AI · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to Open-source semantic search over your local notes via CLI
Introducing Nia Vault, a CLI that lets you query your local markdown/text files using natural language. What it does: Semantic search over local folders and notes Works across multiple synced directories RAG-style answers with citations from your own files How it works: Calls `POST /search/query` with `local_folders` Uses `search_mode: sources` to return answers + file references Example: vault ask "What are my notes about project planning?" OSS: https://github.com/chenxin-yan/nia-vault
Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.
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This lets you talk to local LLMs in Apple Notes. I saw Obsidian Ollama (https://github.com/hinterdupfinger/obsidian-ollama) and thought it was handy, but I'm too lazy to migrate away from the Apple ecosystem, so I quickly hacked this together. I tend to use Notes as a scratchpad for prompts, so it's nice to do some quick inference without leaving the app. Notes doesn't really support plugins so I'm using the macOS accessibility API for reading selections and then stream responses using the clipboard (not ideal but it works).
2024 · smallest.app · its alternatives →
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Thank you for your comments, just some context: - The app is available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and the Web. - The Web version is implemented as a Progressive Web Application that is very responsive, local first, offline first, can be installed, and is entirely free to use. - Native (hybrid) versions do not require subscription fees and have small one-time payment. - You can store your notes in Git using any Git provider such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. However, it has the best built-in integration with GitHub. Self-hosted scenarios like Gitea are also…
2024 · about.noteshub.app · its alternatives →
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NotePlan 3▲264Native (Mac & iOS) note-taking based on local Markdown files
2020 · noteplan.co · its alternatives →
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layer▲88I built a small CLI called layer. It manages .git/info/exclude so you can keep local-only files in a repo without adding them to the shared .gitignore. This came from a normal team repo problem. People keep their own local files in a repo: API_SPEC.md, BACKEND_GUIDE.md, ARCHITECTURE_NOTES.md, CLAUDE.md, prompt files, scratch notes, temporary investigation docs, and other markdown files with custom names that are useful for one developer but should not be committed. The usual answer is “just put it in .gitignore”, but that gets messy fast because these files are different for each…
Mar 2026 · crates.io · its alternatives →
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CLI and local web plain text note‑taking, bookmarking, and archiving with linking, tagging, filtering, search, Git versioning & syncing, Pandoc conversion, + more, in a single portable script. - xwmx/nb
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Reference▲81Local file search with citations for AI agents. No cloud uploads.
Aug 2026 · tryreference.com · its alternatives →
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Local first semantic and hybrid BM25 grep / search tool for use by AI and humans! - GitHub - BeaconBay/ck: Local first semantic and hybrid BM25 grep / search tool for use by AI and humans!
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 9vault▲25
save links, notes, and images. private & open source.
2025 · getvault.pages.dev · its alternatives →
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I wrote this tool to get familiar with CLIP model, I know many people have written similar tools with CLIP before, but I'm new to machine learning and writing a classic tool helps my study. The unusual thing with my version is, it is in pure Node.js, with the power of node-mlx, a Node.js machine learning framework. The repo in the link is mostly about implementing indexing and CLI, the code of the model implementation lives as a Node.js module: https://github.com/frost-beta/clip . Hope this helps other learners!
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Bidirectionally sync Markdown files with Apple Notes. - shakedlokits/stash
Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Semantic search over your own Claude Code session history
Aug 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Local AI search for your messy files
Jun 2026 · vault-seek.vercel.app · its alternatives →
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After getting frustrated with macOS's Spotlight search, e.g., typing "driver license" doesn't give me anything unless the file name matches exactly, I thought, why not index my entire Documents folder? This way, I can find that one PDF or image buried deep in subfolders using natural language queries. So I built SmartSearch; it uses SentenceTransformers for embeddings and FAISS for fast similarity search. Best of all, it runs locally on your computer. Github: https://github.com/neberej/smart-search/ Demo:…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
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I was experimenting with building a local dataset generator with deep research workflow a while back and that got me thinking. what if the same workflow could run on my own files instead of the internet. being able to query pdfs, docs or notes and get back a structured report sounded useful. so I made a small terminal tool that does exactly that. I point it to local files like pdf, docx, txt or jpg. it extracts the text, splits it into chunks, runs semantic search, builds a structure from my query, and then writes out a markdown report section by section. it feels like having a lightweight…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Cross-platform local file search engine. Contribute to naaive/orange development by creating an account on GitHub.
2022 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Dear HN Community, I am a long time fan and first-time contributor. I just launched a developer focused semantic search platform and wanted to share it with the community. The idea is simple: upload structured or unstructured documents, select the fields you want to index and tag as metadata, and instantly get a clean search API you can use in your own app. Here is what it currently supports: - Manage your own tenants and projects - Upload .json and .txt files (support for .pdf, .docx, .xlsx, .yml, etc. coming soon) - Expose 3 APIs: search, upload document (embeddings), and delete document -…
2025 · aisearch.vpuna.com · its alternatives →
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Grimoire▲2Local markdown notes linked with relations and properties
Jul 2026 · grimoire.im · its alternatives →
- 19AF
Hello, Motivated by this discussion https://goo.gl/te4BFv, I have created a simple (free and open-source) command line note organizer. The tool, called npmnotes, take a folder with notes (written in markdown/texdown) and creates a webpage that lets you search and browse through the notes. You can then publish this webpage or use it locally. The result (built with npmnotes) looks something like this https://npmnotes.org. Currently, this is just a (working) prototype and I plan to add more features soon (based on the feedback I get). What do you think of it?
2018 · its alternatives →
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The sprawling world of NFTs would benefit from a semantic search app. So we made one. Try text queries like “a city in space”, “monet”, or “cat wearing a red hat”. Or image queries by uploading an image or by clicking on one of NFTs on the right. Enjoy!
2022 · nyckel.com · its alternatives →
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Hi HN, I built a simple TUI for viewing and editing .md files in the terminal. More and more markdown files keep appearing in our projects, and I found myself needing a quick way to view(with syntax highlighting) and edit them without leaving the terminal, so I built this
Apr 2026 · mdee.bkh.dev · its alternatives →
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VaultSage▲15Your AI-native Drive for organizing, using and sharing files
Nov 2025 · vaultsage.ai · its alternatives →
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Hi HN, I built VaultNote, a local-first note-taking app that runs entirely in the browser. Key ideas: - 100% local-first: no backend or server - No login, accounts, or tracking - Notes stored locally in IndexedDB / LocalStorage - AES encryption with a single master password - Tree-structured notes for organizing knowledge The goal was to create a simple note app where your data never leaves your device. You can open the site, enter a master password, and start writing immediately. Since everything is stored locally, VaultNote also supports import/export so you can back up your…
Jan 2026 · vaultnote.saposs.com · its alternatives →
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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →