# Quickstart (https://openknowledge.ai/docs/get-started/quickstart) Set up a knowledge base with OpenKnowledge in less than five minutes. ## Desktop app ### Install the desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux) Download the installer for your platform: - [macOS (Apple Silicon)](https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge/releases/latest/download/OpenKnowledge-arm64.dmg) - [Windows (x64)](https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge/releases/latest/download/OpenKnowledge-Setup-x64.exe) - [Windows (Arm64)](https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge/releases/latest/download/OpenKnowledge-Setup-arm64.exe) - [Linux .deb (x64)](https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge/releases/latest/download/OpenKnowledge-amd64.deb) - [Linux .deb (Arm64)](https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge/releases/latest/download/OpenKnowledge-arm64.deb) - [Linux .rpm (x64)](https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge/releases/latest/download/OpenKnowledge-x86_64.rpm) - [Linux .rpm (Arm64)](https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge/releases/latest/download/OpenKnowledge-aarch64.rpm) - [Run in your browser (npm)](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/reference/cli) - [All builds and checksums](https://openknowledge.ai/download) > **Verify Git is installed** > > Open a terminal and run: > > ```bash > git --version > ``` > > OpenKnowledge uses Git for timeline and recovery. If Git isn't installed, you can follow the instructions at [git-scm.com](https://git-scm.com/install/). ### Create a new project - Open the OpenKnowledge app. On first launch, approve the **Connect your AI tools to OpenKnowledge** dialog — it wires up your AI editors and makes sure the `ok` command is available in your terminal. If you skip it, re-open it later from **File → Set up OpenKnowledge integrations…**. - You'll then land on the launcher. To follow this guide, choose **Create new project** — or pick a starter pack from the **or use a starter pack** line beneath the cards (for example **Knowledge base**) to scaffold ready-made folders and templates up front and skip the Initialize step below. The count at the end of that line opens the full set of packs. - Type a name for your project (for example, *Team Wiki*). - Optionally click **Browse** to change where the project is saved, then click **Create**. ### Initialize a knowledge base From your newly created project, select **Knowledge base** from the landing page, leave **Project root** selected, and click **Initialize**. > **Info** > > Curious what the app writes to your machine — including the `PATH` changes it manages? See [What OpenKnowledge writes to your system](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/reference/what-open-knowledge-writes). ### Open the knowledge base in your AI agent With no documents open, you will see a screen with an input box and a button labeled **Ask** followed by an agent's name. When an in-app agent is available, that is the default, so the conversation stays inside OpenKnowledge; on a machine where none is set up yet the button falls back to a Terminal CLI, and then to an external app. Type what you want to learn about in the input box and click the button; it hands your project to the agent with your prompt as the starter. Use the chevron beside the button to pick a different agent instead — another in-app agent, a Terminal CLI, or an external app such as Claude, Codex, or Cursor — and the pick is remembered next time. Your agent may take a few seconds to load the project. Not sure what to write? Paste this into the input box (or use a topic of your choice): > Create a knowledge base about Large Language Models. Include an overview page and separate pages for three key concepts. > **Info** > > To avoid having to approve all OpenKnowledge tool calls, set your agent to auto-mode, full-access, or an equivalent setting. > **Info** > > If your agent prompts you to approve a new MCP server (Cursor does this), approve `open-knowledge`. ### Watch your agent work An in-app agent works in OpenKnowledge's Agents panel, which opens beside the editor. If you handed the project to an external app instead — Cursor, Codex, or Claude Desktop — that agent opens the OpenKnowledge editor in an embedded window. You will see your agent's icon in the top right of the editor window. Click on the icon to see the agent's [activity](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/features/agent-activity) across files in the knowledge base. If the agent icon is greyed out, your agent may not have started writing yet. Wait a few seconds and check again. ### Explore the knowledge base The editor's sidebar shows every doc in your knowledge base. Each doc has: - A WYSIWYG body and a source-mode toggle - A frontmatter panel for properties When viewing a document, check out the right side pane for: - An outline of the document's structure - A list of incoming and outgoing links to other docs - A graph view of the document's links in the knowledge base - A [timeline](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/features/timeline-and-recovery) of recent edits with per-burst diffs and selective rollback Right-click anywhere in the sidebar (empty space, a folder, or a file) to create, reveal, rename, hide, delete (to your system's trash), and **Open with AI**. The full feature tour is under [Features](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/features/editor). ## Web app The same editor, served locally and accessible in your browser — for any platform the desktop app doesn't cover (an Intel Mac, a server) or when you just prefer the terminal. > **Prerequisites — Verify Node and Git are installed** > > Open a terminal and run: > > ``` > node --version > git --version > ``` > > - **Node.js 24+.** OpenKnowledge requires Node.js 24 or higher. Download from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org/en/download/). > - **`git`.** OpenKnowledge uses Git for timeline and recovery. Install it from [git-scm.com](https://git-scm.com/install/). ### Install the CLI and open the editor Install the CLI from npm, initialize a project, and start the editor in your browser: ```bash # Install the CLI globally npm install -g @inkeep/open-knowledge # Create (or enter) a project folder, then initialize a knowledge base. # `ok init` scaffolds .ok/ and wires up Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Pi, Antigravity, LM Studio, and Hermes. mkdir my-knowledge-base && cd my-knowledge-base ok init # Serve the editor and open it in your browser. ok start ``` > **Info** > > Want to know exactly what these commands write to your machine — in your project, your home directory, and your editors' configs? See [What OpenKnowledge writes to your system](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/reference/what-open-knowledge-writes). ### Open the knowledge base in your AI agent The quickest route is inside the editor: the empty state's **Ask** button (or, with a document open, the bottom **Ask AI** field) hands your prompt to an in-app agent when one is available, so you can chat without leaving OpenKnowledge. To use an external editor instead, `ok init` already registered OpenKnowledge with the AI editors it could configure, so your agent can use the OpenKnowledge tools right away — open your project there, or right-click the project in the sidebar, choose **Open with AI ▸**, and pick one. If a tool's MCP entry didn't appear, see [registration outcomes](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/reference/cli#set-up-a-project). In the agent's chat window, add the following to get started or use a topic of your choice: > Create a knowledge base about Large Language Models. Include an overview page and separate pages for three key concepts. > **Info** > > To avoid having to approve all OpenKnowledge tool calls, set your agent to auto-mode, full-access, or an equivalent setting. > **Info** > > If your agent prompts you to approve a new MCP server (Cursor does this), approve `open-knowledge`. ### Watch your agent work You will see your agent's icon in the top right of the editor window. Click on the icon to see the agent's [activity](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/features/agent-activity) across files in the knowledge base. If the agent icon is greyed out, your agent may not have started writing yet. Wait a few seconds and check again. ### Explore the knowledge base The editor's sidebar shows every doc in your knowledge base. Each doc has: - A WYSIWYG body and a source-mode toggle - A frontmatter panel for properties When viewing a document, check out the right side pane for: - An outline of the document's structure - A list of incoming and outgoing links to other docs - A graph view of the document's links in the knowledge base - A [timeline](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/features/timeline-and-recovery) of recent edits with per-burst diffs and selective rollback Right-click anywhere in the sidebar (empty space, a folder, or a file) to create, reveal, rename, hide, delete, and **Open with AI**. The full feature tour is under [Features](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/features/editor). ## What's next - Syncing your knowledge base to GitHub: [Syncing](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/features/github-sync) - Learn more about the editor: [Editor](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/features/editor) - Configure OpenKnowledge: [Configuration](https://openknowledge.ai/docs/reference/configuration)