About Blinko
Blinko is a card-style note-taking app with AI features, designed for people who want to capture fleeting ideas the moment they happen. It is self-hosted and puts privacy first, so your notes stay on a server you control. The interface is built with Next.js and React in TypeScript, backed by PostgreSQL.
Its AI-enhanced retrieval uses retrieval-augmented generation, so you can find notes by asking in natural language rather than remembering keywords. Notes use Markdown and the project is tagged for memos and notebooks. A live demo, official site, documentation and English and Chinese Telegram communities are linked from the README.
Blinko is licensed under GPL-3.0 and installed on your own server, typically with Docker. It suits individuals who want a private alternative to cloud note and memo apps and are comfortable connecting their own AI provider.
Key features
- Quick card-style note capture
- AI-powered natural language note search
- Markdown note support
- Self-hosted with privacy focus
- Next.js and PostgreSQL stack
- Live demo available
Good fit for
- →Capturing fleeting thoughts quickly
- →Private memo and note storage with AI search
- Tags
- note-taking
- ai-notes
- self-hosted
- markdown
- rag
- nextjs
- privacy
- memos
Blinko: questions and answers
- What is Blinko used for?
- Blinko is an open-source, self-hosted personal AI note app that lets you capture quick card notes and search them in natural language. It is a good fit for capturing fleeting thoughts quickly, and private memo and note storage with AI search.
- Is Blinko open source?
- Yes. Blinko is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at blinkospace/blinko and is written mainly in TypeScript.
- Is Blinko free?
- Yes. Blinko is open source, so the software itself is free to use. Paid plans are also available, starting at $5.99 per month.
- Can I self-host Blinko?
- Yes. Blinko can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
- What is Blinko an alternative to?
- Blinko is an open-source alternative to Google Keep, Mem, Zoho Notebook and Drafts. Other open-source alternatives to Google Keep include Memos and Flatnotes.
- Is Blinko actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to Blinko was on 27 August 2026, and the latest release is 1.8.8, published on 20 June 2026. The project has 11k stars on GitHub.
Open-source alternatives to Blinko
See all
Memos
Note Taking
Your own timeline for quick notes, private by default.
MITvs Google Keep★ 63k
NoteGen
Note Taking
Capture first. Organize later. A local-first Markdown app that turns scattered records int
GPL-3.0vs Mem★ 13kFlatnotes
Note Taking
A self-hosted, database-less note taking web app that utilises a flat folder of markdown f
MITvs Evernote★ 3.2k
AppFlowy
Note Taking
AppFlowy is the AI collaborative workspace where you achieve more without losing control o
AGPL-3.0vs Notion★ 77k
AFFiNE
Note Taking
There can be more than Notion and Miro. AFFiNE(pronounced [ə‘fain]) is a next-gen knowledg
OSSvs Notion★ 73k
Anytype
Note Taking
Official Anytype client for MacOS, Linux, and Windows
OSSvs Notion★ 8.9k
SaaS alternatives to Blinko
See all
Google Keep
Note Taking
Lightweight notes, checklists and reminders synced with Google accounts
SaaS
Mem
Note Taking
AI-assisted note app that organizes and surfaces notes automatically
SaaS
Zoho Notebook
Note Taking
Notebook app with note cards, voice notes and document scanning
SaaS
Drafts
Note Taking
Quick-capture text app for Apple devices with actions to send notes elsewhere
SaaS
Supernotes
Note Taking
Card-based note app with real-time collaboration
SaaS
mymind
Note Taking
Private space for saving notes, images and web pages with automatic tagging
SaaS

