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Comparison · Collab
Docspell vs SiYuan
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Docspell and SiYuan — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Docspell vs SiYuan: at a glance
What is Docspell?
Docspell's tagged releases stopped in 2025; the upload API only moves on the nightly.
No numbered release has landed since 0.43.0, which was itself a fixes-and-dependencies close-out. Work continues on the rolling nightly tag, where the current build adds optional priority to upload metadata, returns file keys and job ids from the upload API, and exposes a secured endpoint to fetch a file by key. That is real API surface, but it reaches only users willing to run nightly builds.
What is SiYuan?
SiYuan's 3.8.8 alphas keep layering database automation and editor polish on Gemini support.
SiYuan cycled 3.8.7 through four beta respins, then opened 3.8.8 with a long alpha.1: Gemini Interactions API support, automation that collects blocks into databases, tab-to-mind-map conversion, compact desktop mode and many editor refinements. Alpha.2 upgraded Electron and fixed Linux OCR and proxy detection, and alpha.3 added template-based field assignments in database automations and configurable embedding batching. Alpha.4 adds block indicator hierarchy, closer mobile table parity and multiple mind-map connector styles.
Docspell vs SiYuan: editorial side-by-side
Docspell
2.5COLLAB
Docspell's tagged releases stopped in 2025; the upload API only moves on the nightly.
◆ Current state
No numbered release has landed since 0.43.0, which was itself a fixes-and-dependencies close-out. Work continues on the rolling nightly tag, where the current build adds optional priority to upload metadata, returns file keys and job ids from the upload API, and exposes a secured endpoint to fetch a file by key. That is real API surface, but it reaches only users willing to run nightly builds.
◆ Where it's heading
The project is drifting toward nightly-only distribution: contributors keep landing work, maintainers keep not cutting tags. The newest additions cluster on programmatic ingestion — a caller submitting a document, then retrieving it by key — which points at Docspell being shaped as a component other systems feed rather than a standalone archive.
◆ Prediction
The upload-API work in #3338 is the most likely core of a next tagged release if one is cut. Whether the tagged line resumes at all is not readable from these notes.
SiYuan
6.3COLLAB
SiYuan's 3.8.8 alphas keep layering database automation and editor polish on Gemini support.
◆ Current state
SiYuan cycled 3.8.7 through four beta respins, then opened 3.8.8 with a long alpha.1: Gemini Interactions API support, automation that collects blocks into databases, tab-to-mind-map conversion, compact desktop mode and many editor refinements. Alpha.2 upgraded Electron and fixed Linux OCR and proxy detection, and alpha.3 added template-based field assignments in database automations and configurable embedding batching. Alpha.4 adds block indicator hierarchy, closer mobile table parity and multiple mind-map connector styles.
◆ Where it's heading
AI is moving from a side panel into the workspace's own controls, and model choice is widening beyond ChatGPT to Gemini. Databases keep gaining structure and automation, while editor polish arrives in large cumulative batches. Four alphas in three days with mostly cumulative notes suggest 3.8.8 is being stabilised in public.
◆ Prediction
Expect further 3.8.8 alphas with small editor and mobile additions, then a beta; the entries don't show whether 3.8.7 gets a stable tag first.
Alternatives to Docspell and SiYuan
Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Docspell or SiYuan.
Hive
Hive makes its AI proofer a named approver and lets workflow buttons open prefilled Forms.
Teable
Teable ships an official MCP server, letting coding agents work its tables via OAuth.
Wiki.js
Wiki.js 3 beta.672 adds inline math and personal access tokens, and raises the floor to Postgres 17.
Wiki.js
Wiki.js 3.0 beta adds math, personal access tokens and nav automations; Postgres 17 now required.
Skedda
Skedda Companion can now be pushed to every laptop through MDM for full presence data.
See all Docspell alternatives → · See all SiYuan alternatives →
Recent activity from Docspell and SiYuan
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4h agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.8 alpha.4 adds mind-map connectors, mobile table parity
- 1d agoSiYuan3.8.8 alpha.3 adds automation field templates and embedding tuning
- 1d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.8 alpha.2 moves to Electron 44.8, fixes Linux OCR
- 2d agoSiYuan3.8.8 alpha.1 adds Gemini support and database automation
- 4d agoSiYuanv3.8.7-beta.4
- 5d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.7 beta 3 respins beta 2 with identical notes
- 1mo agoDocspellNightly adds upload priority and a file-key download endpoint
- 1y agoDocspell0.43.0 closes the tagged history with fixes and maintenance
- 2y agoDocspell0.42.0 hardens the Nix module and adds vertical Japanese OCR
- 2y agoDocspell0.41.0 swaps the HTTP stack from blaze to ember
- 3y agoDocspell0.40.0 gathers fixes, a Nix flake, and Ukrainian support
- 3y agoDocspell0.39.0 lets OIDC and local accounts share an identity
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Docspell and SiYuan?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SiYuan is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Docspell better than SiYuan?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SiYuan is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Docspell?
Top Docspell alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Docspell alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/docspell for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to SiYuan?
Top SiYuan alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SiYuan alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siyuan for the full list with editorial commentary on each.