| note.md | Roam Research | |
|---|---|---|
| Where your notes live | Plain markdown files on your disk | Proprietary graph database in the cloud |
| Price | Free, open source | From $15/month |
| Daily notes & outlines | Yes — .note.md outline files | Yes — where the pattern was born |
| [[Wikilinks]] & backlinks | Yes, one namespace across the vault | Yes, plus block references and queries |
| Block-level citations | Yes — ((file#b-xxxxxx)), edit-resilient | Yes — block refs, deeper (embeds, queries) |
| AI agents | First-class: plain files + AGENTS.md, agents read your annotations | Requires an integration, export, or CLI bridge for file-based agents |
| Reading & annotating AI documents | Core workflow — sidecar .note.md | Not a focus |
| Offline / longevity | Files readable in any editor, forever | Export required; app needed to read the graph |
The honest take
Roam invented the daily-notes-plus-backlinks way of thinking in 2020, and credit where due: if you use block references, embeds, and datalog queries heavily, Roam still goes deeper than note.md does. Nothing here pretends otherwise.
Roam keeps the live graph in its service; note.md keeps the primary material as ordinary files. That difference matters when agents need direct filesystem access, when you want Git history, or when you need the archive to remain readable without the original app. Roam provides export and a desktop CLI bridge; note.md can use both without asking you to abandon Roam.
note.md keeps what made Roam great — the outline editor, daily notes, one big [[namespace]], instant search — and rebuilds it on files. Your vault opens in any editor today and in fifty years. And it adds the thing Roam never had: your agents as first-class citizens, reading your annotations before they write another word.
Syncing from Roam
The shipped Roam Research Sync plugin has three paths. A whole-graph JSON export creates wikipage/ outline notes and dailynote/yyyy/yyyy-MM-dd.note.md daily notes, rewriting date links such as [[July 10th, 2026]] to [[2026-07-10]]. Daily and incremental CLI sync use Roam's desktop app and roam CLI to merge later changes while preserving local blocks. You can keep using Roam while selected knowledge becomes agent-searchable local context.
Choose one
- Stay with Roam if block references, embeds, and queries are load-bearing in your workflow, and a hosted graph fits your needs.
- Choose note.md if you want Roam's writing feel on files you own, your notes to double as agent memory, and reading AI output to be a first-class act.
FAQ
Can I import my Roam Research graph into note.md?
Yes — export your graph as JSON from Roam, and convert pages to wiki notes and daily notes to dated outline files. Date links are rewritten to the canonical [[yyyy-MM-dd]] form and broken links are reported.
Does note.md have block references like Roam?
note.md has stable block IDs: every top-level block gets a b-xxxxxx id you can cite from anywhere as ((file#b-xxxxxx)). It covers citation and navigation; Roam-style transclusion/embeds are not a goal.
Is note.md free?
Yes. note.md is free and open source (Apache-2.0). Roam Research starts at $15/month.