What is AFFiNE?
AFFiNE is an open-source AI workspace that combines documents, whiteboards, and databases in one local-first environment. Teams use it as a knowledge base software to capture, connect, and retrieve information across projects without losing context. It was built as a practical answer for teams looking at Notion alternatives that also handle visual thinking, not just text. For individuals and collaborative teams who need privacy-first control over their data, this AI workspace fills a real gap.
AFFiNE Video
Features & Benefits
- AI Copilot: Generate mind maps, diagrams, summaries, and presentations directly inside your docs and whiteboards using natural-language prompts.
- Infinite Whiteboard (Edgeless Mode): Switch from a structured document to a free-form canvas where you can drag blocks, draw connections, add sticky notes, and build complex diagrams. Teams evaluating a Miro alternative will find comparable visual flexibility here.
- Document Editor (Page Mode): Write and organize structured content with full support for blocks, templates, and embedded databases, making it practical knowledge base software for teams of any size.
- Database and Kanban View: Manage tasks and project status in a Kanban board that stays live-synced with your whiteboard, so moving a sticky note updates your project everywhere.
- Calendar View: Visualize database entries by date to track deadlines and scheduled items across your AI workspace projects.
- Photo-to-Editable Blocks: Upload a photo of a physical whiteboard and convert it into editable digital blocks inside your workspace.
- Presentation Generation: Turn existing content into slides or mind maps and insert them directly into page mode.
- Frames and Slide Export: Group related whiteboard elements inside a frame, then export them as images or presentation slides.
- BYOK (Bring Your Own Key): Connect your own AI API key to power AI features with your preferred provider.
- AI Workspace-Wide Doc Search: Search across all documents in your knowledge base with a single prompt.
- Local-First Storage: Keep your data stored on your own device by default, with optional sync for collaboration.
What can AFFiNE do?
- Generate mind maps from text prompts
- Convert whiteboard photos to editable notes
- Summarize brainstorming sticky notes
- Create presentation slides from documents
- Build Kanban boards for project tracking
- Search documents across a workspace
- Draw workflow diagrams from prompts
- Organize a team knowledge base
- Switch between document and whiteboard view
- Export whiteboard frames as images
Real-World Applications
Product managers often juggle meeting notes, roadmaps, and status boards across tools that never talk to each other. In AFFiNE, a manager can write a product brief in Page Mode, switch to the whiteboard to map dependencies visually, and track feature status in a live Kanban board, all within one connected AI workspace. Moving a task card updates the project view everywhere, so nothing falls out of sync.
For growing companies that need reliable knowledge base software, AFFiNE offers a local-first alternative to cloud-only tools. Every document, diagram, and database lives together in one environment. Workspace-wide AI search means anyone on the team can find a decision, a draft, or a diagram from months ago in seconds. That kind of retrieval speed matters when institutional knowledge is spread across dozens of projects.
What happens when a researcher accumulates hundreds of scattered notes with no clear way to connect them? The AI copilot in AFFiNE can turn a single topic prompt into a structured mind map in seconds. Workspace-wide doc search then pulls relevant material across every document. That combination cuts the time between raw research and a draft worth sharing.
Small teams that care about data privacy may find the local-first architecture worth paying attention to. AFFiNE stores data on the user’s own device by default, with sync available when collaboration is needed. Teams shopping for Notion alternatives with stronger data ownership will find this model meaningfully different from cloud-only options. For environments handling sensitive client information or strict data requirements, that control matters.
