How to Use OpenKnowledge for Free: The Open Source Notion Alternative Built for AI Agents
OpenKnowledge is a free, open-source markdown editor built so AI agents like Claude and Cursor can read and edit your notes directly. Here's how to install it and connect an agent.
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Most note apps still treat AI as a bolt-on chat window bolted to the side. OpenKnowledge does the opposite: it's a free, open-source markdown editor that assumes an AI agent will be reading and editing your notes right alongside you. If you already point Claude or Cursor at a folder of docs, this is worth ten minutes of your time.
What OpenKnowledge actually is
OpenKnowledge, built by Inkeep, stores your notes as plain markdown files on your own disk. There's no cloud database and no subscription. An embedded model handles semantic search and auto-tagging locally, so nothing gets sent to a server just to find a note from three weeks ago. On top of that, it ships native MCP servers, which means Claude, Cursor, Codex, or any other MCP-compatible agent can open, read, and edit the same files you're looking at.
It's GPL-3.0 licensed, lives at github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge, and picked up close to 1,900 GitHub stars within a few weeks of its Hacker News launch.
How to install it for free
There's no paid tier to unlock here. The whole editor is free. The install path just depends on your machine:
- Apple Silicon Mac: download the DMG, drag OpenKnowledge into Applications, launch it.
- Windows, Linux, or Intel Mac: install Node.js 24 or newer, clone the repo, and run the editor as a local web app from the CLI.
Either way, you end up pointing it at a folder of markdown files (an existing one or a fresh one) and it starts indexing.
Connecting an AI agent
This is the actual point of the tool. Once you have a notes folder open, add OpenKnowledge's MCP server to whatever agent you use. Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex all speak MCP natively. From there, the agent can search your notes, edit a page, add cross-links, or write a new one, and the changes show up in your editor immediately because it's reading the same files on disk, not a synced copy.
OpenKnowledge vs. the alternatives
| OpenKnowledge | Notion | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, open source | Free tier, paid from ~$10/mo | Free for personal use |
| Storage | Local markdown | Hosted, cloud only | Local markdown |
| Native AI agent editing (MCP) | Yes | No | Plugin-dependent |
| Native desktop app | Apple Silicon Mac only | All platforms | All platforms |
| Team collaboration | Not built in | Strong | Weak without paid Sync |
The honest read: Notion still wins if you need a team wiki with permissions and databases. Obsidian still wins if you want the biggest plugin library and don't care whether an agent can edit your vault directly. OpenKnowledge wins in the specific case where you want your notes and your coding agent working off the exact same source of truth.
The catch
The native app being Mac-only right now is a real limitation. If you're on Windows or Linux, you're running a local web app instead of a packaged one. It works fine, but it's an extra step. And because the project is new, don't expect the plugin ecosystem Obsidian built up over five years, that will take time.
Related reading: check our [Notion](https://questloops.com/tools/notion) page if you want the team-workspace angle, or see how [Kilo](https://questloops.com/tools/kilo) applies the same "AI agent as a first-class user" idea to coding instead of notes.