Local by default
Your database is a SQLite file on your machine. No Banook account, no Banook cloud, no telemetry.
// LOCAL-FIRST CONTEXT FOR AI
Your contextstays with you.
Banook is a local-first, privacy-focused context manager for AI agents. Keep Dens, Sparks, and Artifacts on your machine. Connect any OpenAI-compatible model. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose to send it.
no accountlocal SQLiteno telemetrybring your own provider
127.0.0.1 — nothing leaves this machine
// VISION
Switch models, not memories.
Banook decouples context persistence from the LLM provider. Models change, pricing changes, endpoints move. Your knowledge, structure, and decisions stay in a local format you control.
Every assistant wants to own your memory. Banook takes the opposite position: the context layer should be yours, and the model should be replaceable.
That means local persistence, plain formats, and a clear boundary between your knowledge and the provider you happen to be using this month.
Switch models, not memories.
Banook is in beta, free to use, and currently closed source. The plan is to move it to a new repository and open-source it.
Provider-agnostic
Use any OpenAI-compatible endpoint — cloud, local, or both. The context is the constant.
Portable by design
Markdown Sparks, folder exports, and .banook profile capsules. Your context, not a vendor format.
// ONE APP, THREE INTERFACES
One context. Three ways in.
The same local data, whether you are clicking, chatting, or connecting an external agent.
LOCAL CONTEXT
01HUMAN UI
A workspace built for thinking.
Dens for structure, Sparks for writing, Artifacts for prototypes. Search, labels, and kanban views keep the shape of your work visible.
- Dens, Sparks, Artifacts
- Search + labels
- List, cards, kanban
02BUILT-IN AGENT
Delegate the busywork.
Ask Banook's agent to create, edit, move, or summarize Sparks, and generate sandboxed artifacts. Tool calls and reasoning stay visible.
- Chat with tools
- Edits to your context
- Sandboxed artifact generation
03MCP SERVER
Bring your own agent.
Expose the same context to external agents over a loopback MCP server. Point opencode, Claude Desktop, or any MCP client at 127.0.0.1:4549/mcp.
- Loopback only
- Read + write tools
- Works with external agents
// WHAT IS INSIDE
Small primitives. Serious leverage.
Banook is built from a few composable pieces: containers, documents, prototypes, and the intelligence you plug into them.
STRUCTURE
Dens
Group projects, areas, and ideas in containers that nest as deep as you need.
Sparks
Write requirements, decisions, risks, and notes as plain markdown that stays searchable.
Artifacts
Generate and preview self-contained HTML/CSS/JS prototypes with network access blocked.
ORGANIZE
Search
Find Sparks by name or content, even when the spelling is a little off.
Labels
Group items across Dens and filter with multiple labels, ranked by relevance.
Views
Switch how a Den is displayed. Drag Sparks between kanban columns when the work moves.
INTELLIGENCE
Built-in agent
A native agent that reads and writes your context, with visible reasoning and tool calls.
Provider config
Keep multiple providers, choose the active model, and switch between cloud and local endpoints.
Notion + MCP
Connect Notion MCP with OAuth and per-call approval, or expose Banook to external agents over MCP.
Known limitation: the Notion connector currently does not work with llama.cpp.
// PRIVATE BY ARCHITECTURE
Local is the architecture, not a toggle.
Banook runs on your machine. Your context is a local database, your keys live in the OS keychain, and the MCP server only listens on loopback. There is no Banook account and no telemetry.
The desktop app is a local process. The renderer is isolated, the artifact preview is its own sandbox, and the MCP bridge is bound to loopback. There is no Banook server in the middle.
Your data is still yours when you export it: markdown Sparks, folder structures, and .banook capsules that can move between profiles and machines.
When you connect a cloud model or Notion, the content you send goes to that provider. Banook does not proxy or store it.
- Context at rest
- Local SQLite file
- API keys
- OS credential store via Electron safeStorage
- Renderer
- Context isolation on · Node integration off
- Artifacts
- allow-scripts sandbox · no external network/assets
- External agents
- 127.0.0.1:4549/mcp only
- Notion
- OAuth · per-call approval
// PORTABILITY
Take your context with you.
Export a profile as a single .banook capsule, move it between machines, or import it into another profile with a rename.
Export a profile as a portable capsule when you want the whole context, or export Dens and Sparks as folders and frontmattered markdown when you want to share only part of it.
- Single-file profile capsule
- Replace-by-id with rename on import
- Folder + frontmattered markdown export
Dens, Sparks, labels, links, and artifacts travel together.
// INSIDE BANOOK
The workspace, the agent, the artifacts.
A quick look at the pieces. Screenshots are from the current beta.
01 / LIST VIEW
Scan a Den without opening every note.
A Den in list view. Sparks show their title, a short excerpt, labels, and when they were last updated, so you can scan a project at a glance.
02 / KANBAN VIEW
Move work between columns.
A Den in kanban view. Each child Den becomes a column, Sparks become cards, and labels stay visible. Drag a card to change its column and its parent Den.
03 / SEARCH
Find the note, not just the title.
Search in action. Results span Dens and Sparks, include content context, and show the item type. Use labels to narrow the set when the fuzzy match is too broad.
04 / ARTIFACTS
Prototype inside the sandbox.
An artifact preview. Self-contained HTML/CSS/JS runs in a sandbox with external network access blocked, so a generated prototype stays local and contained.
05 / SETTINGS
Make the workspace yours.
Look and feel settings. Pick the default Banook theme, keep Fira Code, and toggle ligatures. Changes apply immediately and are saved per profile.
06 / BUILT-IN AGENT
Ask in plain language. Watch the work.
The built-in agent searches Dens, reads Sparks, creates notes, and calls tools with visible reasoning. You can see exactly what changed before you keep it.
// GET BANOOK
Bring your context home.
The macOS Apple Silicon build is available now. Windows and Linux builds are coming later.
↓Download for macOS (Apple Silicon)
First launch on macOS
This beta build is not notarized. On first launch, right-click Banook → Open, or allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
Verify the download
SHA-256: 4e3b83e596999d8f5c9b27a27755e3dece6cddf0b64bf268eb79071856742593
Banook is in beta. Expect rough edges, and back up important contexts with capsules.