# Rowboat
**Open-source AI coworker that turns work into a knowledge graph and acts on it**
Rowboat connects to your email and meeting notes, builds a long-lived knowledge graph, and uses that context to help you get work done - privately, on your machine.
You can do things like:
- `Build me a deck about our next quarter roadmap` → generates a PDF using context from your knowledge graph
- `Prep me for my meeting with Alex` → pulls past decisions, open questions, and relevant threads into a crisp brief (or a voice note)
- Visualize, edit, and update your knowledge graph anytime (it’s just Markdown)
- Record voice memos that automatically capture and update key takeaways in the graph
Download latest for Mac/Windows/Linux: [Download](https://www.rowboatlabs.com/downloads)
## Demo
[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AWoGo-L16I)
[Watch the full video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AWoGo-L16I)
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## Installation
**Download latest for Mac/Windows/Linux:** [Download](https://www.rowboatlabs.com/downloads)
**All release files:** https://github.com/rowboatlabs/rowboat/releases/latest
### Google setup
To connect Google services (Gmail, Calendar, and Drive), follow [Google setup](https://github.com/rowboatlabs/rowboat/blob/main/google-setup.md).
### Voice notes
To enable voice notes (optional), add a Deepgram API key in ~/.rowboat/config/deepgram.json:
```
{
"apiKey": ""
}
```
## What it does
Rowboat is a **local-first AI coworker** that can:
- **Remember** the important context you don’t want to re-explain (people, projects, decisions, commitments)
- **Understand** what’s relevant right now (before a meeting, while replying to an email, when writing a doc)
- **Help you act** by drafting, summarizing, planning, and producing real artifacts (briefs, emails, docs, PDF slides)
Under the hood, Rowboat maintains an **Obsidian-compatible vault** of plain Markdown notes with backlinks — a transparent “working memory” you can inspect and edit.
## Integrations
Rowboat builds memory from the work you already do, including:
- **Gmail** (email)
- **Granola** (meeting notes)
- **Fireflies** (meeting notes)
## How it’s different
Most AI tools reconstruct context on demand by searching transcripts or documents.
Rowboat maintains **long-lived knowledge** instead:
- context accumulates over time
- relationships are explicit and inspectable
- notes are editable by you, not hidden inside a model
- everything lives on your machine as plain Markdown
The result is memory that compounds, rather than retrieval that starts cold every time.
## What you can do with it
- **Meeting prep** from prior decisions, threads, and open questions
- **Email drafting** grounded in history and commitments
- **Docs & decks** generated from your ongoing context (including PDF slides)
- **Follow-ups**: capture decisions, action items, and owners so nothing gets dropped
- **On-your-machine help**: create files, summarize into notes, and run workflows using local tools (with explicit, reviewable actions)
## Background agents
Rowboat can spin up **background agents** to do repeatable work automatically - so routine tasks happen without you having to ask every time.
Examples:
- Draft email replies in the background (grounded in your past context and commitments)
- Generate a daily voice note each morning (agenda, priorities, upcoming meetings)
- Create recurring project updates from the latest emails/notes
- Keep your knowledge graph up to date as new information comes in
You control what runs, when it runs, and what gets written back into your local Markdown vault.
## Bring your own model
Rowboat works with the model setup you prefer:
- **Local models** via Ollama or LM Studio
- **Hosted models** (bring your own API key/provider)
- Swap models anytime — your data stays in your local Markdown vault
## Extend Rowboat with tools (MCP)
Rowboat can connect to external tools and services via **Model Context Protocol (MCP)**.
That means you can plug in (for example) search, databases, CRMs, support tools, and automations - or your own internal tools.
Examples: Exa (web search), Twitter/X, ElevenLabs (voice), Slack, Linear/Jira, GitHub, and more.
## Local-first by design
- All data is stored locally as plain Markdown
- No proprietary formats or hosted lock-in
- You can inspect, edit, back up, or delete everything at any time
## Looking for Rowboat Web Studio?
If you’re looking for Rowboat web Studio, start [here](https://docs.rowboatlabs.com/).
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