Blinko is an open-source, self-hosted personal AI note tool designed for individuals who want to capture fleeting thoughts and organize them with AI-assisted search. Built with TypeScript, Next.js, and React, it combines the simplicity of plain-text Markdown notes with advanced Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to enable natural language queries over your personal knowledge base. Unlike cloud-based note apps, Blinko ensures complete data ownership by running entirely on your infrastructure—using PostgreSQL for storage and OpenAI for AI enhancements. It’s ideal for developers, researchers, and knowledge workers who value privacy but still want intelligent search capabilities without relying on third-party services.
What You Get
- AI-Enhanced Note Retrieval - Blinko uses RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) to allow natural language queries over your Markdown notes. You can ask questions like ‘What did I learn about Docker networking last week?’ and get context-aware answers sourced directly from your notes.
- Data Ownership - All your notes, embeddings, and metadata are stored in your own PostgreSQL database. No data is sent to external servers unless you explicitly configure OpenAI API keys for AI features.
- Efficient Markdown Note-Taking - Notes are stored as plain text with full Markdown support, making them human-readable, version-controllable, and easy to export or back up.
- Lightweight Multi-Platform Support - Built with Tauri, Blinko provides native desktop applications for macOS, Windows, and Linux with minimal resource usage. Mobile support is also available via web interface.
- One-Click Docker Deployment - Blinko can be deployed in seconds using a single curl command that installs Docker, pulls the image, and sets up the environment with default configuration.
Common Use Cases
- Building a personal knowledge base - A researcher or student uses Blinko to store lecture notes, paper summaries, and ideas. They query using natural language like ‘Show me all notes about transformer models’ to retrieve relevant content without manual tagging.
- Privacy-conscious note-taking for professionals - A consultant avoids cloud-based tools due to confidentiality concerns. They self-host Blinko on a home server to store client insights, meeting notes, and project ideas without exposing data to SaaS providers.
- Problem: Forgetting scattered ideas → Solution: Blinko’s instant capture + AI search - Users jot down ideas on their phone or desktop, and later retrieve them via natural language queries instead of scrolling through folders. AI connects related thoughts across different notes.
- Dev teams managing personal documentation - Developers use Blinko to document debugging patterns, API quirks, and code snippets. The Markdown format integrates with Git workflows, while AI helps find similar past solutions when encountering new issues.
Under The Hood
Blinko is a self-hosted personal knowledge management tool that combines AI-powered note-taking with a rich, interactive user interface. It is built as a modern web and desktop application using TypeScript, React, and Tauri, offering a hybrid approach to organizing information and interacting with AI features.
Architecture
Blinko follows a monorepo structure that clearly separates frontend, backend, and shared components, promoting organized development across a complex ecosystem. The architecture emphasizes modularity and component-based design, especially in the frontend.
- Uses a store-based state management approach to handle application data flow
- Implements layered component structures for scalable UI development
- Organizes modules with clear separation of concerns and reusable components
Tech Stack
Blinko leverages a modern tech stack tailored for cross-platform web and desktop experiences, integrating contemporary tools and frameworks.
- Built with TypeScript and React for type-safe frontend development
- Employs Tauri for desktop app capabilities and Vite for fast builds
- Integrates MobX, Tailwind CSS, and Heroui for state management and styling
- Utilizes Turbo for monorepo management and Tauri plugins for system integration
Code Quality
While the project demonstrates some structured components and functional divisions, there are notable gaps in testing and consistency that affect overall robustness.
- Relies on TypeScript for type safety but shows limited test coverage and frameworks
- Error handling is present in core files but lacks centralized or standardized approaches
- Code style and component organization show some consistency but also inconsistencies across modules
- Technical debt is evident in areas like documentation, abstraction, and testing depth
What Makes It Unique
Blinko stands out as a unique blend of personal knowledge management and AI interaction, offering a desktop-first experience with web-scale features.
- Combines Tauri-based desktop functionality with AI-enhanced note-taking capabilities
- Provides a hybrid web and desktop application architecture that bridges platform limitations
- Integrates i18n and internationalization features for global accessibility