Kuku Roadmap: The Journey Toward Complete Freedom

Thanks to your overwhelming interest and support, Kuku Editor reached #2 on Product Hunt. What started as a personal project to meet my own needs has evolved into something much bigger, driven solely by our commitment to transparent code and a privacy-first mission.

The Wake-Up Call

When we launched on Product Hunt, we shipped with features we were proud of: a Tauri-based local editor with bidirectional [[wikilinks]], an AI agent powered by Gemini, local speech-to-text via Whisper, and a graph view. All running locally on your Mac.

But the response wasn’t just about the features. The comments, the upvotes, the conversations — they all pointed to something deeper. People weren’t just excited about another note-taking app. They were hungry for control.

• “Will you open source the code?”
• “Can I use my own AI key?”
• “How do I verify privacy?”

The message was clear: users don’t want to be locked into another platform. They want tools they can trust, inspect, and control.

So we made a decision.

The Decision: Complete Transparency

We’re not just open sourcing the client. We’re open sourcing everything.

• Desktop Client: MIT-licensed. Use it, fork it, build on it.
• Server Infrastructure: AGPL-licensed. Sync servers, AI processing backends, database schemas, deployment configs — all on GitHub.

No black boxes. No proprietary lock-in. You can audit exactly how your data flows through our systems, run your own infrastructure, or contribute improvements back to the community.

But open source alone isn’t enough. We’re also rebuilding our foundation.

The Rebuild: Starting Fresh

After shipping those features, we realized we were building on the wrong foundation. React and Tiptap served us well for the MVP, but to build a truly extensible platform, we needed to go deeper.

We’re migrating the entire editor core to SolidJS and pure ProseMirror. Why?

• Pure ProseMirror means no proprietary wrappers — anyone can extend the editor without license concerns
• SolidJS’s fine-grained reactivity gives us the performance we need
• A clean foundation enables the plugin architecture we’ve always wanted

This is a complete rewrite from the ground up. It will take time. But it’s the right foundation for everything we’re building next.

Three Ways Forward

Here’s where it gets interesting. We’re not forcing you into a single path. You get to choose:

1. Self-Host Everything

Deploy our server code on your own hardware. Run it on a home server, NAS, or $5/month VPS. We provide Docker Compose files and deployment guides. Your data never leaves infrastructure you control.

2. Bring Your Own (BYO)

Already have cloud services you trust? Connect your own S3 bucket, OpenAI API key, or local LLM (Ollama). Kuku becomes the interface layer on top of services you already use.

3. Buy Convenience

Don’t want to manage servers? Subscribe to kuku.mom — our managed service. We handle infrastructure, updates, and backups. You pay for convenience, but the code is identical to what you can self-host.

And here’s the promise: We will never hold your data hostage. Start with kuku.mom today, migrate to self-hosting tomorrow. Export everything, anytime.

What’s Next

1.0 Open-Source Launch

The first open-source release with the complete rewrite on SolidJS and ProseMirror. This includes:

• MeetingNote: Integrated lecture recording with local Whisper transcription
• GitHub Sync: Free version control by syncing your vault to a GitHub repository
• Homebrew Distribution: One-command installation for Mac users
• Full Server Code: Self-hosting guides and Docker configurations

Enhanced Search & Graph

Semantic understanding powered by local embedding models:

• Local Embeddings: Run embedding models (like nomic-embed-text) entirely on-device using Ollama or ONNX Runtime. No API calls, no internet required.
• Hybrid Search: Combine keyword search (BM25) with semantic search (vector similarity) to find notes by meaning, not just exact words.
• Smart Graph View: Visualize connections between notes based on semantic similarity, not just explicit links. Discover related notes you didn’t know were connected.
• Contextual Recommendations: Get suggestions for related notes as you write, based on the semantic content of your current document.

All of this runs locally. Your notes never leave your machine.

Sync & Mobile

Cross-device synchronization and mobile companion:

• Zero-Knowledge Sync: End-to-end encrypted synchronization through kuku.mom, self-hosted servers, or your own S3 bucket. The server only stores encrypted blobs it can never read.
• Mobile Apps: Native iOS and Android companions for quick capture and reading on the go. Full editing capabilities on mobile devices.
• Conflict Resolution: Smart merging when you edit the same note on multiple devices.
• Offline-First: Everything works offline. Sync happens in the background when you’re connected.

Extension Ecosystem

Opening the platform for community innovation:

• Plugin SDK: Public API for building extensions with full documentation and TypeScript definitions.
• Plugin Marketplace: Discover and install community plugins directly from within Kuku.
• Real-Time Collaboration: Extensions like Y.js-based collaborative editing for shared workspaces become possible with the plugin system.
• Web Clipper: Browser extension for capturing content from any website.
• AI Memory Sharing: Allow other AI assistants to access and reference your knowledge base through a secure, local API. Your notes become long-term memory for any AI tool you use.

Values That Won’t Change

We continue to move forward adhering to these core principles:

• Local-first — Your files are yours. Plain .md, always accessible, never locked in.
• Privacy extreme — No forced account creation, no unauthorized data collection, no telemetry without explicit opt-in.
• Transparent ecosystem — Every line of code is on GitHub. Following the open-source release, we will expand through plugins and mobile synchronization.
• Freedom of choice — Use our cloud, self-host, or bring your own services. We build the tools, but we give the control to you.

Check out the full roadmap page for a visual timeline. And if you haven’t tried Kuku yet, it’s free to download.