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KoNote

github.com

Free plan Open source WebLinuxSelf-hosted
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Spec score 8.3 #6 of 29 in Nonprofit Program Management Software

What it is

KoNote is a web-based participant outcome management system for nonprofits, released under the MIT License. Each organization runs its own instance on its infrastructure or local network. It provides encrypted client records, custom intake fields, program enrollment tracking, and role-based client search. Teams can define goals and targets, attach measurable metrics, track revisions over time, and reuse plan templates. Progress notes may be quick or structured, include metrics, and be backdated with audit trails. Messaging uses SMS through Twilio or email through SMTP, with consent tracking; calendar subscriptions use iCal feeds. Authentication supports Azure AD single sign-on or local Argon2 authentication. Security measures include field-level personal information encryption, role-based access, configurable session timeouts, and a separate immutable audit database. Privacy functions include selectable CSV or PDF client exports, multi-manager erasure approval, export monitoring, and secure download links. Optional AI can suggest goals, metrics, note structures, and outcome narratives; personal information is scrubbed before data leaves the server. The software is free to use under its license, but organizations provide and configure their own infrastructure. KoNote was founded in 2013 and is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Spec sheet

What it does
KoNote is a web-based participant outcome and case-management system for nonprofit agencies that records notes, metrics and progress.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Purpose
KoNote is a secure, web-based participant outcome management system for nonprofits.Read 30 Sep 2026 · github.com
Security
KoNote uses field-level PII encryption, a separate immutable audit database, role-based access control, configurable session timeouts, HSTS, CSP, and CSRF protection.Read 30 Sep 2026 · github.com
Support
The project directs documentation questions to GitHub issues, security reports to private reporting and general questions to the administrative guide.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
License
KoNote is released under the MIT License, which grants permission free of charge to use, copy, modify, publish, distribute, sublicense, and sell copies.Read 30 Sep 2026 · github.com
Headquarters
Toronto, Ontario, CanadaRead 28 Sep 2026 · github.com
Founded
2013Read 28 Sep 2026 · github.com
Access control
Role-based access is program-scoped, with middleware, decorators and view filtering enforcing restrictions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Accessibility
The README says KoNote follows WCAG 2.2 AA practices including semantic HTML, labels, keyboard navigation, contrast and screen-reader support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
AI features
Optional AI tools suggest goals, metrics, note structures and outcome narratives; personally identifying information is scrubbed before external processing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
API and SDK status
The public repository describes integrations and AI API-key configuration but does not publish a standalone REST API, SDK or API reference.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Authentication
Authentication can use local Argon2 credentials or Azure AD single sign-on.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Automatic security checks
Production startup blocks when encryption keys, secret keys or security middleware are unsafe; demo mode only warns.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Calendar integration
Meetings can publish privacy-safe iCal feeds for Outlook, Google Calendar and Apple Calendar and send reminders.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Calendar integrations
Users can subscribe to iCal feeds in Outlook, Google Calendar, or Apple Calendar.Read 30 Sep 2026 · github.com
Client records
It stores encrypted participant records, agency-defined intake fields, program enrolments and role-controlled search.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Company facts
LinkedIn lists LogicalOutcomes as a Toronto nonprofit with 11–50 employees founded in 2013.Read 15 Oct 2026 · bg.linkedin.com
Company finances
LogicalOutcomes' 2021 annual report says revenue was under $1 million and therefore did not require a statutory financial audit.Read 15 Oct 2026 · salamander-wolverine-sfm2.squarespace.com
Customisation
Administrators can change terminology, enable feature toggles, define custom fields, build templates and configure programs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Deployment model
Each organization runs its own KoNote instance on its own infrastructure or local network.Read 30 Sep 2026 · github.com
Deployment requirements
The documented prerequisites are Python 3.12 or newer, PostgreSQL 16 or newer and Git; Docker Compose is supplied for deployment.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Documentation
Repository documentation is organized into deployment, administration, frontline usage and technical-reference guides, with a separate backup and restore runbook.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Independent history
Canadian Healthcare Technology reports that Gotlib launched KoNote in 2014 after finding existing mental-health EMRs too structured.Read 15 Oct 2026 · canhealth.com
Licence
The repository is released under the MIT License, allowing use, modification, distribution and sublicensing subject to the license notice.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: audit storage
The security documentation warns that the audit database grows continuously and requires periodic archival planning.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: demo security
The Docker demo uses default keys and is explicitly unsuitable for real client data.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: encrypted search
Encrypted PII cannot be searched in SQL; the documented in-memory search approach is considered acceptable only up to about 2,000 clients.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: external documents
When documents link to SharePoint or Google Drive, access control on those external systems is separate from KoNote.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: operational responsibility
Because deployments are self-hosted, each nonprofit is responsible for infrastructure configuration and client-data security.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Maker focus
LogicalOutcomes is a Canadian nonprofit focused on evaluation consulting and building organizational learning capacity.Read 30 Sep 2026 · logicaloutcomes.net
Messaging integrations
KoNote logs phone, email, SMS and in-person contacts and can send SMS through Twilio or email through SMTP with consent tracking.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Notable news: pre-launch
A 2026 LinkedIn announcement described KoNote as open source, in pre-launch, and supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation AI Lab.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Optional AI
Optional AI features include goal building, metric suggestions, note-structure suggestions, and outcome-insight narratives; PII is scrubbed before data leaves the server.Read 30 Sep 2026 · github.com
Origin
The 2021 annual report identifies psychiatrist and software developer David Gotlib as KoNote's creator and describes it as open-source client note-taking software.Read 15 Oct 2026 · salamander-wolverine-sfm2.squarespace.com
Outcome tracking
Plans support goals, measurable metrics, revisions, progress history and reusable templates.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Participant portal
The separate portal lets participants view goals and milestones, journal, message workers, complete surveys and use password recovery.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Praise: usability
Canadian Healthcare Technology reports that prototype users found KoNote easy to use, with one nurse saying it reduced electronic charting time compared with paper.Read 15 Oct 2026 · canhealth.com
Praise: visual progress
The independent 2016 article says KoNote automatically generated graphs showing how patients were doing across tracked areas.Read 15 Oct 2026 · canhealth.com
Privacy compliance
The system provides selectable CSV/PDF client exports for PIPEDA, multi-manager erasure approval for PIPEDA/GDPR, export monitoring, and secure download links.Read 30 Sep 2026 · github.com
Progress notes
Staff can create quick or structured notes, attach metric values and backdate entries with an audit trail.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Release news
The GitHub releases page lists v2.3.4 as a bugfix release addressing empty target-name crashes and imported metadata failures.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Reporting
Reporting includes Chart.js progress charts, CSV metric exports, WeasyPrint PDFs, funder profiles and audit-log viewing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Security controls
The project states that PII uses Fernet AES-128-CBC with HMAC-SHA256 encryption at rest and that audit logs are stored in a separate insert-only PostgreSQL database.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Self-hosting
Each agency is expected to run its own instance on its infrastructure or local network, retaining control of configuration and data.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Surveys
Survey forms support six question types, conditional sections, scoring, CSV import, bilingual content and public shareable links.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Technology stack
The stack is Django 5.1 with Python 3.12, PostgreSQL 16, Django templates, HTMX, Pico CSS, Chart.js, Gunicorn and Docker.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Timeline and safety
Client timelines support event types such as intake, discharge, crisis and milestones, plus safety alerts requiring two-person cancellation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Plans and prices

Self-hosted KoNote Free No subscription price is published; hosting infrastructure is separate Run on your own infrastructure · Python 3.12+ · PostgreSQL 16+ · Git · Docker-capable deployment Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Self-hosted MIT-licensed KoNote Free run your own instance · organization configures and secures infrastructure Read 30 Sep 2026 · github.com

Every KoNote plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Tracks goals, metrics, and revisions over time.
  • Supports templated notes with audit trails.
  • Offers Azure AD or local Argon2 authentication.
  • Optional AI scrubs personal information before data leaves the server.

Limits

  • Each organization must run its own instance.
  • Organizations configure and secure their own infrastructure.
  • No mobile access is listed.

Who it suits

KoNote suits nonprofits managing participant records, program enrollment, goals, and progress notes on infrastructure they operate themselves. Its privacy and audit features may fit organizations with client-data handling requirements.

Verdict

KoNote brings participant records, outcome tracking, and privacy functions together in a self-hosted nonprofit system. Organizations should be prepared to operate and secure the infrastructure themselves.

Where Specifiction places it

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