KnowNote

A local-first, open-source alternative to Google NotebookLM
Built for learners and developers who want private LLMs, no Docker, and full control.

Transform your documents into an intelligent, conversational knowledge base

English | 简体中文

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Why KnowNote?

I really like the idea behind Google NotebookLM: upload documents, build context, and reason over them with LLMs.

But I wanted a few things it doesn’t give me:

• Using my own private or self-managed LLM APIs
• Keeping all data local, without cloud lock-in
• Trying the tool without Docker or complex deployment

While exploring GitHub, I found many impressive “Open Notebook” projects. They are powerful and well-designed — but almost all of them rely on Docker. For beginners and non-backend users, that alone can be a deal-breaker.

So I built KnowNote:
a simple Electron-based desktop app that brings NotebookLM-style workflows to a local-first, Docker-free environment.

This is my first open-source project.
It’s still early, but the core idea works — and I’m excited to share it and learn from the community.

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What KnowNote does (so far)

• 📚 Build a local knowledge base from documents and notes
• 💬 Chat, summarize, and reason with your content using LLMs
• 🔌 Provider-based LLM design (OpenAI, DeepSeek, Ollama, and more)
• 🔍 RAG-powered retrieval with precise source traceability
• 🖥️ Desktop app built with Electron — no Docker, no server setup

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Who is this for?

KnowNote is for you if:

• You like NotebookLM but want more control
• You prefer using private or self-hosted LLM APIs
• You don’t want to spin up Docker just to try an idea
• You want a simple desktop app for learning and research

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Preview

Three-column layout: Knowledge Library · AI Q&A · Note Output

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Key Features

📚 Document Management

• PDF, Word (.docx), PowerPoint (.pptx), and web pages
• Automatic structure parsing and content extraction
• Fast local storage with SQLite

🤖 AI-Powered Q&A

• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
• Multiple LLM providers
• Answers with precise source references

🔒 Local-First by Design

• All data stored locally
• Offline-friendly (LLM APIs optional)
• Full control over your knowledge assets

🔍 Vector Search

• Semantic search with sqlite-vec
• Fast and accurate retrieval

⚡ Lightweight & Cross-Platform

• Electron-based desktop app
• Windows and macOS support

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Project Status

KnowNote is an early-stage project.
Some parts are still rough, but the foundation is in place.

I’m sharing it mainly to:

• learn from real usage
• improve learning and research workflows
• explore better knowledge visualization and retrieval

Feedback and suggestions are very welcome.

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Roadmap

✅ Completed

• AI LLM conversation with multiple providers
• Structured note generation
• One-click mind map generation
• RAG-based document retrieval
• Multi-format document import (PDF / Word / PPT / Web)

🚧 In Development

• Audio upload and transcription
• Quiz generation from documents
• One-click PPT generation from notes

📋 Planned

More ideas are in the pipeline — feel free to suggest features in Issues.

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Quick Start

Download

Get the latest version from GitHub Releases:

• Windows: KnowNote-Setup-{version}.exe
• macOS: KnowNote-{version}.dmg / KnowNote-{version}-arm64.dmg

Development

git clone https://github.com/MrSibe/KnowNote.git
cd KnowNote
pnpm install
pnpm dev

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Tech Stack

Electron · React · TypeScript · Vite · TailwindCSS SQLite · sqlite-vec · Drizzle ORM pdfjs-dist · mammoth · officeparser · Tiptap

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Project Structure

KnowNote/
├── src/
│   ├── main/              # Electron main process
│   │   ├── db/            # Database configuration and schema
│   │   ├── services/      # Core logic (document parsing, RAG, etc.)
│   │   └── providers/     # LLM provider abstraction
│   ├── renderer/          # React renderer process
│   ├── preload/           # Electron preload scripts
│   └── shared/            # Shared types and utilities
├── resources/             # App resources (icons, etc.)
├── build/                 # Build configuration
└── out/                   # Build output

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Feedback & Contributions

Issues, discussions, and pull requests are all welcome.

If you have ideas about:

• learning workflows
• knowledge visualization
• model/provider abstraction

I’d love to hear them.

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License

This project is licensed under the GPL-3.0 License.

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Acknowledgments

• Google NotebookLM — inspiration
• Electron — cross-platform desktop framework
• React — UI framework
• SQLite & sqlite-vec — local storage and vector retrieval

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If this project resonates with you, feel free to try it, star it, or leave feedback. Thanks for checking it out 🙏

Built with ❤️ by @MrSibe