# tolaria

> Desktop app for keeping notes as plain markdown files in a git repository

- Repository: https://github.com/refactoringhq/tolaria
- Category: Productivity & personal
- Stars: 20,155 · Forks: 1,388 · Language: TypeScript · License: AGPL-3.0
- Experience: Beginner friendly
- Page: https://ir.adyog.com/repos/refactoringhq/tolaria/

Tolaria helps you manage a large collection of notes. Each note is a markdown file with YAML frontmatter, and the whole folder (a vault) is a git repository. You get version history and can sync with any git remote.

The app works offline and needs no account or subscription. If you stop using it, your files still work in any editor. Types in Tolaria are just categories that help you find notes. There are no required fields and no validation.

Because the notes are plain files, AI agents can read and edit them directly. The README names setup paths for Claude Code, Codex CLI and Gemini CLI, and it provides an AGENTS file for agents to follow. The author says they use it with a vault of more than 10,000 notes.

## What it does

- **Plain markdown in git**: Notes are markdown files with YAML frontmatter, and every vault is a git repository. You can use any git remote and need no Tolaria servers.
- **Offline, no accounts**: The app has no cloud dependency, no login and no subscription. Your vault works without a network.
- **Works with AI agents**: It has setup paths for Claude Code, Codex CLI and Gemini CLI, plus an AGENTS file. A bundled MCP server is mentioned for external AI tooling.
- **Keyboard-first editing**: The editor and command palette are designed so you can do most things without the mouse.
- **Getting started vault**: On first launch you can clone a sample vault that walks you through the app.

## What you could build

- Build a personal second brain from journals, notes and saved web pages.
- Organize company docs in one vault to give AI assistants context.
- Store an AI assistant's memory and procedures as versioned markdown files.
- Keep a large note collection in git so you can review changes and sync across machines.

## Who it's for

People who keep lots of notes and are comfortable with markdown and git basics; AI-agent users who want a file-based memory store.

## Get started

Install with Homebrew on macOS, or download a release for macOS, Windows or Linux. On first launch, clone the getting started vault for a walkthrough. To build from source, you need Node 20+, pnpm and Rust, then run pnpm install and pnpm dev.

```
brew install --cask tolaria
```

Tags: markdown, notes, knowledge-base, git, desktop-app