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Comparison · Collab

AFFiNE vs Shiori

A side-by-side editorial comparison of AFFiNE and Shiori — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

AFFiNE vs Shiori: at a glance

FeatureAFFiNEShiori
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score6.30.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesself-hosting, canary builds, byok, mcpbookmarks, self-hosted, api-first, golang
Last editorial update4d ago14d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is AFFiNE?

The nightly canary keeps shipping, and self-hosting just got a one-click path.

AFFiNE publishes a dated canary build most days alongside a slower beta line, and the two carry the same commits at different points on the maturity curve. The recent stream is maintenance-shaped: dependency security bumps in Mermaid and Electron, a journal lookup fix for trashed docs, retry handling for failed transcription jobs. The last directional move was workspace BYOK profiles with model catalogs and key rotation in early August, which sits on top of the MCP credential work from July.

Read the full AFFiNE trajectory →

What is Shiori?

A Go bookmark manager rebuilding itself around an API — and only ever shipping release candidates.

Shiori is a self-hosted read-later and bookmark tool whose recent history is entirely release candidates: v1.7.0-rc.2, rc.3, v1.7.2-rc.1, v1.8.0-rc.1. The visible work has moved off the web UI and into an API v1 surface — tag endpoints, bookmark-tag association, filtering and counts — plus infrastructure like proxy-header authentication and SQLite performance. The last tagged release in this window is from July 2025.

Read the full Shiori trajectory →

AFFiNE vs Shiori: editorial side-by-side

A
AFFiNE
COLLAB
6.3

The nightly canary keeps shipping, and self-hosting just got a one-click path.

◆ Current state

AFFiNE publishes a dated canary build most days alongside a slower beta line, and the two carry the same commits at different points on the maturity curve. The recent stream is maintenance-shaped: dependency security bumps in Mermaid and Electron, a journal lookup fix for trashed docs, retry handling for failed transcription jobs. The last directional move was workspace BYOK profiles with model catalogs and key rotation in early August, which sits on top of the MCP credential work from July.

◆ Where it's heading

Two threads run in parallel. The AI thread is about who supplies and controls the model - BYOK profiles, MCP credentials, access modes - rather than adding model features. The other thread is self-host ergonomics, and the Render blueprint is the clearest recent instance: AFFiNE keeps lowering the cost of running your own instance while keeping the AI layer pluggable. Between those, the canary absorbs a steady flow of upstream security patches with little product change attached.

◆ Prediction

Expect the self-host track to keep collecting deploy targets and the BYOK work to extend to more provider surfaces; on current cadence the next 0.27 beta will consolidate the canary work rather than introduce anything new.

S
Shiori
COLLAB
0.0

A Go bookmark manager rebuilding itself around an API — and only ever shipping release candidates.

◆ Current state

Shiori is a self-hosted read-later and bookmark tool whose recent history is entirely release candidates: v1.7.0-rc.2, rc.3, v1.7.2-rc.1, v1.8.0-rc.1. The visible work has moved off the web UI and into an API v1 surface — tag endpoints, bookmark-tag association, filtering and counts — plus infrastructure like proxy-header authentication and SQLite performance. The last tagged release in this window is from July 2025.

◆ Where it's heading

The project is converting from a web app with an API bolted on into an API-first service with a client, and the login component, PWA and theme work are being rewritten around that split. Proxy forward-header authentication in particular is a deployment-shape decision: it assumes Shiori sits behind an authenticating reverse proxy rather than owning identity itself. The RC-only tagging pattern makes it hard to tell what the maintainers consider stable.

◆ Prediction

The next step is presumably a final v1.8.0 consolidating the API v1 tag work, though nothing in these entries indicates the RC-to-stable promotion is scheduled. If the pattern holds, the following RC continues on API endpoints rather than the UI.

Alternatives to AFFiNE and Shiori

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 AFFiNE or Shiori.

See all AFFiNE alternatives → · See all Shiori alternatives →

Recent activity from AFFiNE and Shiori

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 5d agoAFFiNEOne-click self-host deploy via Render blueprint
  2. 6d agoAFFiNEFailed transcription jobs can be retried without being recreated
  3. 8d agoAFFiNETrashed journals no longer surface in date lookups
  4. 9d agoAFFiNEMermaid 11.16.1 patches an XY-chart denial-of-service flaw
  5. 10d agoAFFiNEElectron 39.8.10 fixes a spoofable code-sign check
  6. 13d agoAFFiNEAtlaskit drag-and-drop auto-scroll upgraded to v3
  7. 1y agoShioriAPI v1 gains tag endpoints, filtering and counts; proxy header auth
  8. 1y agoShioriSwagger UI disabled by default; session auth and Postgres fixes
  9. 2y agoShioriLight, dark and system theme selection in the web UI
  10. 2y agoShioriHome button clears the active search query

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between AFFiNE and Shiori?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. AFFiNE 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 AFFiNE better than Shiori?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. AFFiNE 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 AFFiNE?

Top AFFiNE alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "AFFiNE alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/affine for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Shiori?

Top Shiori alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Shiori alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/shiori for the full list with editorial commentary on each.