Choose Doco when
- Stable block IDs and If-Match protected agent writes are central to your workflow.
- MIT licensing and self-hosting are requirements.
- Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex need to read and write shared documents through MCP, CLI, or API.
Honest comparison · Doco and HackMD
Doco vs HackMD
Choose HackMD for real-time collaborative Markdown, team workspaces, and publishing notes as web pages, slide decks, or books. Choose Doco for agent-native shared documents with stable block IDs and protected structured edits. HackMD also offers an official hosted MCP server with OAuth sign-in.
Direct answerChoose for the job,
Choose for the job,
not the feature count
The products overlap, but their centers of gravity are different. Start with the source of truth and the people or agents who must maintain it.
Choose HackMD when
- Real-time collaborative Markdown and team workspaces fit your knowledge base.
- Publishing notes as web pages, slide decks, or books is central to your workflow.
- You want official hosted MCP with OAuth sign-in and note revision history.
At a glance
The operating differences
| Dimension | Doco | HackMD |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Agent-safe collaborative documents | Collaborative Markdown editor and knowledge base |
| Data ownership | MIT licensed application and self-hosting | Notes organized into team workspaces |
| Human collaboration | Yjs live editing with browser-local persistence | Real-time collaborative Markdown editing |
| Agent access | 29-tool MCP, CLI, REST, stable IDs and If-Match | Hosted MCP with OAuth; REST API and CLI with personal tokens |
| Content model | Document and block model with embedded tables/spreadsheets | Markdown notes; MCP update-note replaces the whole content |
| Best fit | Teams whose agents maintain written knowledge | Teams writing Markdown and publishing pages, slides, or books |
HackMD is stronger when
HackMD is a good fit when collaborative Markdown and publishing notes as web pages, slide decks, or books are the priority. Its official hosted MCP server lets agents work within the notes and workspaces their connecting account can reach. Agent edits retain revisions; Prime and Enterprise keep unlimited versions.
Doco is stronger when
Doco is stronger when stable block IDs, Markdown round-trip, and MIT self-hosting matter. Humans and AI agents share documents through MCP, CLI, or API, with If-Match protected block edits. HackMD MCP supports agent writes too, but its update-note tool overwrites the whole note content without section/block-level patches or an expected-revision check on that tool. Revision history supports review after edits; it is distinct from a write-time revision check.
Migration
Moving from HackMD
Pilot representative Markdown notes before changing your workflow. Keep copies of the original content and assets, import Markdown into Doco, and review formatting, organization, and publishing needs separately.
- 01
Keep copies of representative HackMD note content and associated assets.
- 02
Import Markdown into Doco and organize documents into knowledge bases and folders.
- 03
Review formatting and assets; check team organization and page, slide deck, or book publishing needs separately.
- 04
Pilot stable block IDs and If-Match with your agents, then decide which Markdown and publishing workflows should remain in HackMD.
Run a representative trial first. Keep the original export until links, attachments, permissions, tables, and a restore have all been verified.
Bottom line
Use the smaller truth
Choose HackMD for collaborative Markdown, team workspaces, publishing, and official OAuth-based MCP access. Consider Doco as a HackMD alternative when agent-native documents, stable block addresses, protected structured edits, and MIT self-hosting are the priority. Both support agent editing and human review; their editing contracts differ.
01Does HackMD have an official MCP server?
Yes. https://mcp.hackmd.io/ is an official hosted remote MCP server using Streamable HTTP and OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. MCP needs no API token. Agents can work within the workspaces and notes the connecting account can reach.
02How does HackMD MCP update and review notes?
The note tools are list-notes, get-note, create-note, update-note, delete-note (moves a note to trash), and get-history. update-note overwrites the whole content, with no section/block-level patch or expected-revision check on that tool. Revisions are kept when agents edit; Prime and Enterprise keep unlimited versions.
03Do HackMD REST API and CLI use the same authentication as MCP?
No. The REST API at api.hackmd.io and the CLI use personal API tokens, separately from MCP OAuth. API access is available on every plan: Free includes 400 calls/month, Prime 20,000 calls/month, and Enterprise unlimited calls.