Org-roam- Knowledge ManagementKnowledge Management

Name: Org-roam
Rating: 4.8 (6000 reviews)

Ready to try Org-roam?

About

Org-roam brings Roam-style backlinks and a note graph to Emacs and Org Mode: a fully offline, plain-text second brain you control completely.

Licensed under the GPL-3.0-or-later license and was created by Jethro Kuan in 2020. Org-roam builds on the mature Emacs and Org-mode ecosystem to give you Roam-like functionality: every note is a plain-text .org file you own, with backlinks updating automatically as you write. Graph visualization reveals surprising, previously unseen connections between notes. Tagging, daily notes, templates, and fast search (via SQLite cache). Fully offline and private by default — encrypt notes with GPG if you want. Because notes are plain text, your knowledge stays portable forever. Leverages the full Emacs editing powerhouse: Org-mode outlines, TODOs, export to HTML/LaTeX/PDF, and the immense package ecosystem. The active community maintains documentation, forums on Discourse, and a Slack channel. Extensible via ecosystem packages like org-roam-ui, org-roam-bibtex, and org-roam-ql. The definitive choice for plain-text PKM inside Emacs.

Who Is Org-roam Best For?

Org-roam is particularly well-suited for:

Zettelkasten

Research Notes

Plain Text Notes

Second Brain

Daily Notes

View all Knowledge Management apps

Credibility of This Listing

We show what we know, where it comes from, and what is still incomplete.

Review Coverage

4.8/5

Aggregated score built from 1 public review source.

NoteFinderz Research

Pending

NoteFinderz research date not yet recorded.

Product Freshness

Unknown

Product update date not yet recorded.

Descriptions, use cases, pros, and limitations are written and curated by NoteFinderz. Ratings and review volume are aggregated from public signals when they exist.

Visible Review Sources

6,000 aggregated reviews

GitHub Stars

6,000 reviews

4.8/5

View source

Features

Offline Mode

Ratings & Reviews

4.8

(6,000 reviews)

Aggregated from 1 sources

GitHub Stars

4.8

(6,000)

Pricing

Free

Free Tier Available

Project Health

Status

Active

Publisher & Origin

Developer

Org-roam community

Source Model

Open source

License

GPL-3.0-or-later

Country of Origin

Global

Origin Type

Open-source community

Pros

✓Own your notes as plain text

✓Automatic backlinks and graph view

✓Fully offline and private

✓Runs inside Emacs/Org Mode

✓Free and open source

✓Portable, future-proof format

Cons

⚠Requires Emacs and Org Mode

⚠Steep learning curve

⚠Setup and configuration needed

⚠Not a standalone app

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Org-roam free to use?

Yes, Org-roam offers a free tier that you can use without payment. Completely free and open source

What platforms does Org-roam support?

Org-roam is available on macOS, Windows, Linux. Download the app for your preferred platform to get started.

Is Org-roam open source?

Yes, Org-roam is open source. You can view the source code and contribute on GitHub at https://github.com/org-roam/org-roam.

Does Org-roam work offline?

Yes, Org-roam supports offline mode. You can access and edit your notes without an internet connection, and changes will sync when you're back online.

Is Org-roam secure?

Yes, Org-roam uses end-to-end encryption to protect your notes. This means your data is encrypted before it leaves your device, and only you can access it.