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Stratum v1.0 beta — announcement kit

Ready-to-post copy for Stratum v1.0.0-beta.3. Publish where you like; every snippet is self-contained and can be copy-pasted verbatim.

  • Repo: https://github.com/short-circuit/stratum
  • Docs: https://short-circuit.github.io/stratum/docs/
  • Download: https://github.com/short-circuit/stratum/releases/tag/v1.0.0-beta.3
  • License: AGPL-3.0-only
  • Version: v1.0.0-beta.3 (2026-10-20)

Hacker News — post (title + URL)

Title (keep under 80 chars):

Show HN: Stratum — offline-first PKM, plain .md files, Git sync (AGPL)

Submission URL: https://github.com/short-circuit/stratum

First comment (HN accepts a single url submission; post this as your comment so the story is not self-promotional-flavored only):

Stratum is a personal knowledge management system I've been building for about two years. Every note is a plain .md file on disk — no proprietary database you can't read, no cloud dependency. All features work offline; AI is optional (bring your own Ollama/LM Studio/LocalAI endpoint).

The thing I keep coming back to is the block outliner: every paragraph is an addressable block with a UUID, so you can link to a single thought, not just a page. On top of that: wiki-links with backlinks and unlinked mentions, a force-directed knowledge graph, Datalog queries (Logseq-style), a daily journal, templates, flashcards (SM-2), whiteboards (Excalidraw), KaTeX + Mermaid, full-text search (Tantivy, sub-100ms at 10k notes), and Git sync with auto-commit.

It is AGPL-3.0, and the whole pipeline — parsing, indexing, graph, search, sync — runs in Rust. Desktop (Linux/macOS/Windows) and Android build targets exist; the UI is localized in en/de/it/fr/es (zh/ja/el in progress). v1.0.0-beta.3 ships Linux .deb/.rpm/.AppImage + checksums, macOS and Windows bundles.

Happy to answer anything — especially if you're coming from Obsidian or Logseq and hit a missing piece.

r/selfhosted — title + body

Title:

Stratum — offline-first PKM with plain .md files and Git sync (AGPL)

Body:

Hi all — I've been developing Stratum for a couple of years and just put out v1.0.0-beta.3. It's a privacy-first personal knowledge management system that does NOT lock you in: every note is a plain Markdown file on disk, so if the app disappeared tomorrow you'd lose nothing. No cloud dependency, fully offline, AI optional (Ollama/LM Studio/LocalAI).

Feature highlights:

  • Block outliner (Logseq-style, every paragraph is an addressable block)
  • Wiki-links, backlinks, unlinked mentions, autocomplete
  • Knowledge graph (force-directed, connected components, orphans)
  • Datalog queries in Logseq-compatible EDN syntax
  • Daily journal, templates, flashcards (SM-2), whiteboards (Excalidraw)
  • KaTeX equations + Mermaid diagrams inline
  • Full-text search (Tantivy, sub-100ms at 10k notes)
  • Git sync: auto-commit, push/pull — version history built in
  • Importers for Obsidian, Logseq, and generic Markdown vaults
  • MCP server so external AI clients can query your notes
  • WASM plugin runtime + plugin directory/theme hub

Ships as Linux .deb/.rpm/.AppImage (with SHA256SUMS), macOS and Windows bundles, and an Android build. AGPL-3.0, Rust core.

Repo: https://github.com/short-circuit/stratum Docs: https://short-circuit.github.io/stratum/docs/

Feedback welcome, especially around migration from other tools.

r/ObsidianMD — title + body (community-aware angle)

Title:

[Discussion] Stratum — an AGPL, offline-first Obsidian alternative that stores notes as plain .md (with a block outliner)

Body:

Not a replacement pitch — I use both, but I've been working on Stratum as an experiment in what "no lock-in" really means, and v1.0.0-beta.3 is out.

The core difference from Obsidian: notes are stored as plain Markdown on disk, but the editor is a block outliner (Logseq-style). Every paragraph is an addressable block with a UUID, so you can link to and query individual thoughts. It's fully offline (AI is pluggable — Ollama, LM Studio, LocalAI), and sync is native Git (auto-commit, push/pull).

What I personally think is mature enough to be interesting:

  • Wiki-links + backlinks + unlinked mentions (with hover previews)
  • Force-directed knowledge graph with orphan detection
  • Datalog queries in Logseq-compatible syntax
  • Full-text search via Tantivy
  • KaTeX + Mermaid, flashcards (SM-2), templates, whiteboards
  • One-click importers for Obsidian and Logseq vaults
  • MCP server (so you can query your vault from an LLM client)

It's AGPL-3.0 with a Rust core; available for Linux (deb/rpm/AppImage), macOS, Windows and Android. UI is localized en/de/it/fr/es.

What would make you actually switch? Genuinely asking — the hardest part of any PKM is the migration, and I'd like to know what's missing.

https://github.com/short-circuit/stratum

Lobsters — post

Title:

Stratum — offline-first PKM, plain .md files, Git sync (AGPL)

URL: https://github.com/short-circuit/stratum

Description field:

Stratum is a personal knowledge management system that stores every note as a plain Markdown file on disk and runs fully offline. Block-based outliner where every paragraph has a UUID and can be linked/queried individually; wiki-links, backlinks, knowledge graph, Datalog queries, full-text search, Git sync, MCP server, WASM plugin runtime, and an optional local AI stack. Rust core (Tantivy, git2, SQLite), AGPL-3.0, v1.0.0-beta.3. Desktop bundles for Linux/macOS/Windows plus Android build.

Mastodon — short posts (<=500 chars each)

Post 1:

Stratum v1.0.0-beta.3 is out — an offline-first PKM that stores every note
as a plain .md file on disk.

• Block outliner, every block addressable
• Wiki-links, backlinks, knowledge graph
• Datalog queries, flashcards, whiteboards
• Git sync built in
• Fully offline, AGPL-3.0, Rust core

https://github.com/short-circuit/stratum
#opensource #selfhosted #PKM

Post 2 (thread continuation, language/localization angle):

The UI is localized in en/de/it/fr/es (zh/ja/el in progress) and it ships
Linux .deb/.rpm/.AppImage + macOS/Windows bundles with SHA256 checksums.
AI is optional — point it at your own Ollama/LM Studio/LocalAI instance.

Docs: https://short-circuit.github.io/stratum/docs/
#stratum #notes #markdown

Key Points cheat sheet (for replying in comments)

  • AGPL-3.0-only, Rust core, plain .md files, no vendor lock-in
  • Fully offline; AI optional via local endpoints (Ollama, LM Studio, LocalAI, SearXNG research)
  • v1.0 features: block outliner, wiki-links + backlinks + unlinked mentions, graph (connected components/orphans), Datalog queries (EDN + JSON), journal, templates, flashcards, whiteboards, KaTeX + Mermaid, attachments, reminders, plugins (WASM + directory), MCP server, voice dictation, export (PDF/ZIP), git sync
  • i18n: en/de/it/fr/es complete; zh/ja/el placeholders in progress
  • Release: v1.0.0-beta.3 — Linux .deb/.rpm/.AppImage + SHA256SUMS, macOS .zip, Windows .exe, Android .apk/.aab
  • Performance: <100ms search at 10k notes, <80MB idle memory
  • Honest caveats: beta (API may shift), mobile is Android-first, no end-to-end encryption on sync (git-level), no collaborative editing

Publishing checklist

  • [ ] HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/submit (title, url, comment)
  • [ ] r/selfhosted: https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/submit (link post)
  • [ ] r/ObsidianMD: https://www.reddit.com/r/ObsidianMD/submit (link post; mention it's an alternative, not a replacement)
  • [ ] Lobsters: https://lobste.rs/submit (title, url, description)
  • [ ] Mastodon: post 1 + post 2 (or a single shorter post if you prefer), mention @stratum if account exists
  • [ ] Optional: r/noteapps, r/KnowledgeManagement, Hacker News monthly "Who wants to be hired" (if looking for contributors)