Show HN: OpenKnowledge – open source AI-first alternative to Obsidian/Notion

A shiny new note-taking app called OpenKnowledge strutted onto Hacker News promising a lot: a pretty, open-source, local-first writing space that mixes the polish of Notion with the markdown nerd appeal of Obsidian, plus built-in AI helpers like Claude and Codex. On paper, it sounds like catnip for productivity fans. In the comments, though, the real show began: people were less dazzled by the pitch deck and more focused on the usual internet mood swing of "love the idea, but…".

The loudest reactions were brutally practical. One user basically said, “I’m weak for a beautiful interface,” then immediately asked whether it could play nicely with their boring company-mandated tool. Another cut straight to the biggest relationship problem in software: how do you leave your current app without pain? If there’s no easy way out of Obsidian or Notion, commenters hinted, most people will keep doom-scrolling their old notes forever.

Then came the platform drama. “macOS only? shame,” was the quick dagger, while another commenter delivered the full mixed-review special: impressive work, but calling it local and open while not supporting local AI models or more platforms felt like a tease. The vibe was clear: people are intrigued, but they want Windows, Linux, Android, migration tools, and fewer strings attached. Even the geekiest question in the thread—how the AI agents actually watch a document—had the energy of someone peeking behind the curtain and asking, "Okay, but what’s the trick here?"