Known

Known : Your Personal Notion-like Workspace

Known is a powerful, local-first workspace inspired by Notion. Build your knowledge base with pages, databases, and rich content blocks - all stored locally in your browser.

Why use Known ❓

Known is a local-first workspace that combines the power of Notion with the simplicity of local storage.

✨ Features

• 📝 Rich Text Editor - Block-based editor with slash commands and keyboard shortcuts
• 🗂️ Hierarchical Pages - Organize your content with nested pages and subpages
• 📊 Databases & Tables - Create powerful databases with multiple views (Table, Board, List, Calendar, Gallery)
• 🎨 Customizable Properties - Text, numbers, dates, select, multi-select, checkboxes, and more
• 🔍 Filters & Sorts - Organize your data exactly how you want
• 💾 Local Storage - All your data stays in your browser (IndexedDB)
• 🚀 No Backend Required - Works completely offline
• 🎯 Quick Search - Find anything with Cmd+K
• 🌙 Modern UI - Clean, Notion-inspired interface
• 📤 Export/Import - Backup and restore your data

🎯 Perfect for

• Personal knowledge management
• Project planning and tracking
• Note-taking and documentation
• Task management
• Content organization
• Prototyping and demos

Getting started 🔧

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following installed:

• Docker Desktop - Download here
• Node.js (v18+) and yarn (for local frontend development)

node -v  # Should be v18 or higher
yarn -v
docker --version

Installation & Running the Application

Known uses Docker Compose to run the full stack (backend, database, authentication, collaboration server, and frontend).

🐳 Option 1: Run Everything with Docker (Recommended)

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Eric-Hei/known.git
cd known

2. Start Docker Desktop

   • Launch Docker Desktop and wait for it to be ready (green icon in system tray)

3. Start all services:

docker-compose up -d

4. Verify all containers are running:

docker-compose ps

You should see all services in "running" state:

• docs-frontend-development-1 (port 3000)
• docs-app-dev-1 (port 8071)
• docs-y-provider-development-1 (port 4444)
• docs-keycloak-1 (port 8080)
• docs-postgresql-1, docs-redis-1, docs-minio-1, etc.

5. Access the application:

   • Frontend: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend API: http://localhost:8071
   • Keycloak (Auth): http://localhost:8080

6. Login credentials:

   • Username: impress
   • Password: impress

To stop all services:

docker-compose down

To view logs:

# All services
docker-compose logs -f

# Specific service
docker-compose logs -f app-dev
docker-compose logs -f frontend-development

💻 Option 2: Run Frontend Locally + Backend in Docker

If you want to develop the frontend locally while keeping the backend in Docker:

1. Start only backend services:

docker-compose up -d app-dev celery-dev postgresql redis minio createbuckets mailcatcher keycloak kc_postgresql nginx y-provider-development

2. Run frontend locally:

cd src/frontend/apps/impress
yarn install
yarn dev

3. Access the application:
   • Frontend: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend API: http://localhost:8071

Building for Production

cd src/frontend/apps/impress
yarn build
yarn start

Deployment

Deploy to Netlify:

netlify deploy --prod --dir=out --site=known

For Railway deployment, see RAILWAY_DEPLOYMENT.md.

Tech Stack 🛠️

Known is built on top of amazing open-source technologies:

• Next.js - React framework
• BlockNote.js - Block-based editor
• Yjs - CRDT for real-time collaboration
• Zustand - State management
• IndexedDB - Local storage
• TypeScript - Type safety
• Styled Components - CSS-in-JS

Credits ❤️

Known is based on La Suite Docs, an amazing collaborative text editor by DINUM and ZenDiS. We've adapted it to create a local-first, Notion-like workspace.

Special thanks to the teams behind BlockNote.js and Yjs for their incredible work!

License 📝

This work is released under the MIT License (see LICENSE).

Contributing 🙌

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests.

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Version: 1.0.0 Made with ❤️ for personal knowledge management