Kuku is a truly native, local-first markdown editor for macOS — built with Tauri, not Electron. Notes are stored as plainmd files with wikilinks, backlinks, and graph view. Its AI agent doesn’t just chat — it searches, edits, and links your files, with every change shown as Cursor-style diffs you can review. Fast, lightweight, offline-first. No cloud. No lock-in. Obsidian + Cursor, without Electron.
sounds very interesting. any plans to make a part of it open-source? that's kind of my reason for going zettlr instead of obsidian
kuku
@tony_mon Right now, I'm focused on bug fixes and polishing the core experience. Once the codebase stabilizes, the plan is to open source it. Aiming to get there as soon as possible!
kuku
@tony_mon Great question! Yes — we do plan to open-source parts of Kuku. One reason we built it is exactly that Obsidian isn’t open-source, so this really matters to us.
It feels like the base functionality is buggy. While typing, a trailing space is constantly being deleted (by the auto-save?), leading to garbled input.
Not being to enter a single sentence on first launch makes me stop using this immediately.
kuku
@christian_berg2 My apologies. You likely hit a bug from a recent auto-save tweak.
We have already pushed a fix for this. If you update to the latest version, the issue is gone. Sorry for the frustration!
Congrats! it's niche (macOS-only for now?), and I'd wonder if the AI truly adds value over manual linking or if it hallucinates links in complex vaults. A real-world test on a messy knowledge base would tell. Who's it really for - Obsidian refugees, or broader note-takers?
kuku
@vladimir_solovev The AI doesn't just guess. It queries local SQLite to find existing files before linking. And if it doesslip up, the Diff View lets you catch it before merging.
It's macOS for now, but other platform support is definitely on our roadmap.
As for the audience: It's primarily for Obsidian refugees looking for a more native feel, and anyone who wants "Simple Notes + AI" without the complexity.
The local-first + offline approach is huge for anyone working from cafés and airports with spotty wifi. Really glad to see Tauri getting real traction for productivity apps — the performance gap vs Electron is immediately noticeable.Quick question: any plans for an iOS companion app down the road? Being able to capture quick notes on the go and have them waiting as .md files when I open my Mac would be the dream workflow.
kuku
@curious_builder While a native iOS app isn't on the immediate roadmap, it is absolutely a feature we've always wanted. Since Tauri supports mobile targets, we are keeping a close eye on it for the future!
Minara
Love the idea of a local-first markdown editor. Curious how yo come with such neat UI design without Electron.
kuku
@frank_li13 Thanks! Tauri + system WebView instead of Electron, and a lot of iteration on native-feeling interactions
kuku
@frank_li13 That’s the magic of Tauri. We use React + CSS for the UI, but instead of bundling a heavy browser, Tauri uses the native macOS webview. So we get the flexibility of web design with the performance of a native app!
kuku
@rmz59 No import tool needed! You can simply change the Vault Location in Settings to point directly to your existing Obsidian folder.
Alternatively, you can just copy your files into the '~/Documents/Kuku' folder. Since we use standard Markdown, it works instantly!
kuku
@rmz59 Yes — Kuku opens Obsidian vaults directly. I actually switched from Obsidian myself and use the same folders.
kuku
@ahmedrana Since I built this to scratch my own itch, I started with macOS (my daily driver). However, I definitely want to support Windows (and hopefully Linux) in the future. Since it's built on Tauri, cross-platform support is definitely on the roadmap!
kuku
@ahmedrana Thanks! Yes — Windows and Linux are planned. We just need some extra machines (and maybe a bit more coffee and budget 😄) to test properly.