HedgeDoc is a free, open source Markdown editor where several people write the same note in real time and can present it as slides. It is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and has no paid plan, so you run it on your own server; version 1.12.0 came out in August 2026.
HedgeDoc was formerly CodiMD
HedgeDoc began as CodiMD, the community edition that split from HackMD. The community chose the HedgeDoc name in July 2020 and shipped HedgeDoc 1.7 under it in December 2020.
HackMD continues as a separate hosted product. A rewrite, HedgeDoc 2, is in development with its own documentation; the 1.x line is the current stable release.
Checked October 4, 2026
The bottom line
Free real-time Markdown notes, if you can host them.
7
Our score
7 / 10
Conversion Gems editorial verdict
Free (AGPL-3.0, self-hosted)
Features7/10
7 - real-time editing, slides, diagrams, permissions and revision history; no databases or AI.
Value10/10
10 - free under AGPL-3.0 with no user limits or paid tiers.
Ease of use5/10
5 - editing is easy for Markdown users, but you must install and maintain the server (Node 20.17+).
Ecosystem6/10
6 - many sign-in providers and four database options; few app integrations.
Support5/10
5 - documentation and a community forum; no vendor support.
What it really is
A free, self-hosted web editor for writing Markdown notes and slides together in real time.
Our take
HedgeDoc is a good fit when you want shared notes on your own server and your users are fine with Markdown. It is light, free and actively released, with 1.12.0 out in August 2026. The trade-off is upkeep: no hosted plan and no vendor support, so budget admin time.
Why we rate it
Free, light and actively maintained, with strong sign-in options.
The catch
No hosted plan or vendor support; you maintain the server and Node.js version.
Best for
Shared meeting notes on your own server
Universities and hackerspaces
Markdown slide decks
Not good for
Teams wanting a hosted service with support
Users who prefer a visual word processor
Friction report
Time to value
Docker image or release tarball; try the public demo first.
Scale breakpoint
Large deployments need a proper database and reverse proxy rather than SQLite.
Walled garden
Low: open source, plain Markdown files.
What you need to run HedgeDoc
Item
Requirement
Price
Free, AGPL-3.0
Current version
1.12.0 (21 August 2026)
Runtime
Node.js 20.17 or later
Database
PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB or SQLite
Install options
Docker image or release tarball (prebuilt frontend)
Sign-in
LDAP, SAML, OAuth2, GitHub, GitLab, Keycloak, Nextcloud, Microsoft Entra ID
From HedgeDoc's website, release notes and setup docs, checked 4 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. HedgeDoc is open source under AGPL-3.0 and costs nothing to use. There is no official paid cloud plan, so you host it yourself or use an instance someone else runs (checked 4 October 2026).
A web-based Markdown editor for real-time collaboration. Several people can write the same note at once, add diagrams and math, and present the note as slides.
HedgeDoc was formerly called CodiMD, the community edition that split from HackMD. The community renamed it HedgeDoc in 2020. HackMD continues as a separate hosted product.
Node.js 20 or later (20.17+ from version 1.12.0) and a PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB or SQLite database, or the official Docker image. HedgeDoc says it runs on hardware as small as a Raspberry Pi.
Yes, HedgeDoc runs a public demo at demo.hedgedoc.org.
HedgeDoc alternatives
Other notes and docs tools from our reviews:
AppFlowy: Open source, self-hostable workspace for docs, wikis and databases with AI options.
AFFiNE: Open source knowledge base workspace with a free tier and paid hosted plans.
Nuclino: Hosted team wiki with real-time editing for teams that do not want to run a server.
Zettlr: Free desktop Markdown editor for personal writing and research notes.
