About SilverBullet
SilverBullet is a personal knowledge base that runs in the browser and is hosted on your own server. Your content is stored as Markdown pages grouped into a Space, which you can open from a page picker as in a classic notes app, or reach through two-way wiki-style links. The project describes itself with a tongue-in-cheek phrase as a notes app on steroids.
What sets it apart is that notes can be programmed. A live-preview editor is paired with an integrated database and query syntax, and a Lua scripting environment called Space Lua lets you extend the system, build custom views and automate tasks. Repository topics highlight knowledge management, personal knowledge management, note taking and end-user programming.
SilverBullet is written in TypeScript and licensed under MIT. Because it is designed for self-hosting and plain Markdown files, it suits individuals and small teams who want a private, hackable wiki and are comfortable with a little scripting. There is no hosted service from the project.
Key features
- Markdown pages with live preview editor
- Bi-directional wiki-style links
- Built-in database and query language
- Space Lua scripting environment
- Page picker for fast navigation
- Self-hosted and browser-based
Good fit for
- →Personal knowledge management
- →Team wikis with custom queries
- →Scripted note workflows
- Built with
- TypeScript
- Tags
- notes
- markdown
- knowledge-base
- wiki
- lua
- self-hosted
- pkm
- programmable
SilverBullet: questions and answers
- What is SilverBullet used for?
- SilverBullet is a self-hosted, browser-based Markdown knowledge base with wiki links, a built-in query language and Lua scripting. It is a good fit for personal knowledge management, team wikis with custom queries and scripted note workflows.
- Is SilverBullet open source?
- Yes. SilverBullet is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at silverbulletmd/silverbullet and is written mainly in TypeScript.
- Is SilverBullet free?
- Yes. SilverBullet is open source, so the software itself is free to use. Paid plans are also available, starting at $2 per month.
- Can I self-host SilverBullet?
- Yes. SilverBullet can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
- What is SilverBullet an alternative to?
- SilverBullet is an open-source alternative to Obsidian, Notion, Reflect and Tana. Other open-source alternatives to Obsidian include Trilium Notes, Logseq and Anytype.
- Is SilverBullet actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to SilverBullet was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 2.11.1, published on 22 September 2026. The project has 6.2k stars on GitHub.
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