What is Knotpad used for?

Knotpad is a note-first project manager where checkboxes in plain-text notes become tracked tasks that AI agents can claim through a built-in MCP server. It is a good fit for developers letting AI agents work through a plan and teams that plan in notes but track tasks on boards.

Yes. Knotpad has a free plan, and paid plans start at $9 per month.

Is Knotpad open source?

No. Knotpad is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. In the Note Taking category, open-source options include NoteGen, Anytype and FSNotes.

What are some alternatives to Knotpad?

Knotpad competes with Notion, Amplenote and WorkFlowy.

Knotpad: features, pricing and alternatives

About Knotpad

Knotpad is a project management app built around notes. You write a plan in a plain-text note, and every checkbox becomes a tracked task that you can view as a board, list, calendar, graph or dashboard. Inline markers set owners, priority and dates, so a line can carry an assignee, a high-priority flag or a due-today tag.

The app runs a local MCP server so AI agents such as Claude, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code clients can read your plans, claim tasks, check them off and update the board. Because the project lives in Knotpad rather than in one assistant's memory, different assistants can pick up the same notes and history. A bridge to an Obsidian vault lets an agent read notes there and create tasks in Knotpad.

Notes live on your machine and work offline. Sync is opt-in and encrypted at rest with AES-256. Knotpad is in beta, with a desktop download, and its listed pricing is free on your machine, $9 per month for sync and $12 per seat for teams.

Key features

Checkboxes in notes become tracked tasks
Board, list, calendar, graph and dashboard views
Inline markers for owners, priority and dates
Built-in local MCP server for AI agents
Obsidian vault integration
Offline-first notes stored on your machine
Opt-in encrypted sync

Good fit for

Developers letting AI agents work through a plan
Teams that plan in notes but track tasks on boards

Tags: project-management; notes; mcp; ai-agents; kanban; obsidian; local-first; tasks

Knotpad: questions and answers

What is Knotpad used for?: Knotpad is a note-first project manager where checkboxes in plain-text notes become tracked tasks that AI agents can claim through a built-in MCP server. It is a good fit for developers letting AI agents work through a plan and teams that plan in notes but track tasks on boards.
Is Knotpad free?: Yes. Knotpad has a free plan, and paid plans start at $9 per month.
Is Knotpad open source?: No. Knotpad is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. In the Note Taking category, open-source options include NoteGen, Anytype and FSNotes.
What are some alternatives to Knotpad?: Knotpad competes with Notion, Amplenote and WorkFlowy.