# localmd

> You write. AI connects. All in your local folder.
>
> An agent lives in your folder, a wiki grows around your files. It reads the
> PDFs, EPUBs and notes already there, reaches the tabs open in your browser,
> and writes linked Markdown beside them. Every citation clicks back to the exact
> paragraph, and every change waits for your yes.

localmd (https://localmd.app) turns an ordinary folder on your computer into a
knowledge base with an AI agent working inside it. The app is a static web
page: it has no backend, stores nothing server-side, and requires no account.
Files are read and written directly in the folder you grant it, via the
browser's File System Access API.

## Facts

- The knowledge base is the folder: plain Markdown notes with `[[wikilinks]]`,
  backlinks and a graph view, plus your PDFs, EPUBs, DOCX files and images.
- The agent reads, searches, indexes and writes those files. PDF/EPUB/DOCX
  documents are parsed into block-level indexes; answers carry citations that
  click through to the exact paragraph of the source, highlighted.
- Citations are written into your own Markdown files, so they keep working in
  any editor, with or without localmd.
- Every write the agent makes is shown as a line-level diff to approve or
  discard; an ask-first mode keeps anything from touching disk until approved.
  Git is built in (isomorphic-git, a real `.git` your terminal recognises),
  with GitHub sync over the REST Git Data API.
- Bring your own API key. Supported directly: Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek,
  Google Gemini, xAI, Groq, OpenRouter, Qwen, Zhipu GLM, Kimi, MiniMax, and
  any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Requests go from the browser straight to the
  provider; localmd adds no middleman and no usage caps.
- Extensible: reusable skills (`SKILL.md` files in the knowledge base), MCP
  servers, a `MEMORY.md` the agent updates only when asked, and a companion
  Chrome extension (localmd Connect) that lets the agent use the user's own
  logged-in browser: open tabs, read pages, click and type, and reach sites
  that need a login. There is no catalog of supported sites — the agent works
  a site out live and can save what it learned as a skill in the folder.
  Connect is open source under MIT: https://github.com/whitefoxx/web-tools
- Open source under MIT: https://github.com/whitefoxx/localmd. The hosted app
  at localmd.app is that repository, deployed, plus a free trial allowance so
  a first visit needs no key.
- A built-in demo knowledge base (https://localmd.app/?demo=1) opens with no
  folder and no key: three linked notes and a real 43-page paper with working
  citations, plus a small free model allowance for a few questions.

## Limits

- Opening a real local folder requires Chrome, Edge or another Chromium
  browser — the File System Access API exists only there. The demo works in
  any modern browser, because it lives in memory.
- Your files stay in your folder, but the text you send the agent goes to the
  model provider you configured, under your own key. "Nothing ever leaves your
  machine" would be false, and localmd does not claim it.
- Scanned PDFs have no text layer and index to zero blocks until you ask for
  OCR, which is a button on the document, runs on your machine, and takes
  seconds per page. Recognised text contains mistakes; citations still land
  on the right paragraph, and the app says which documents were read that way.
- LLM endpoints must allow browser CORS; the bundled presets are verified,
  many self-hosted gateways are not.

## Price

The app is free, all of it, and open source. There is no paid tier, no account
and no usage caps — web search, the browser extension, MCP servers, tools built
against any API, and GitHub sync are all simply included. The only money
involved is the model: you bring your own API key and pay that provider
directly at their prices. localmd adds nothing on top and meters nothing.

## Compared with

- NotebookLM: reads your sources but keeps results in its notebook. localmd
  writes answers into your own files, cites back to the exact paragraph, and
  imposes no source limits (your key, your usage).
- Obsidian + AI plugins: reaches similar results if you assemble plugins, MCP
  configuration and a local server yourself. localmd ships the agent built in,
  and opens an existing vault without imposing any layout on it.
- Desktop AI knowledge tools: localmd installs nothing — it is a URL, and the
  browser's own permission model is the entire security arrangement.

## Links

- App: https://localmd.app
- Demo (no setup): https://localmd.app/?demo=1
- Source (MIT): https://github.com/whitefoxx/localmd
- Compared with NotebookLM / Gemini Notebook, in full:
  https://localmd.app/alternatives/notebooklm
- Compared with ChatPDF: https://localmd.app/alternatives/chatpdf
- Compared with Notion AI: https://localmd.app/alternatives/notion-ai
- Alongside Obsidian and its AI plugins:
  https://localmd.app/vs/obsidian-ai-plugins
- Why it needs Chrome or Edge: https://localmd.app/why-chrome-only