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The self-hosted, open-source Slab alternative
Last updated September 9, 2026
Slab is a clean, well-designed team knowledge base — but it is proprietary, cloud-only SaaS with no self-hosting, content lives in a proprietary rich-text format, and its AI "Ask" is gated to a higher plan. tela gives you the same organized team wiki — self-hostable, markdown-native, with AI and agents built in.
tela vs Slab, at a glance
| Feature | tela | Slab |
|---|---|---|
| License | Open source (AGPL-3.0) | Proprietary SaaS |
| Self-hostable | Yes — self-host free, plus a free cloud tier | No — cloud only |
| Storage | Canonical markdown you own — export is a copy, not a conversion | Proprietary rich-text "Posts" |
| Ask your docs (AI) | Built in — ranked full-text always, plus semantic Ask that cites its sources (self-host brings its own model) | AI "Ask" — on a higher plan |
| Agents read & write (MCP) | Built in — agents read and write, scoped per token, over a hosted endpoint | No official server (community only) |
| Generate docs from your code | Yes — Atlas builds a cited, coverage-checked wiki from git repos and Jira | No |
| Sync to a folder on your disk | Two-way — mount /dav/ as a folder of .md files with any WebDAV client, or bisync it with rclone | Your posts live in Slab; the way out is an export |
Why teams switch to tela
- Own your knowledge base and your data — self-host under AGPL; Slab is cloud-only.
- Markdown you can export, version and sync: mount the wiki as a folder of .md files and it stays reconciled in both directions.
- Atlas generates a cited wiki from your sources; Slab's repo integration only mirrors existing markdown.
When Slab is the better choice
Slab's editing experience and integration breadth are strong — a refined writing UI and a unified search that federates across Slack, Drive, GitHub, Linear, Jira and more. For a fully-managed, no-ops SaaS that ties a stack of existing tools together, Slab is a polished choice.
Frequently asked questions
Is tela a good Slab alternative?
Yes. Own your knowledge base and your data — self-host under AGPL; Slab is cloud-only. tela is open-source (AGPL-3.0), self-hostable, and markdown-native, with a built-in MCP server so AI agents read and write your docs.
Can I self-host tela and connect AI agents to it?
Yes. Self-host tela for free (AGPL-3.0) or start on the free cloud tier. Its built-in MCP server lets agents like Claude search, read and write your wiki directly, on tools scoped by the token you give them.
When is Slab the better choice?
Slab's editing experience and integration breadth are strong — a refined writing UI and a unified search that federates across Slack, Drive, GitHub, Linear, Jira and more. For a fully-managed, no-ops SaaS that ties a stack of existing tools together, Slab is a polished choice.
Try tela
tela is an open-source (AGPL), self-hostable team wiki. Self-host it, or start on the free cloud tier at telawiki.com. See the MCP server docs for connecting your agents, or compare tela with other tools.
Slab pricing + unified search docs (verified 2026). tela facts current as of September 9, 2026.