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Comparison · Collab

CommaFeed vs SiYuan

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

CommaFeed vs SiYuan: at a glance

FeatureCommaFeedSiYuan
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesrss-reader, self-hosted, security-hardening, access-controlnote-taking, knowledge base, ai agent, databases
Last editorial update2mo ago23h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is CommaFeed?

CommaFeed's security pass turns inward, from hostile feeds to hostile users

CommaFeed's 7.x line has become a sustained security pass, shipped one fix per patch release. The newest, 7.3.2, closes a cross-user data exposure: users could star or tag entries that were not theirs and then read them, filed as GHSA-prfv-88mm-5gpg. Behind it sit Host header injection on the password recovery endpoint with a new commafeed.password-recovery-public-base-url setting, local address blocking made secure by default alongside Google Reader API support in 7.3.0, and javascript: URL filtering moved to parse time.

Read the full CommaFeed trajectory →

What is SiYuan?

SiYuan 3.8.9 reaches RC, adding AI-agent extraction of images embedded in PDFs.

SiYuan moved 3.8.9 from beta.6 to rc.1 on Oct 28. The RC's only new item is AI-agent extraction of images embedded in PDFs; the rest of its long list matches beta.5's cumulative notes: pinned agent sessions, backlink filtering by database fields, block-reference collection through database automation, resizable table rows, mind-map themes and node copy/paste, TIFF previews and macOS proxy detection.

Read the full SiYuan trajectory →

CommaFeed vs SiYuan: editorial side-by-side

C
CommaFeed
COLLAB
5.0

CommaFeed's security pass turns inward, from hostile feeds to hostile users

◆ Current state

CommaFeed's 7.x line has become a sustained security pass, shipped one fix per patch release. The newest, 7.3.2, closes a cross-user data exposure: users could star or tag entries that were not theirs and then read them, filed as GHSA-prfv-88mm-5gpg. Behind it sit Host header injection on the password recovery endpoint with a new commafeed.password-recovery-public-base-url setting, local address blocking made secure by default alongside Google Reader API support in 7.3.0, and javascript: URL filtering moved to parse time.

◆ Where it's heading

The earlier fixes in this run all closed paths where something from outside the instance was trusted too far — feed URLs reaching internal addresses, proxied images, javascript: links, a request header shaping an outbound email. 7.3.2 is a different shape: nothing external is involved, the attacker is a legitimate signed-in user, and the flaw is an ownership check missing on a write path that then leaks through a read path. That is the class of bug you find once you start auditing multi-tenancy rather than input handling, and it suggests the review has moved past the perimeter into the authorization model that the 7.0.0 multi-user rework put in place.

◆ Prediction

If the audit is now working through ownership checks rather than input validation, the other per-user write paths — subscription and category mutations, saved searches — are the likely next findings. The pattern of shipping each fix as its own patch release with a GHSA reference should continue rather than batching them.

S
SiYuan
COLLAB
5.0

SiYuan 3.8.9 reaches RC, adding AI-agent extraction of images embedded in PDFs.

◆ Current state

SiYuan moved 3.8.9 from beta.6 to rc.1 on Oct 28. The RC's only new item is AI-agent extraction of images embedded in PDFs; the rest of its long list matches beta.5's cumulative notes: pinned agent sessions, backlink filtering by database fields, block-reference collection through database automation, resizable table rows, mind-map themes and node copy/paste, TIFF previews and macOS proxy detection.

◆ Where it's heading

The 3.8.x line keeps turning databases and mind maps into structured tools that act on the block graph, and the built-in agent is gaining reach into document content such as PDFs. The release cadence is fast and noisy, with most builds repeating the same cumulative notes.

◆ Prediction

A stable 3.8.9 is likely within days, with little added beyond fixes now that it has reached RC.

Alternatives to CommaFeed 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 CommaFeed or SiYuan.

See all CommaFeed alternatives → · See all SiYuan alternatives →

Recent activity from CommaFeed and SiYuan

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

  1. 1d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 RC1: AI agent extracts images from PDFs
  2. 1d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 6 (same notes as beta 5)
  3. 1d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 5: full notes incl. pinned agent sessions
  4. 2d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 4 improves LaTeX paste and import
  5. 2d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 3 (same notes as beta 1)
  6. 2d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 2 (same notes as beta 1)
  7. 2mo agoCommaFeedCross-user entry disclosure via starring and tagging closed
  8. 2mo agoCommaFeedHost header injection closed on the password recovery endpoint
  9. 2mo agoCommaFeedGoogle Reader API support and secure-by-default local address blocking
  10. 2mo agoCommaFeedjavascript: URLs now filtered at parse time, not just in the renderer
  11. 3mo agoCommaFeedFeed-declared icons, starred-entry search, and image-proxy SSRF fix
  12. 6mo agoCommaFeedMobile unread count in the header plus a graceful refresh shutdown

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between CommaFeed and SiYuan?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. CommaFeed and SiYuan are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is CommaFeed better than SiYuan?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. CommaFeed and SiYuan are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to CommaFeed?

Top CommaFeed alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "CommaFeed alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/commafeed 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.