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LokalBot vs Hyprnote

Hyprnote is the closest cousin on this list: open-source, local-first meeting notes — it helped prove the category. The app is now called anarlog, and hyprnote.com redirects to char.com, the team's newer product. The MIT-licensed anarlog app remains maintained, and it's good. Here's how LokalBot differs.

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Side by side

Feature by feature.

Feature LokalBot Hyprnote (anarlog)
Scope Meetings, dictation, day timeline, autocomplete, and chat in one app Meeting notetaker
Transcription On your Mac — Qwen3-ASR by default, with Parakeet, Granite Speech, and Whisper as alternatives On-device models on supported Macs, or a cloud provider you select
Summaries and chat llama.cpp built in — works with no keys and no setup Your choice: a local server such as Ollama or LM Studio, your own API key, Apple Intelligence, or optional hosted AI
Cloud features None — no account and no sync service; a remote inference server needs your approval Opt-in hosted AI, encrypted CloudSync, and sharing
Notes on disk Local SQLite library with full-text and vector search; Markdown export Local SQLite plus plain files; Markdown export
Connect AI tools Read-only CLI and MCP server, off until you enable Agent Access Local CLI and MCP server
System-wide dictation Hold ⌥ Space in any app No
Day timeline App and window activity by default; screen text and encrypted screenshots are opt-in and deleted after 14 days No
Writing autocomplete Cotyping, in almost any app No
License GPLv3 — every fork's improvements stay open MIT for the community app; enterprise components are commercially licensed
Direction Independent, local by default Maintained as the community notetaker; the team now builds Char
Platforms macOS 15+ on Apple Silicon macOS, Windows, and Linux

Verdict

Which one fits you?

Pick Hyprnote if…

A kindred project with different choices — all defensible.

  • You need the same notetaker on Windows or Linux
  • You already run Ollama or have LLM API keys you like
  • You want optional cloud sync and note sharing
  • You prefer the MIT license

Pick LokalBot if…

Local AI with the batteries included, and a wider brief.

  • You want zero setup: recommended models in-app, no keys, no separate LLM runner
  • You want meetings plus dictation, a day timeline, and autocomplete
  • Copyleft matters: GPLv3 keeps every fork's improvements open
  • You want transcripts, notes, and your screen activity searchable in one place

Questions

The short answers.

Aren't you basically the same project?

We overlap on the part that matters — local, bot-free meeting notes — and that's a good thing; the category needs more of it. We differ on scope (a workspace vs a notetaker), on shipped local AI vs bring-your-own model, on platforms, and on license.

What's Char?

The team's current product: an AI notepad in private beta at char.com, backed by Y Combinator. It's a separate codebase from the open-source anarlog app, which the team says remains maintained.

Why GPLv3 instead of MIT?

Copyleft. Anyone can fork LokalBot, but improvements have to stay open. For an app that hears your meetings and reads your screen, we want the audit path to survive every fork — the code you can read should always be the code you run.

Download

Local AI, batteries included.

Free and open source. Models download on first use; built-in inference then works offline.

Download for macOS

.dmg installer · brew install --cask stevyhacker/tap/lokalbot · all releases and notes

Hyprnote, anarlog, and Char are trademarks of their owners; LokalBot is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Details are based on their public repository and sites as of September 2026 and may change — if something here is wrong or out of date, open an issue and we'll fix it.