Foam
Foam is a free personal knowledge management system built on Visual Studio Code and GitHub.
What Foam is
Foam is a free personal knowledge management system built on Visual Studio Code and GitHub. It organizes research in standard Markdown files, which users own, and links notes through double-bracket wikilinks with completion and navigation. Backlinks and a graph view help reveal connections across a workspace. Note tools include block anchors, embeds, tags, daily notes, templates, and note properties. The VS Code extension adds wikilink completion and navigation, backlinks, graph visualization, templates, and daily notes. Foam supports offline access, note sharing, and real-time collaboration, and workspaces can be published using services such as GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages, Azure DevOps Wiki, and Vercel. Its CLI searches and manages notes from a terminal, while the `foam mcp` command exposes a workspace to AI agents through MCP. Foam collects anonymous usage data, but says it does not collect note content, file names, or personal information; users can opt out through VS Code telemetry settings. JavaScript templates can escape Foam’s in-process sandbox, so the project advises using them only in trusted workspaces. Obsidian community plugins, Canvas, and Tasks plugin syntax are unsupported.
Good
- Notes are standard Markdown files owned by users.
- Backlinks and graph view show note connections.
- Supports offline access and real-time collaboration.
- Workspaces can be published through several listed services.
- CLI can search and manage notes.
Watch out
- Obsidian community plugins, Canvas, and Tasks syntax are unsupported.
- JavaScript templates can escape the in-process sandbox.
- Foam collects anonymous usage data.
Who it suits
Foam suits people who want to organize connected research notes in Markdown and work with them in Visual Studio Code. It may also fit users who want offline access, collaboration, or publishing options for a workspace.
Verdict
Foam offers a Markdown-based system for linked notes, with VS Code tools, collaboration, and publishing options. Consider its unsupported Obsidian features and template-security warning when deciding whether it fits your workflow.
Plans and prices
From Foam's own pricing page, checked 8 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free and open source · no subscriptions or vendor lock-in |
The facts
Each one read from Foam's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- CLI and MCP
- The Foam CLI can search and manage notes from a terminal, and its `foam mcp` command exposes a workspace to AI agents via MCP.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Data destination
- Foam says telemetry events go to an Azure Application Insights resource owned by the Foam project, and raw event data is not shared.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Foam documents compatibility with Obsidian vaults and says users can open the same Markdown folder in VS Code with Foam installed.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Knowledge graph
- Foam provides backlinks and a graph visualization to explore connections between notes.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Limitations
- Foam's Obsidian migration guide says Obsidian community plugins, Canvas, and Tasks plugin syntax are unsupported.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Note sharing
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Note tools
- Features include block anchors, note embeds, tags, daily notes, templates, and note properties.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Offline access
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Open format
- Foam stores notes as standard Markdown files, so users own their data.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Publishing
- Foam workspaces can be published using options including GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages, Azure DevOps Wiki, and Vercel.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Foam is a personal knowledge management system built on Visual Studio Code and GitHub for organizing research, creating discoverable notes, and publishing knowledge.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Real-time collaboration
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
- Support
- The installation guide directs users to the FAQ, Foam Community Discord, GitHub Issues, and GitHub Discussions for help.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Telemetry
- Foam collects anonymous usage data; its FAQ says it does not collect note content, file names, or personal information, and users can opt out through VS Code telemetry settings.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Template security
- Foam warns that JavaScript templates can escape its in-process sandbox and advises running them only in trusted workspaces.checked 8 Oct 2026
- VS Code extension
- The Foam extension adds wikilink completion and navigation, backlinks, graph visualization, templates, and daily notes to VS Code.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Wikilinks
- Foam uses double-bracket wikilinks to connect notes and provides link completion and navigation.checked 8 Oct 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 20 Sep 2026
Where it runs
- Platforms
- Foam runs as a VS Code extension, and its installation guide says VS Code supports cross-platform use.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- windows,macos,linuxchecked 20 Sep 2026
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- 1
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