About StashBase
StashBase is an Electron desktop workspace for writers, described as being like an IDE but for writing. It is open source and local-first, and lets you write alongside AI agents such as Claude and Codex while drawing on your own source files and past work.
It extracts text from documents, including PDFs and images, and provides semantic search so an agent can find relevant context quickly. Edits proposed by the agent appear as in-document diffs, with deletions struck through and additions highlighted, and you can accept or reject each change or all at once, so nothing is written to the file until you approve it. It can also learn from your previous writing and edits to keep drafts in your voice.
macOS 12 and later (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows 10 and later are the primary platforms, with Debian and Ubuntu Linux supported by the community. The project exposes an MCP server, is written in TypeScript and is licensed under Apache-2.0.
Key features
- Local-first Markdown writing workspace
- Agents like Claude Code and Codex
- Semantic search across your sources
- PDF and image text extraction
- In-document diffs with accept or reject
- Style guidance from your past writing
Good fit for
- →Drafting with AI while using your own research
- →Revising documents with reviewable suggestions
- Tags
- writing
- local-first
- ai-agents
- electron
- semantic-search
- markdown
- mcp
StashBase: questions and answers
- What is StashBase used for?
- StashBase is an open-source, local-first desktop writing workspace where AI agents such as Claude Code and Codex help draft using your own sources. It is a good fit for drafting with AI while using your own research and revising documents with reviewable suggestions.
- Is StashBase open source?
- Yes. StashBase is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at liliu-z/stashbase and is written mainly in TypeScript.
- Is StashBase free?
- Yes. StashBase is open source, so the software itself is free to use. Paid plans are also available, starting at $10.
- Can I self-host StashBase?
- Yes. StashBase can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
- What are some alternatives to StashBase?
- Similar open-source tools in the AI Tools category include BrowserOS, Kun and LobeHub. SaaS products in the same category include Aera Browser, Agent One and AI Detector.
- Is StashBase actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to StashBase was on 28 September 2026, and the latest release is v2.13.1, published on 28 September 2026. The project has 872 stars on GitHub.
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