001 Local-first Markdown editor

Write what matters, with AI

The local-first Markdown editor for writing with AI.

Download macOS 13+ / Apple Silicon / Free · Windows build

~/notes — kaku

What is kaku.md

What is kaku

What you can do

Edit notes with AI while you chat. See and . Linked context reaches the chat on its own through .

Data

Your notes stay as Markdown files in your own folder. See . Moving them elsewhere requires an export.Even if you stop using the app, they remain as plain text on your machine.

Backlinks

2-hop links

Blue = unapplied AI change. Hover to apply / revert

Chat

main

3m ago

Introduce kaku

3m ago

Edit notes with AI…

1m ago

Add the intro to the note

1m ago

Make it shorter

just now

Wrote the intro as a diff

codex

Drafting a shorter one…

Ask, then send the reply straight to your note.

Type a message (Enter to send)

002 Edit with AI, keep control

Let AI edit freely.
Revert what you don't like.

AI changes appear inline as unapplied diffs highlighted in blue. Additions use a solid highlight; deletions use a dashed strikethrough. Hover over a change to apply and keep it, or revert and discard it.

apply Applied changes become part of core—your source of truth
revert Drop what you don't need in one click

monthly-review.md

2 AI hunks

# Monthly review

## What I did

Pushed the research forward. Interviewed 15 users and compared 3 competitors.

## Next actions

Figure it out later.Narrow to one hypothesis and A/B test it next week.

Blue Unapplied AI change (added / dashed = deleted) Black Already in core

Chat Context · automatic

1 hop

User research

outgoing

Competitors

backlink

Roadmap

@added

Market notes

2-hop

Interview log

current

New feature plan

Chat context

1-hop links 2 2-hop links 1 backlinks 1 @added 1

Summarize the plan with this context

003 Automatic context

Follow the links. Context gathers itself.

Notes connect through Obsidian-compatible [[ ]] links. One note = one chat, and linked notes and backlinks are added to the chat context automatically. Need more? Just add a note with @.

No more collecting context by hand. You get to spend that time thinking.

004 Parallel threads

Try everything, in parallel.

Chats are trees. Editing and retrying branch instead of overwriting, so several threads run at once. Don't wait for a reply — start the next attempt on another branch.

No path is ever lost. Take in the whole tree, then send the best branch's reply straight to your note.

Chat tree 3 runs in parallel

main

2m ago

Summarize this plan

2m ago

Draft A. Three key points…

1m ago

Put it in a table

1m ago

Make it shorter

1m ago

Use bullet points

just now run

Drafting the table…

just now run

Compressing to three lines…

just now run

Drafting the bullets…

Blue rings mark running branches. They run at the same time, and every attempt stays reachable.

005 Your agent, your way

Bring the AI you already use. No extra fees from kaku.

Claude, GPT, Gemini, or any model through OpenRouter. Connect the accounts and API keys you already use, and AI chat is ready—with no extra fees from kaku.

The Codex and Claude Code you already use can be run directly from chat. Let them edit Markdown files in your own folder, and their changes show up as diffs too.

Skills MCP Agentic Search

AI Provider · chat

Claude Anthropic

GPT OpenAI selected

Gemini Google

OpenRouter Every model behind one API

External agent · direct edits

~/notes (= workspace)

$ codex # edit md with your usual CLI

$ claude # Claude Code works as-is

Changes made from outside show up as AI hunks in the diff

006 Use cases

Write with AI, everywhere.

Knowledge base

Journals, notes, reading logs. Organize what you know, with AI alongside.

~/notes

2026-07-18.md
reading-notes.md [[ ]]
ideas.md
weekly-review.md

Dev repository

Keep specs and design notes in the same repo as your code, then think and build with AI.

~/my-app

src/
docs/
design-notes.md md
README.md

Agent memory

Turn a graph of linked notes into long-term memory for your agents.

agent memory

design-notes →meeting-notes →decisions

context · 8 notes

007 FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my existing notes?

Just open your existing Markdown folder. No migration, no conversion.

Is it compatible with Obsidian?

Yes. Notes are plain Markdown files that use Obsidian syntax, including [[ ]] links. You can open an existing vault as-is or open notes created in kaku with Obsidian.

Is it free?

kaku is free to download and use. Bring the AI accounts and API keys you already use—kaku adds no extra AI fees. Your existing provider fees still apply.

Which platforms are supported?

macOS 13 or later (Apple Silicon), and Windows 10 April 2018 Update or later / Windows 11 (x64).

Where is my data stored?

Everything stays local. Notes are Markdown files in your own folder, and chat history is stored in a local SQLite database alongside them. If you stop using kaku, your notes remain as plain text on your machine.

What do I need to use AI?

Set an API key for your provider, or sign in with your ChatGPT account. If you already have Claude Code or Codex installed, they work as-is.

Will my content be used to train AI models?

kaku itself never sends your data anywhere. Context goes to the provider you chose only when you ask the AI. Input sent through their APIs is generally not used for training, but the actual handling follows each provider's terms.

008 Get kaku