborative writing without sending their documents to a third-party cloud. It fits organizations with strict data-sovereignty or privacy requirements, and anyone who wants a clean, structured knowledge base they fully control.

What can Docs do?

• Real-time co-editing with live cursors, presence indicators, and conflict-free merging (built on Yjs and ProseMirror)
• Block-based editing with slash commands, tables, columns, and collapsible sections, plus Markdown support
• Nested sub-documents and hierarchies for building a searchable team knowledge base
• Granular access controls for view, comment, or edit permissions
• Version history where every save is a restorable checkpoint
• Import and export across .docx, .md, .odt, and .pdf
• Offline editing that syncs when you reconnect
• A slide/presentation mode with full-screen and keyboard navigation
• Optional AI assistants (summarize, rewrite, translate, fix typos) using an LLM provider you choose

Where does Docs fall short?

Docs is a focused document editor, not an all-in-one workspace — it has no databases, kanban boards, or embedded apps like Notion or Coda, so if you rely on structured tables-as-apps it won’t replace them. There is no official managed cloud, so you either self-host or use a community-run public instance. And the MIT license comes with a catch: some advanced features (including PDF export) depend on GPL-licensed BlockNote packages, so a strictly MIT build requires the PUBLISH_AS_MIT=true flag and drops those features.

Is Docs free?

Yes — Docs is fully free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid tier or per-seat pricing. You self-host it (Docker Compose or Kubernetes, with community Nix and YunoHost options) or use a community-maintained public instance. There is no vendor-run commercial cloud, so the only cost is the infrastructure you run it on.

What does Docs replace?

Docs stands in as an open source alternative to Notion, Google Docs, Confluence, and Coda for collaborative writing and team documentation. It overlaps most directly with Google Docs on real-time editing and with Notion on structured, nested pages. If you want a self-hosted team wiki specifically, Docmost is a closely related roster tool, and Etherpad covers lightweight real-time collaborative editing.

FAQ

Is Docs open source? Yes. Docs is released under the permissive MIT license and developed in the open on GitHub by France’s DINUM and Germany’s ZenDiS, alongside community contributors. It is recognized as a Verified Digital Public Good.

Can I self-host Docs for free? Yes. Self-hosting is the primary deployment model and there is no license fee. You run it with Docker Compose or Kubernetes; Nix and YunoHost are community-supported. You only pay for your own servers.

Is Docs a good Notion alternative? For collaborative documents and nested knowledge pages, yes — it matches Notion’s block editor and sub-document structure while keeping your data self-hosted. It is not a full Notion replacement if you depend on Notion’s databases, boards, or app-like tables.

What do I need to run Docs? A server with Docker and Docker Compose for smaller setups, or Kubernetes for production. The stack is a Django REST backend with a Next.js/React frontend and Yjs-based real-time collaboration, so plan for a database and a websocket-capable deployment.