Carbide

Fork of Otterly — Carbide extends Otterly with a redesigned UI, deeper search/query workflows, language intelligence, source control, AI, and an extensible plugin/MCP platform.

Carbide is a local-first Markdown workbench built with Tauri 2, Svelte 5, TypeScript, and Rust. Notes live as plain files in vault folders, while Carbide layers rich editing, hybrid search, graph exploration, task views, references, language-server features, Git checkpoints, AI assistance, and plugin/MCP integrations on top.

Why "Carbide"?

Before modern flashlights, coal miners dropped calcium carbide into water to produce a bright acetylene flame in their lamps to navigate deep tunnels. The icon depicts a miner's lamp with Markdown symbols (> and *) forming the flame because Carbide is built for navigating deep personal knowledge bases with local files, search, graph views, language tools, and extensibility.

What it does

• Local-first Markdown vaults: Vaults are folders on disk. Notes, canvases, query files, settings, indexes, references, plugins, and generated metadata remain inspectable and portable.
• Rich Markdown editing: Visual/source editing, syntax highlighting, wikilinks, embeds, folding, outline navigation, find/replace, PDF export, image handling, and document viewing.
• Search, queries, and databases: Hybrid FTS + semantic search, an omnibar, inline @ palette, composable note queries, search graph, Bases metadata views, and task-specific queries.
• Graph and relationship views: Full-vault graph, neighborhood graph, search graph, backlinks/outlinks, semantic connections, smart-link edges, and hierarchy views.
• Language intelligence: General LSP infrastructure for Markdown and code, with diagnostics, hovers, code actions, completion, rename/definition support, and managed Markdown tooling.
• Tasks and planning: Markdown-native tasks with list, kanban, schedule, query, grouping, sorting, and quick-capture flows.
• Git-aware workflow: Repository initialization, status, staging, commits, checkpoints, history, diffs, restore, remotes, push/fetch/pull/sync, and optional auto-commit on save.
• References and linked sources: BibTeX/CSL/RIS import, Zotero Better BibTeX integration, citation picker, bibliography export, linked PDF/HTML source folders, metadata extraction, and annotation sync.
• AI assistance: Configurable CLI-based providers, inline AI edits, ask/edit modes, prompt composition from vault context, and AI-generated file descriptions.
• Extensibility and MCP: Sandboxed plugins, a permissioned plugin SDK/RPC surface, bundled example plugins, Carbide's own MCP server, and plugin-hosted external MCP sidecars.

Installation

Homebrew (macOS)

brew install --cask TranscriptionFactory/tap/carbide

GitHub Releases

Download pre-built binaries from the Releases page:

A built-in auto-updater applies updates on startup.

macOS Gatekeeper

Mac users may see "Carbide is damaged and cannot be opened" because the app isn't signed with an Apple developer key. Fix it by running:

xattr -cr /Applications/carbide.app

Or open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway in the Security section.

Features

Markdown Editing & Documents

• Visual Markdown editor and source mode with ProseMirror/CodeMirror-based editing
• Live Markdown rendering, Shiki syntax highlighting, KaTeX math, callouts, details blocks, tables, lists, and code blocks
• Wikilinks, heading links, block references, backlink tracking, autocomplete, unresolved-link diagnostics, and rename-aware link repair
• Inline embeds for notes, headings, blocks, images, PDFs, audio/video, and Mermaid diagrams
• Split editing, draggable tabs, pinned/reopened tabs, side-by-side panes, read-only mode, line numbers, zoom, zen mode, and focus mode
• Document outline, collapsible headings, block transforms, block drag-and-drop, and Vim-style navigation for the file tree, outline, and editor
• Find/replace in file, copy as Markdown/HTML, paste HTML as Markdown, image paste/drop workflows, image alt text/resize/save/delete actions
• PDF viewing, Markdown-to-PDF export, Excalidraw canvas files, Mermaid rendering, and external document/viewer windows
• Daily notes and configurable note naming templates

Search, Queries & Navigation

• Omnibar (Cmd+K / Ctrl+K): unified entry point for notes, commands, settings, wiki links, and cross-vault search
• Inline @ palette: insert notes, all files, headings, dates, tags, citations, and commands from inside the editor
• Hybrid search: SQLite FTS5 + local semantic embeddings merged with Reciprocal Rank Fusion
• Structured query language: clause-based note/file/folder queries using named, with, in, linked from, and with_property, with boolean composition, regex, tags, wikilinks, subqueries, and saveable .query files
• Search graph: tabbed graph/results view for query hits plus 1-hop neighbors, cross-highlighting, edge toggles, progressive expansion, and persisted tab state
• Bases: UI-driven database views over frontmatter with filter/sort/pagination, table/list layouts, and saved JSON views
• Task queries: line-based DSL for filtering tasks by status, path, section, text, due date, sorting, grouping, and limits
• Block/section-level discovery: semantic indexing for related-note and related-section workflows

See Search & Queries for syntax and details.

Tasks & Planning

• Markdown-native tasks ([ ], [-], [x]) with 3-state cycling
• Due dates stored inline and editable from task views
• Task list, kanban, and schedule views
• Quick capture from app/menu actions
• Filters for status, path, section, text, due dates, missing/present due dates, sort order, grouping, and result limits
• Task progress/aggregates surfaced through metadata and Bases-style workflows

Graph, Links & Canvas

• Full-vault and active-note graph views
• Search graph for query-centered exploration
• Backlinks, outgoing links, smart links, semantic similarity edges, and toggleable edge types
• WebGL/Pixi graph rendering with worker-based force simulation for larger vaults
• Hierarchy tree view for Markdown/LSP-derived structure
• Excalidraw canvas support and Mermaid diagram rendering with cached output

Language Intelligence & Tooling

• General LSP results panel for diagnostics, hover, code actions, and workspace edits
• Markdown LSP providers: IWE, Markdown Oxide, and Marksman, with fallback/provider resolution
• Code LSP support for Python, Rust, TypeScript, JavaScript, Go, JSON, and YAML when the corresponding language server is available
• Managed toolchain for installing and resolving Markdown tools such as rumdl, IWE, Markdown Oxide, and Marksman
• Markdown linting/formatting/fix actions through rumdl-backed diagnostics and code actions
• IWE structural transforms for Markdown: extract/inline sections, inline quotes, list↔section conversion, list sorting, link creation, and provider config management

AI Assistance

• Built-in CLI provider presets for Claude Code, Codex, and Ollama, plus configurable provider definitions
• Auto-provider resolution based on local CLI availability
• Ask/edit modes over the current note or selection
• Inline AI menu with accept/reject flow
• Prompt builder for composing requests from vault and editor context
• AI-generated file tree descriptions and plugin-accessible AI execution

References, Citations & Linked Sources

• Citation library backed by CSL-JSON with BibTeX, CSL, and RIS import/export via Citation.js
• Zotero Better BibTeX extension integration with connection testing, live search, import, and annotation sync
• Citation picker that inserts [@citekey]
• Bibliography rendering/export
• Linked source folders for PDF/HTML directories with metadata extraction, search inclusion, relocation, rescan, and missing-source handling
• Frontmatter sync for reference metadata and citation-related properties

See Bases & References for details.

Git & Source Control

• Initialize Git repositories from a vault
• Status, staging, unstaging, staged commits, commit-all, and file diffs
• Checkpoints for named snapshots
• Version history with load-more, selected commit preview, and restore
• Remote management, push, fetch, pull, and sync
• Optional auto-commit on save

Plugins, MCP & Extensibility

• Iframe-sandboxed plugin runtime with lifecycle controls, plugin manager UI, and per-plugin settings
• Permission-gated plugin APIs for vault IO, editor access/modification, commands, UI contributions, settings, events, search, metadata, diagnostics, network fetch, AI execution, export, and external sidecars
• Plugin contributions for commands, command palette entries, sidebar panels, status bar items, ribbon icons, and settings schemas
• Bundled plugins: Auto-Tag, HTML Strip, HTML to Markdown, Slides Export, Smart Templates, and Wiki Compiler
• Carbide MCP server with authenticated HTTP/CLI setup flows for Claude Desktop and Claude Code
• MCP tools for vault discovery, notes CRUD, search/reindex, graph links, metadata/properties, references, and Git operations
• External MCP sidecars: plugins can start MCP-compatible binaries, list/call tools, check status, and stop isolated server instances

See Plugin How-To for the plugin SDK and RPC surface.

Layout & Customization

• Multiple sidebar views: explorer, dashboard, starred notes, graph, tasks, tags, source control, and daily notes
• 20+ built-in themes with light/dark variants
• Layout variants, activity/sidebar controls, context rail, outline/tasks panels, zen/focus modes, and per-vault settings
• CSS token editor, inline editing, revert flow, and shadcn/Tailwind semantic styling
• Rebindable hotkeys and command-palette driven actions
• File tree style variants and starred notes/folders

More

• Embedded terminal with multiple sessions, respawn, and WebGL xterm rendering
• File watcher, atomic writes, asset cache, and indexed metadata pipeline
• Tags panel with hierarchical tag tree, prefix selection, and tag-based note opening
• Settings migration and per-vault/global storage documented in Data Storage

Tech Stack

Documentation

• Getting Started — first-run flow, core actions, and quick links
• Search & Queries — omnibar, inline @ palette, query language, search graph, bases, task queries
• Bases & References — database views, citations, linked sources, Zotero
• Markdown Syntax Guide — supported syntax and embeds
• Architecture — decision tree, layering rules, and project map
• Plugin How-To — build plugins, use permissions, call RPC/SDK APIs, and run external MCP sidecars
• HTML to Markdown Plugin — bundled conversion plugin details
• Data Storage — where Carbide stores settings, caches, indexes, plugins, and vault data
• UI Design System — semantic tokens, components, and styling rules

Development

pnpm install
pnpm dev            # Start the Tauri dev server

Validation:

pnpm check          # Svelte/TypeScript type checking
pnpm lint           # oxlint + layering rules
pnpm test           # Vitest unit/integration tests
cd src-tauri && cargo check   # Rust type checking
pnpm format         # Prettier formatting

Acknowledgments

Carbide is a fork of Otterly with inspiration from various tools, including file management architecture from Ferrite.