Quick start

This page installs kknow and opens your first vault. It takes about two minutes.

1. Install the app

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install --cask akuchin/kknow/kknow

Windows (Scoop)

scoop bucket add kknow https://github.com/akuchin/scoop-kknow
scoop install kknow/kknow kknow/kknow-cli

Linux

# Download the .deb, .rpm or .AppImage file from the Releases page:
# https://github.com/akuchin/kknow/releases/latest
sudo apt install ./kknow_*_amd64.deb

The builds:

Platform	App	CLI
macOS	Apple Silicon only (aarch64)	kknow-cli-…-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
Windows	MSI installer, or Scoop	kknow-cli-…-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip, or Scoop
Linux	.deb, .rpm, .AppImage	kknow-cli-…-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz

All files are on the Releases page. There is no build for Intel Macs.

The app has no Apple signature

macOS puts a downloaded unsigned app in quarantine. Then Gatekeeper tells you that the app is "damaged". The Homebrew cask removes the quarantine flag for you. If you installed the app from the Releases page, move it to /Applications and run this command:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/kknow.app

2. Open a vault

A vault is any folder with .md files. You can use a folder that you already have, for example an Obsidian vault. kknow does not change the files when it opens them.

Do one of these:

• Drag a folder from Finder or Explorer into the window.
• Click the folder button in the sidebar header and select a folder.
• Run open -a kknow ~/notes in the terminal (macOS).

The folder becomes a vault and appears in the sidebar. To add more vaults, repeat the step. You can switch between them with ⌘1…⌘9.

3. Write a note

1. Press ⌘N to make a new note.
2. Type a heading: # My first note.
3. Link to another note: [[Ideas]]. Click the link to make that note.
4. Add a tag: #inbox.

kknow saves the note 1 second after the last edit. You do not need to press ⌘S.

Press ⌘E to go through the three note modes: Edit, Side by side and Read.

4. Find it again

Press ⌘K and type a word from the note. The palette searches all vaults at the same time. Try tag:inbox to find all notes with the tag.

5. Install the CLI (optional)

The kknow program works with the same vaults in the terminal. On Windows, Scoop installs it (kknow/kknow-cli). On macOS and Linux, download the archive from the Releases page and put the binary on your PATH:

tar -xzf kknow-cli-*-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
mv kknow ~/.local/bin/

Then try it:

kknow vaults                       # the same list as in the window
kknow --vault Personal stats       # notes, folders and size
kknow --vault Personal search "tag:inbox"

See the CLI reference for all commands.

Next steps

• Connect an AI agent to your notes: Agents (MCP).
• Sync between machines: Sync.
• Learn the keys: Keyboard shortcuts.