Papyra

A self-hosted, Google Keep-style notes app where every note is a plain Markdown file on your disk. Live collaboration, passkeys, encrypted locked notes, full-text search and one-container Docker setup. Crafted with 💗 for people who want their notes without lock-in.

The desk: notes as pinned and coloured cards in a paper-like grid.

Cost / License

Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)

Application type

Note-taking Tool

Origin

India

Since

Updated

Updated Oct 2026

Platforms

Self-Hosted
Docker

Full-text search across notes, to-dos and collections, with matches highlighted.

Two people editing the same note live, with named cursors and presence.

The daily journal: one page a day, with a calendar, moods and a streak.

Papyra alternatives

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Properties

Lightweight
Privacy focused
Distraction-free

Features

Support for @mentions
WYSIWYG Support
Ad-free
Automatic Backup
Full-Text Search
Syntax Highlighting
Works Offline
Cloud Sync
Two-factor Authentication
Dark Mode
No Tracking
Subtasks
Support for MarkDown
Encrypted Backup
Docker Container

Papyra information

Developed by
lyfie
Licensing
Open Source (GPL-3.0) and Free product.
Written in
C#
Alternatives
51 alternatives listed
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Supported Languages
- English

AlternativeTo Categories

Office & Productivity, Backup & Sync, Development, Social & Communications, Security & Privacy

GitHub repository

75 Stars
4 Forks
0 Open Issues
Updated Oct 30, 2026

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Papyra was added to AlternativeTo by Lyfie-Org on Oct 30, 2026 and this page was last updated Oct 30, 2026.

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AppStores & Other Links

What is Papyra?

Papyra is a self-hosted notes app with Keep-style cards. Every note is a plain Markdown file with YAML frontmatter in a folder you own. The database and search index are only caches and can be rebuilt from the files, so if you stop using Papyra you still have a folder of readable .md files.

Features:

Wikilinks and backlinks, tags, collections, to-do lists, full-text search with highlighted matches, and version history
Live collaborative editing on shared notes, with comments and @mentions
Locked notes encrypted at rest, opened with a vault PIN or biometrics
A daily journal page with a calendar, moods and lockable days
Passkeys, authenticator-app 2FA and OIDC single sign-on, with multiple private accounts on one server
REST API with API keys, signed webhooks, SMTP through your own server
Git backup (optionally encrypted) and zip export
Imports Google Keep (Takeout), Obsidian and Day One. Any .md file can be dragged onto the window
Installable PWA that works offline

Runs as a single Docker container with one data volume (amd64 and arm64). Listens on port 8080. The first account you create is the administrator.

Privacy: no analytics, no crash reports, no third-party requests. The server makes one outbound call, a daily check for updates, which I also use as a count of installs. It can be turned off with PAPYRA_UPDATE_CHECK_ENABLED=false.

Free and open source under GPL-3.0.