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.

Visit Full details

Rowboat

Apache-2.0

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

Visit Full details

Side-by-side comparison

	kuku	Rowboat
License	MIT	Apache-2.0
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	204	17,035
Forks	43	1,694
Open Issues	3	142
Last Commit	Jun 27, 2026	Aug 7, 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

Similar open source alternatives

Kestra

Event-driven workflow orchestration platform with a YAML-based pipeline DSL, 500+ plugins, and a built-in UI editor.

Alternative to:

Zapier

AppFlowy

Open source Notion alternative that brings projects, wikis, and teams together with AI while keeping you in control of your data.

Alternative to:

Notion

HelixNotes

A fast, privacy-first local markdown note-taking app built with Tauri and SvelteKit. Your notes stay as plain .md files on your device.

Alternative to:

Obsidian

Jotty

Lightweight self-hosted app for managing personal file-based notes and checklists.

Alternative to:

Notion

Outline

The fastest growing-team knowledge base — beautiful, realtime collaborative, feature packed, and markdown compatible Notion and Confluence alternative.

Alternative to:

Notion

Sim

Open-source workspace to build, deploy, and orchestrate AI agents and agentic workflows.

Alternative to:

Lindy AI