Your knowledge, connected to its source.
BrainFrame is a local-first reader and note-taking system that keeps every thought linked to the material it came from — images and Markdown now, more formats on the way — across every device you own.
One home for everything you read and think
Bring your sources and your notes into a single, connected library.
Read your files
Images and Markdown work today. PDF, EPUB, DOCX, archived web pages, and even Linux man pages are on the roadmap — one reader, more formats over time.
Notes linked to source
The idea at the heart of BrainFrame: every note keeps a durable link back to the passage that inspired it, so you always know where it came from. That linking isn’t built yet — it’s the core of the roadmap.
See notes in context
Read a note on its own, or in the flow of the source it came from, following your thinking back to where it started. It depends on the linking that’s still ahead — planned, not working today.
Built for every device
Windows and Linux desktop builds run today; a macOS build is provided but untested — treat it as experimental for now. Native iOS and Android apps and cross-device sync are in active development — see the roadmap.
Your data, yours first
Everything lives on your devices by default. Notes in plain text, links in open formats you can follow without us. The cloud is an option, never a requirement.
Connect ideas
The payoff BrainFrame is building toward: a second brain that links sources, notes, and thoughts once scattered across apps and formats. That connective layer isn’t here yet — it’s what the linking work unlocks.
Built on principles, not lock-in
Today's tools are remarkable, but each is an incomplete take on the same idea. BrainFrame is built around a few commitments we won't compromise.
Local-first
Your library and notes live on your machine. Work offline, own your files, and never depend on someone else's servers to reach your ideas.
Open, neutral formats
Notes are plain text. Source links are stored so you can find your way back to an idea even without BrainFrame installed.
One idea, fully realized
Obsidian, Notion, Roam, Org-mode and others each capture a piece of this vision. BrainFrame is the attempt to implement the whole of it.
Help put BrainFrame on your phone
BrainFrame's mobile apps are almost ready for testing. Sign up to be among the first testers on iOS and Android, and help push toward a public launch on the App Store and Google Play.
Sign up to test on iOS & AndroidYou share your email to test BrainFrame — here's mine, in the same spirit. Questions, ideas, or just want to talk? Write anytime: getbrainframe@gmail.com