An open-source (GPL-3.0) Markdown editor and knowledge base developed by Inkeep, Inc. Built around the concept of a “second brain that both humans and AI agents read and write,” it offers a Notion-like rich WYSIWYG editor while storing everything as plain Markdown / MDX files in your project, version-controlled with Git. Its standout feature is a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server and Agent Skills, letting agents and IDEs such as Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex search, edit, and organize your knowledge base directly. It was released in June 2026.
Key Features
- WYSIWYG editor + plain Markdown: A rich editor that handles callouts, accordions, tabs, tables, Mermaid diagrams, LaTeX, and embedded videos and PDFs ─ yet what gets saved is plain Markdown / MDX. You can also edit the files directly as text, bypassing the editor entirely
- Built-in MCP server and Agent Skills: Ships with an MCP server that lets agents search, edit, expand, and organize the knowledge base, plus Agent Skills for integrating into agent workflows. Supports many agents and editors including Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, and OpenClaw
- Agentic search: Combines embeddings with hierarchical retrieval so agents can efficiently pull the right documents from a large knowledge base
- Git-based team sync: Changes auto-sync via Git, preserving history and ownership. Includes one-click sharing of individual docs or entire workspaces, and comment annotations that can be resolved with AI
- Local-first design: Your data lives as files on your machine, and self-hosting is supported ─ easy to adopt even in privacy-conscious organizations
- Graph view and backlinks: Explore connections between notes through wiki-link graph visualization and backlinks. Templates for oncall guides, incident postmortems, runbooks, and more are included
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Free | All features available. GPL-3.0 license, self-hostable |
Pricing information is as of August 2026. Please check the official website for the latest details.
Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Since the underlying data is plain Markdown + Git, there is no vendor lock-in and it slots straight into existing development workflows
- MCP and Agent Skills come built in, so agent integration takes minimal setup
- Local-first design keeps data on your machine, making it usable even for teams handling sensitive information
- Free and open source. Desktop apps for macOS / Windows / Linux, plus a local web app and CLI
- You can move freely between the rich editor and plain text editing, letting non-engineers and engineers share the same foundation
⚠️ Cons
- A new tool released in June 2026, so its ecosystem and community are still small
- Because sync and sharing are built on Git, teams without engineers will need to think through how to operate it
- Making the most of agent integration requires a basic understanding of MCP and Agent Skills, which involves some learning curve
- It is not a cloud-only SaaS, so it is less suited to mobile-centric use or “access from any browser anywhere” workflows
Comparison with Similar Services
| Category | OpenKnowledge | Obsidian | Notion | Logseq |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data format | Markdown / MDX (Git-managed) | Markdown (local) | Proprietary (cloud) | Markdown / Org (local) |
| AI agent integration | MCP + Agent Skills built in | Via plugins / external MCP | Notion AI, official MCP | Via plugins |
| Sync method | Automatic Git sync | Paid Obsidian Sync, etc. | Cloud sync | Self-configured (Git, etc.) |
| Pricing | Free (GPL-3.0) | Free (sync is paid) | Free tier / paid plans | Free (open source) |
| Primary audience | Human + agent teams | Personal notes / PKM | General team docs | Personal outliner users |
Who Is It For
- Development teams that want to hand off searching and updating team documentation to agents like Claude Code or Cursor
- People who want to manage knowledge in Git, on the same review and history flow as their code
- Those who want a Notion-like editing experience but insist on keeping their data as local Markdown
- SRE and infrastructure teams that want to co-manage operational docs ─ oncall guides, runbooks, postmortems ─ with agents
- Organizations looking for an open-source, self-hostable knowledge platform
Summary
OpenKnowledge sets itself apart from conventional note apps by being designed from the ground up for AI agents to read and write. Layering a rich editor and MCP / Agent Skills on top of the developer-familiar foundation of plain Markdown + Git makes it a natural choice for teams that use agents daily. Its maturity is still growing given how recently it launched, but as free open-source software, it is well worth trying on your own documents first.