Show HN: OpenKnowledge – open source AI-first alternative to Obsidian/Notion

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

An open-source note-taking and knowledge management app, OpenKnowledge, aims to blend Obsidian’s local-markdown flexibility with Notion-style WYSIWYG editing and built‑in AI tooling via MCP servers and skills. Commenters welcome its Git/GitHub-based sync, Obsidian-vault compatibility and team-oriented workflows, but raise concerns about macOS-only desktop support, reliance on proprietary AI services, limited local LLM integration, and rough edges like Electron performance and config file changes. Many see potential if it expands platform support, deepens native AI and plugin capabilities, and better addresses advanced Obsidian use cases such as databases, dashboards, and complex queries.

Obsidian/Notion Migration and Feature Parity

  • Obsidian vaults can be opened directly since they are markdown; most syntax (e.g., wikilinks) is supported.
  • Users note Obsidian is more than “just markdown” (dataview, dashboards, queries); current gaps include database/query-style features and “Bases.”
  • Notion migration is via markdown export; no dedicated migration tool yet.
  • Some see OpenKnowledge as “yet another KM app” without strong differentiation from Obsidian + agents or VS Code workflows.

AI, MCP, and Local LLM Integration

  • Core value: built‑in MCP server and skills, auto-configured for tools like Claude, Codex, Cursor, with agentic search, virtualized filesystem commands, and an embedded terminal.
  • Several users strongly want first-class support for local LLMs and OpenAI-compatible endpoints; integrations with Zed/OpenCode, Pi, Hermes, etc. are discussed or “queued.”
  • Some argue this could have been an Obsidian plugin; others like having opinionated, out‑of‑the‑box AI workflows.

Sync, Collaboration, and GitHub Dependence

  • Content is local markdown; Git/GitHub is used for auto-sync and sharing, with GitHub as source of truth.
  • “Shared” vs “Local” just toggles whether OpenKnowledge config files are gitignored; nothing is pushed automatically.
  • Team-oriented flows use GitHub; concerns raised about relying only on GitHub, large binaries, git‑LFS, and lack of more granular/atomic change sets.
  • Real-time multiuser collab currently limited; CRDT is used locally (human↔agent), with git managing human↔human history.

Platform Support and App Architecture

  • Native desktop is macOS (Electron). Web viewer and CLI are available for Linux/Windows; some users want a full desktop app and suggest Tauri/AppImage/Flatpak.
  • macOS-first strategy is criticized as limiting; others argue multi-platform is essential.

Editing Experience and Knowledge Graph

  • Emphasis on “Notion-grade” true WYSIWYG over markdown, using tiptap + CodeMirror, while preserving underlying markdown and YAML frontmatter.
  • Knowledge graph exists via wikilinks, forward/backlinks, and semantic search; some users missed this from the readme.
  • Desired features include comments/suggestions (“red‑lining”), inline LLM feedback, and Obsidian-style plugins (charts, excalidraw, mermaid).

Compatibility, Naming, and Ecosystem

  • Can interoperate one‑way with tools like Slite via markdown import/export.
  • Some interest in Org Mode and Google’s Open Knowledge Format; templates are said to be OKF‑compliant, and further tooling (e.g., linters) is being considered.
  • Confusion and debate around the “Open Knowledge” name vs Google’s OKF and the long-standing Open Knowledge Foundation.

Critiques, Bugs, and Trust Issues

  • Reports of the app editing shell config files without explicit consent and overwriting a Codex config.toml.
  • Complaints about performance (slow file open/render), Electron UX, and marketing assets showing flows not yet available fully in-app.
  • Some users are enthusiastic about the direction (OSS, markdown, AI-first, Git-based team KB); others are sticking with tuned Obsidian/Outline setups, citing maturity, local models, and privacy.