_Translated from the Korean original using Claude Opus 4.7._

Obsidian is great, but it’s Electron. Notion is nice, but your data lives in the cloud. Apple Notes is native, but doesn’t support Markdown.

I wanted an editor that is:

- Truly native (not Electron)
- Stores files as plain markdown on my machine
- Supports Obsidian-style `[[wikilinks]]` and backlinks
- Has AI that can read and edit my documents directly (like Cursor)

So I built it myself.

## The Stack

```
Frontend: React 19 + TypeScript + Vite
Editor:   Tiptap (ProseMirror-based)
Backend:  Tauri v2 (Rust)
Storage:  SQLite (FTS5 full-text search)
AI:       Gemini API (tool calling)
STT:      Whisper.cpp (local, offline)
```

Thanks to Tauri, bundle size is ~15MB and memory usage ~80MB. An equivalent Electron app would consume 200MB+.

## What Makes It Different

### Plain Markdown Files

Your notes are stored as `.md` files. Open them in vim, version control with git, or open the same folder in Obsidian. No lock-in.

### AI Agent, Not Just Chat

This isn’t a chatbot. Using Gemini’s tool calling, the AI can actually:

- Search your vault (`search_vault`)
- Read, create, and edit files
- Insert wikilinks automatically
- Find related documents

Ask it to “summarize last week’s meeting notes” and it will search your vault, read the relevant files, and offer to create a new summary document.

### Cursor-Style Edit Preview

AI edits aren’t applied directly. You see a diff and choose to Accept or Reject:

```
- Original content here.
+ AI-modified content here.

[Keep] [Undo]
```

When editing multiple files, manage them all from a floating bar. `Cmd+Y` to Keep, `Cmd+N` to Undo.

### Local Speech-to-Text

Voice recognition runs locally with whisper.cpp. Download the model once, then it works completely offline. No API calls to OpenAI.

### Full-Text Search

SQLite FTS5 with BM25 ranking. Search through titles and full document content. Korean tokenization supported.

## Honest Comparison

|  | Kuku | Obsidian | Notion |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Native app | **Yes (Tauri)** | No (Electron) | No (Electron) |
| Local files | **Yes** | Yes | No |
| AI with tool use | **Yes** | Chat only | Limited |
| Edit preview | **Yes** | No | No |
| Local STT | **Yes** | No | No |
| Plugin ecosystem | No | **Extensive** | Limited |
| Mobile | No | **Yes** | **Yes** |

**Use Obsidian if** you need the plugin ecosystem or mobile apps.

**Use Kuku if** you want native performance, AI that edits your files, and local voice recognition.

## What It’s Not

- **No cloud sync** — use iCloud or Dropbox folder directly
- **No mobile app** — macOS only for now
- **No collaboration** — this is for personal use
- **No plugin system** — yet

## Try It

Kuku is free to download. AI features require a subscription, but the core editor works without any account.

Requirements: macOS 12.0+, Apple Silicon.