> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/rowboatlabs/rowboat/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Platform Overview

> Learn about the Rowboat platform architecture and its key components

## What is Rowboat?

Rowboat is an **open-source AI coworker** that turns your work into a knowledge graph and acts on it. Unlike traditional AI assistants that reconstruct context on demand, Rowboat maintains long-lived knowledge that accumulates over time.

> **Local-First Design**
>
> All data stored locally as plain Markdown with no proprietary formats or hosted lock-in

> **Knowledge Graph**
>
> Builds an Obsidian-compatible vault with backlinks for transparent working memory

> **Multiple Interfaces**
>
> Desktop app, CLI, Python SDK, and web platform for flexible workflows

> **Extensible**
>
> Supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) for connecting external tools and services

## Key Capabilities

> **Memory & Context**
>
> Rowboat connects to your email and meeting notes, building a knowledge graph that:
>
> * Remembers important context you don't want to re-explain (people, projects, decisions)
> * Understands what's relevant right now (before meetings, during email replies)
> * Accumulates knowledge over time with explicit, inspectable relationships
> * Stores everything as editable Markdown files on your machine

> **AI-Powered Actions**
>
> Help you get work done by:
>
> * Generating meeting prep from past decisions and open questions
> * Drafting emails grounded in history and commitments
> * Creating docs and PDF slide decks from your ongoing context
> * Tracking follow-ups, decisions, and action items automatically

> **Background Agents**
>
> Spin up background agents for repeatable work:
>
> * Draft email replies in the background using your context
> * Generate daily voice notes with agenda and priorities
> * Create recurring project updates from latest emails/notes
> * Keep your knowledge graph up to date as new information comes in

> **Bring Your Own Model**
>
> Works with the model setup you prefer:
>
> * **Local models** via Ollama or LM Studio
> * **Hosted models** with your own API keys (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter)
> * Swap models anytime - your data stays in your local Markdown vault

## Monorepo Structure

Rowboat is organized as a monorepo containing multiple applications and SDKs:

```
rowboat/
├── apps/
│   ├── x/                 # Electron desktop app
│   ├── rowboat/           # Next.js web dashboard
│   ├── rowboatx/          # Next.js frontend
│   ├── cli/               # CLI tool
│   ├── python-sdk/        # Python SDK
│   └── docs/              # Documentation site
├── CLAUDE.md              # AI coding agent context
└── README.md              # User-facing readme
```

> [!NOTE]
>
> Each application can be run independently, but they all work together to provide a unified experience for managing your knowledge graph and AI workflows.

## Integrations

Rowboat builds memory from the work you already do:

* **Gmail** - Email history and threads
* **Google Calendar** - Meeting schedules
* **Google Drive** - Document access
* **Granola** - Meeting notes
* **Fireflies** - Meeting transcriptions

### Optional Services

* **Deepgram** - Voice note transcription
* **Brave Search** - Web search capabilities
* **Exa** - Research search
* **MCP Tools** - Extend with Twitter/X, ElevenLabs, Slack, Linear, Jira, GitHub, and more

## What Makes Rowboat Different?

Most AI tools search transcripts or documents on demand. Rowboat is different:

> **Context Accumulates**
>
> Knowledge builds over time instead of starting cold every time

> **Relationships are Explicit**
>
> Connections between concepts are visible and inspectable

> **Human Editable**
>
> Notes are stored as Markdown, not hidden inside a model

> **On Your Machine**
>
> Everything lives locally with no cloud dependencies

## Next Steps

> **[Architecture](/platform/architecture)**
>
> Dive into the technical architecture and component design

> **[Quickstart](/quickstart)**
>
> Get started with Rowboat in minutes

> **[Development](/development)**
>
> Learn how to contribute to the platform

> **[API Reference](/api-reference)**
>
> Explore the API documentation


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.