kuku vs Rowboat

Comparing two open source alternatives to Obsidian and Notion . Use the comparison below to decide which one fits your needs.

kuku

MIT

Open-source local-first Markdown workspace for macOS with wiki, AI editing, and encrypted sync.

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Rowboat

Apache-2.0

Open-source desktop AI coworker with a living knowledge graph, built-in email, browser, meeting notes, and code mode.

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Side-by-side comparison

	kuku	Rowboat
License	MIT	Apache-2.0
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	204	17,338
Forks	42	1,720
Open Issues	3	159
Last Commit	Jun 27, 2026	Aug 20, 2026
First Released	Jan 28, 2026	Jan 13, 2025
Categories	Note Taking & Knowledge Management Tools Wiki Software	Note Taking & Knowledge Management Tools Automation Tools AI Coding Agents
Tags	#markdown #note taking #wiki #local-first #ai	#ai #ai agent #desktop-app

GitHub stars over time

kuku

Rowboat17,338

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