Open source · MIT license

Your notes.
Your machine.

Self-hosted markdown knowledge base. Deploy on any machine, access from all your devices, let AI agents work with your notes. No cloud. No lock-in.

$ git clone https://github.com/mahsanamin/mdnest.git
$ cd mdnest && ./setup.sh
# edit mdnest.conf -- credentials + mount directories
$ ./setup.sh && docker-compose up --build -d
# running at http://localhost:3236

Built for how you work

No compromises. No bloat. Just your notes, your way.

Host once, access everywhere

Run on a spare machine or home server. Access securely from laptop, phone, tablet -- anywhere on your Tailscale network with automatic HTTPS.

AI-native

Built-in MCP server. Claude, Cursor, and other AI agents can read, write, search, and organize your notes. Your knowledge base becomes context for your AI workflows.

API-first

Full REST API with token auth. Build scripts, automations, or custom integrations. Create API tokens from the Settings page -- no passwords shared.

Plain files, zero lock-in

Notes are .md files in directories. cat, grep, git, VS Code -- every tool you already use works. No database, no proprietary format, no migration.

Private by default

Binds to localhost. No cloud services, no telemetry, no third-party accounts. Your notes never leave your machine unless you explicitly enable git sync.

Git backup on your terms

Optional auto-commit and push to a private GitHub repo. Configurable interval. Each namespace can have its own remote.

Up and running in 3 minutes

1

Configure

Clone the repo, run setup, edit your credentials and mount your note directories.

./setup.sh
2

Deploy

One command builds and starts the Go backend, React frontend, and nginx proxy in Docker.

docker-compose up --build -d
3

Connect

Access from your browser. Add Tailscale for other devices. Create an API token for AI agents.

tailscale serve --bg --https 3236 ...

Architecture

Browser / Phone / AI Agent | [Tailscale -- encrypted WireGuard tunnel] | nginx (static files + /api/ proxy) | Go backend (JWT + API token auth, REST API) | Filesystem (plain .md files in mounted directories) | [git-sync -- optional auto-commit + push]

Start building your knowledge base

Open source. Free forever. Takes 3 minutes to set up.

View on GitHub