What is DocGraph?
DocGraph is a privacy-first, AI-native personal knowledge graph: a free desktop notes app where your HTML and Markdown notes, the links between them and an AI that has read all of them live in one place. Notes stay plain files in a folder on your machine (a vault), and the AI can run entirely on your computer.
Is DocGraph free?
Yes. DocGraph is free to use, with no account, no subscription and no paid tier. Questions to the built-in local AI cost nothing because the model runs on your own computer.
Which platforms does DocGraph run on?
The current release (beta) runs on Macs with Apple Silicon (M1 and later) on macOS 13.3 Ventura or later. Intel Macs, Windows and Linux are planned for later releases.
Does DocGraph work offline?
Yes. Your notes are local files and the built-in AI model runs on your Mac, so reading, editing, search and AI chat all work without an internet connection. The only things that go online are the ones you turn on (cloud AI providers, web search, model downloads) and a daily update check, which sends no version, platform or identifier.
Where are my notes stored? Is there a proprietary database?
Your notes are ordinary .html and .md files in a folder you choose. There is no importer and no proprietary note format: you can open, edit, back up or move the files with any other tool. DocGraph keeps only a rebuildable search index of its own.
Does DocGraph need an account or collect telemetry?
No. There is no account, no sign-in and no telemetry. All outbound connections go through one deny-by-default gate, and a badge and an activity log show when the app goes online.
Which AI models does DocGraph use?
By default a local model that runs inside the app (for example Gemma 4 E4B, picked to fit your Mac's memory). You can also use any model from Ollama, Apple's on-device model on macOS 26, or, if you choose to add an API key, cloud models from OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Cloud use is off until you turn it on.
Can I chat with my notes?
Yes. Ask a question about your whole vault, a folder, a tag, a person or a date range, and the answer cites the notes it came from. The AI is tuned to say it could not find something rather than invent an answer. In agent mode it can also write pages, fill tables, add tasks and reorganise folders, asking before each change.
Can I open my Obsidian vault in DocGraph?
Yes. Point DocGraph at the folder: there is nothing to import. Markdown notes open as they are, [[wikilinks]] resolve across the vault, and Obsidian-style callouts, front matter tags and aliases, %%comments%% and ^block ids are understood. Obsidian plugins do not run in DocGraph.
What file types can DocGraph open?
HTML and Markdown (view and edit), PDF, Word (.docx), spreadsheets (.xlsx, .xls, .ods, .csv), plain text and RTF (read-only), whiteboards (.wb), Excalidraw sketches, images, audio and video. Scanned PDFs and images can be made searchable with on-device text recognition.
Can Claude Code, Codex or Cursor use my DocGraph notes?
Yes. DocGraph has a built-in MCP server that lets Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor and other MCP clients search and read your vault. It is off by default, runs locally behind a token, and every write asks for your approval.
Can I encrypt notes?
Yes. Individual files can be encrypted at rest with a passphrase (using the age format) and unlocked for a session when you need them. Secret detection also warns when a note contains something like an API key.
How do I sync or back up my vault?
A vault is a normal folder, so any backup you already use works. DocGraph also has built-in version history on Git: start versioning a vault, review changes, commit, and push to a remote you choose. There is no DocGraph cloud.
Is DocGraph open source?
No. The app is closed source and free to use.
Still have a question?
The documentation covers every feature, or ask in Discussions.