A lightning-fast, privacy-first knowledge management system built with Tauri and React
Why settle for 10+ plugins when you can have everything built-in?
๐ Quick Start โข โจ Features โข ๐ธ Screenshots โข ๐บ๏ธ Roadmap โข ๐ค Contributing
Built by an Obsidian user who got tired of plugin dependencies. Lokus gives you everything you need out of the box:
Obsidian | Lokus |
---|---|
โ Requires Dataview plugin | โ Built-in database views |
โ Basic graph view | โ 2D/3D interactive graphs |
โ Canvas via plugin | โ Infinite canvas built-in |
โ $10/month for sync | โ Free sync via your cloud |
โก ~100MB download | โก ~10MB download |
๐ Electron-based | ๐ Rust-powered (Tauri) |
- Rich Markdown Editor - Full GitHub Flavored Markdown support
- Wiki Links - Bidirectional linking with
[[Note Name]]
syntax - LaTeX Math - Inline
$x^2$
and block$$E=mc^2$$
equations - Code Blocks - Syntax highlighting for 100+ languages
- Tables - Sortable, resizable tables with CSV export
- Task Lists -
- [ ]
checkbox support with progress tracking
- Notion-like Tables - Sort, filter, and group your notes
- Multiple Views - Table, Gallery, Calendar (coming soon)
- Custom Properties - Add metadata without frontmatter
- Smart Filters - Query notes by tags, dates, properties
- Auto-create - Default "All Notes" base on first use
- 2D & 3D Graphs - Toggle between flat and spatial views
- Interactive Navigation - Click nodes to open notes
- Link Strength - Visual weight based on connections
- Filter by Tags - Focus on specific topics
- Export - Save graph as PNG/SVG
- Theme Editor - Real-time theme customization
- Dark/Light Mode - With custom color schemes
- Font Control - Choose your preferred fonts
- Layout Options - Sidebar positions, panel sizes
- Import Emails - Save emails as markdown notes
- Send from Notes - Compose emails in markdown
- Attachment Support - Keep email attachments
- Thread Tracking - Maintain email context
- Rust Backend - Native performance with Tauri
- Instant Search - Fast full-text search
- Small Footprint - ~10MB vs Obsidian's ~100MB
- Quick Launch - Sub-second startup time
- Local-First - All data stays on your device
- Plugin System - VS Code-like extension API
- Hot Reload - Develop plugins without restart
- Custom Commands - Add keyboard shortcuts
- Editor Extensions - Create custom markdown syntax
macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel)
# Download latest .dmg from releases
# Or install via Homebrew (coming soon)
Windows
# Download installer from releases
# Portable version available
Linux
# AppImage (universal)
wget https://github.com/lokus-ai/lokus/releases/latest/download/lokus.AppImage
chmod +x lokus.AppImage
./lokus.AppImage
# Flatpak (coming soon)
Prerequisites
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/lokus-ai/lokus.git
cd lokus
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Run in development mode
npm run tauri dev
# Build for production
npm run tauri build
- Rich markdown editor
- Wiki links & backlinks
- 2D/3D knowledge graph
- Database views (Bases)
- Theme customization
- Gmail integration
- Plugin system
- Mobile apps (iOS & Android)
- Calendar view for Bases
- Kanban board improvements
- PDF annotations
- Vim mode
- Frontmatter support for Bases
- End-to-end encryption
- Web clipper extension
- Collaboration features
- AI-powered search
- Template marketplace
- Multi-vault support
- Portable Windows version
- Flatpak distribution
- Obsidian plugin compatibility layer
- Export to PDF/DOCX
๐ View Full Roadmap & Vote on Features
Layer | Technology |
---|---|
Frontend | React 19, TipTap Editor, Tailwind CSS |
Backend | Tauri 2.0 (Rust), Tokio (async runtime) |
Database | JSON-based (local files) |
Graph | react-force-graph, Three.js |
Math | KaTeX |
Testing | Vitest (unit), Playwright (E2E) |
Build | Vite, Cargo |
- ๐ User Guide - Learn how to use Lokus
- ๐ง Installation Guide - Platform-specific setup
- ๐ป Developer Guide - Build and contribute
- ๐ Plugin API - Create extensions
- ๐จ Theme Guide - Customize appearance
We love contributions! Whether it's:
- ๐ Bug reports - Help us squash bugs
- ๐ก Feature requests - Share your ideas
- ๐ Documentation - Improve our docs
- ๐ง Code - Submit a PR
- ๐จ Themes - Design new themes
- ๐ Plugins - Build extensions
Quick start for contributors:
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
) - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature
) - Open a Pull Request
See our Contributing Guide for detailed instructions.
Q: Is Lokus compatible with Obsidian vaults? A: Yes! Lokus uses standard markdown files. You can open existing Obsidian vaults.
Q: Will my Obsidian plugins work? A: Not directly, but we're building a compatibility layer. Core features (Dataview, Canvas, Graph) are built-in.
Q: Is sync really free? A: Yes! Use any cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, Syncthing). No lock-in.
Q: Why not just use Obsidian? A: If Obsidian works for you, great! Lokus is for those who want built-in features without plugin dependencies.
Q: How do I migrate from Obsidian? A: Just point Lokus at your existing vault folder. All notes work immediately.
Q: Mobile apps? A: Coming in v1.1! iOS and Android in development.
Licensed under the MIT License. Free to use, modify, and distribute.
Built with inspiration from:
- Obsidian - For pioneering local-first knowledge management
- Notion - For database views UX
- TipTap - For the amazing editor framework
- Tauri - For making desktop apps lightweight
- KaTeX - For beautiful math rendering
โญ Star this repo โข ๐ Report Bug โข ๐ก Request Feature โข ๐ฌ Join Discord
Don't forget to star the repo if you find it useful! โญ