# Tolaria

> Free, open-source desktop app for Markdown knowledge bases

Tolaria is a free, open-source desktop app for managing a knowledge base of Markdown files. Each note is a plain file with YAML frontmatter in a folder on your disk, organized by types and relationships rather than by folder, and a built-in Git client handles history and sync through a remote of your choice. It can also run local coding agents or chat with AI models over your notes, and it needs no account.

- **Category:** Note-Taking Apps
- **Made by:** Luca, founder of Refactoring
- **Website:** https://tolaria.md
- **Runs on:** macOS, Windows, Linux
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 6, 2026

## Pricing

Tolaria is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** Free and open source under AGPL-3.0-or-later, with no paid plans, subscription or account. Coding agents and hosted AI models are set up with your own tools and API keys.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | $0 | The full desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, including the Git client, the AI panel and the MCP server. |

Read from https://tolaria.md/ on Oct 6, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Tolaria before buying.

## Key features

- **Plain Markdown vaults:** A vault is a folder of Markdown files with YAML frontmatter. Attachments, type definitions and saved views are files too, and there is no database.
- **Block editor with wikilinks:** A block-based editor with slash commands, wikilink autocomplete, a raw Markdown mode, whiteboards and media previews that saves to Markdown.
- **Types and relationships:** Notes are grouped by a type field rather than by folder, and frontmatter fields holding wikilinks become relationships with computed inverses and backlinks.
- **Built-in Git client:** Review diffs, commit, pull, push and resolve conflicts inside the app, with history for the whole vault and for each note. Sync runs through any Git remote.
- **Coding agents and direct models:** The AI panel runs local CLI agents such as Claude Code and Codex with tools to edit the vault, or chats with Ollama, LM Studio, OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini or OpenRouter models.
- **Spreadsheet notes:** A note can open as a single-sheet spreadsheet with formulas, stored as CSV-like text in the same Markdown file so it stays readable and diffable in Git.

## Good for

- People who want notes kept as plain Markdown files on their own disk
- Developers comfortable using Git for history and sync
- Users of CLI coding agents who want them to work on their notes

## Worth knowing

- Desktop only: no mobile or web app is offered, and the docs call Windows and Linux support early, with macOS as the primary target.
- There is no sync service of its own; syncing between devices means connecting a Git remote and relying on your system's Git authentication.
- Coding agents are installed separately and keep their own sign-in, and hosted model providers need your own API key.
- A spreadsheet note holds a single sheet; several tabs inside one note are not supported.

## Works with

Git, Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Ollama, LM Studio, OpenAI, Anthropic

**Tags:** Open source, Local-first, Works offline, Notes, Markdown, Linked notes, AI features

## Alternatives

- [Obsidian](https://toolgpa.com/tools/obsidian): Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/obsidian-vs-tolaria)
- [Logseq](https://toolgpa.com/tools/logseq): Open-source outliner for linked notes stored as local files. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/logseq-vs-tolaria)
- [SilverBullet](https://toolgpa.com/tools/silverbullet): Scriptable Markdown knowledge base, self-hosted or on desktop. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/silverbullet-vs-tolaria)
- [Octarine](https://toolgpa.com/tools/octarine): Local Markdown notes app with daily notes, views and optional AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/octarine-vs-tolaria)
- [Notion](https://toolgpa.com/tools/notion): Workspace for docs, wikis, databases and projects with built-in AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/notion-vs-tolaria)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 6, 2026:

- https://tolaria.md/
- https://tolaria.md/start/install
- https://tolaria.md/download/
- https://tolaria.md/reference/supported-platforms
- https://tolaria.md/concepts/vaults
- https://tolaria.md/concepts/git
- https://tolaria.md/concepts/types
- https://tolaria.md/concepts/relationships
- https://tolaria.md/concepts/spreadsheets
- https://tolaria.md/concepts/ai
- https://tolaria.md/guides/configure-ai-models
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/refactoringhq/tolaria/main/README.md

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/tolaria
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).