I recently explored alternatives to Notion with a clear set of requirements in mind: an open-source solution, self-hostable, with structured data capabilities comparable to Notion tables, and native integration with n8n. In parallel, I was also looking for a reliable personal knowledge management system to support a “second brain” approach.
I deployed it on a VPS using Coolify, and the setup process was straightforward. Within about 15 minutes, the application was up and running, without any specific prerequisites. The interface is clean and easy to navigate, making it accessible from the start.
One notable feature is its search capability, which supports a SQL-like syntax. This allows for advanced querying directly within personal content, which can be particularly useful when managing large knowledge bases.
A key requirement for me was integration with n8n to enable automation workflows. This included migrating content from Notion, injecting both structured & unstructured, and nested documentation, and interacting with data in a way similar to database operations such as reading, writing, and filtering with logical conditions.
The Siyuan team has been responsive in supporting these use cases and provided an updated version of their n8n node. The integration works reliably and enables a range of automation scenarios.
Overall, I position Siyuan as a hybrid between tools like Obsidian and Notion, combining flexible note-taking with structured data capabilities. For those exploring self-hosted knowledge management solutions with automation potential, it is a tool worth evaluating.
The SQL-like querying in Siyuan is what makes it stand out for automation - being able to filter content programmatically without pulling everything into n8n first is a big deal for large knowledge bases. The “hybrid between Obsidian and Notion” framing is accurate. Curious whether you’ve tested it with any AI summarization or RAG-style retrieval workflows on top of the stored notes?
You may remember this Hostinger workflow , where you can capture CPU, RAM & disk info via the SSH node, storing the results in Notion.
I’ve customized this workflow by migrating from Notion to a self-hosted version of Siyuan, storing all SSH commands in a Siyuan table and adapting the workflow to execute each command inside a ‘Loop’.
This way, additional commands can be triggered on demand, and the table used to store results can be easily extended. The Notion node has been replaced by the Siyuan node, with both parameters and results now fully managed in Siyuan tables, running alongside a self-hosted instance of n8n on the same Hostinger VPS.
What makes this migration even smoother is the database capability introduced in version 2 of the Siyuan node. You can now easily select, read, write and search records directly from your n8n workflow, making Siyuan a genuine data layer, not just a note-taking tool. This opens the door to more dynamic and data-driven automations, where your self-hosted knowledge base becomes a fully operational backend for your workflows. Some pictures here.
The database capability in Siyuan v2 is a significant upgrade for this kind of use case - treating it as a proper data layer rather than just a note store changes the whole architecture. Running n8n and Siyuan on the same Hostinger VPS also keeps latency very low for the SSH commands. Thanks for sharing the updated workflow.