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Comparison · Collab
Flame vs SiYuan
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Flame and SiYuan — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Flame vs SiYuan: at a glance
What is Flame?
Self-hosted dashboard that finished its feature arc and stopped shipping in 2023.
Flame is a self-hosted startpage for homelab services — app tiles, bookmarks, weather, and a search bar. The feature set it set out to build was finished across 2021 and 2022: custom app descriptions, Docker secrets support, a secondary search provider, and a custom theme editor. The most recent release in this feed is v2.3.1 from July 2023, and it is entirely bug fixes.
What is SiYuan?
SiYuan is adding mind map block types and calendar scheduling depth as it pushes toward 3.8.6.
SiYuan is a local-first personal knowledge management tool in rapid alpha/beta iteration. The 3.8.6 alpha cycle introduces dedicated mind map and mind map item block types as first-class primitives, expanded calendar views with ISO week numbers and inbox scheduling, JavaScript embed support in image and PDF exports, and workspace storage statistics. The product ships multiple alpha builds per day and is clearly in a feature-accumulation phase before a stable release.
Flame vs SiYuan: editorial side-by-side
Flame
0.0COLLAB
Self-hosted dashboard that finished its feature arc and stopped shipping in 2023.
◆ Current state
Flame is a self-hosted startpage for homelab services — app tiles, bookmarks, weather, and a search bar. The feature set it set out to build was finished across 2021 and 2022: custom app descriptions, Docker secrets support, a secondary search provider, and a custom theme editor. The most recent release in this feed is v2.3.1 from July 2023, and it is entirely bug fixes.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc reads as a project reaching completion rather than one under active development. Later releases shifted from adding capability to correcting the edges of what already existed — search-provider interactions, iOS input rendering, theme editor field sizes, label wording. There has been nothing since.
◆ Prediction
Nothing in these entries suggests further releases; anyone deploying Flame should treat the current version as the final one unless the project resumes.
SiYuan
6.3COLLAB
SiYuan is adding mind map block types and calendar scheduling depth as it pushes toward 3.8.6.
◆ Current state
SiYuan is a local-first personal knowledge management tool in rapid alpha/beta iteration. The 3.8.6 alpha cycle introduces dedicated mind map and mind map item block types as first-class primitives, expanded calendar views with ISO week numbers and inbox scheduling, JavaScript embed support in image and PDF exports, and workspace storage statistics. The product ships multiple alpha builds per day and is clearly in a feature-accumulation phase before a stable release.
◆ Where it's heading
SiYuan continues deepening its block-based model by adding new primitive types — mind maps are the latest addition to a growing set that already includes databases, calendars, and embed blocks. Each new primitive adds interoperability complexity; the concurrent improvements to backlink display, reference sorting, and transitive link traversal suggest an underlying effort to make cross-block navigation coherent as the graph grows. The AI agent is also receiving model integrations (TypeSafe System One for decision modeling).
◆ Prediction
The 3.8.5 and 3.8.6 lines will merge into a stable release soon. The AI agent model integration and decision-model support suggest a near-term push to make the AI layer genuinely useful for structured knowledge work, not just Q&A over notes.
Alternatives to Flame 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 Flame or SiYuan.
Teable
Teable ships connected-app event triggers for automations, deepening its no-code workflow orchestration play.
GitHub
GitHub turns Copilot into an org-wide default, adds memory to agentic security fixes.
Hive
Hive keeps iterating on proofing and dashboard UX — workmanlike improvements, no pivot.
Double
Double shifts AI economics: 93%-cheaper Standard tier and Claude Opus 5 Expert mode
Wiki.js
Wiki.js 3.0 beta ships blog pages, comments, and AsciiDoc — pivoting toward a full content platform
See all Flame alternatives → · See all SiYuan alternatives →
Recent activity from Flame and SiYuan
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoSiYuanAdd mind map blocks, JS embeds in exports, workspace stats
- 1d agoSiYuanAdd JS embed export support and command-panel block insertion
- 2d agoSiYuanReference sorting and embed toolbar refinements
- 2d agoSiYuanCalendar views: schedule undated items, inbox insertion, ISO weeks
- 4d agoSiYuanAI agent gains decision model support; database and spell-check polish
- 4d agoSiYuanBeta stabilization: decision model and database fixes (v3.8.5-beta.4)
- 3y agoFlameBug fixes for local search, iOS input styling, and theme editor
- 4y agoFlameCustom theme editor and secondary search provider
- 4y agoFlameIn-app location detection and tightened file permissions
- 4y agoFlameLocal search covers app descriptions; background task tuning
- 4y agoFlameCustom app descriptions and a cluster deployment fix
- 4y agoFlameDocker secrets support
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Flame and SiYuan?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SiYuan is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), 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 Flame 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 0.0), 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 Flame?
Top Flame alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Flame alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/flame-dashboard 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.