Find ideas
ahai is a completely local, private Mac desktop app that brings together the ideas scattered across your files—so you can review them and act on them.
Who is ahai for?
Engineers, product managers, researchers, scientists—anyone who wants to find and surface ideas on their own machines.
Ideas captured in prototypes, partial git repos, notes jotted down over the years—waiting to be rediscovered.
AI-assisted experiences are reaching a critical threshold where we can build, learn, and research at unprecedented speed. The question is: what should you work on next?
Find the core ideas hidden in your files
ahai uses local AI models (MLX on Mac) to sift through markdown files and find the ideas hidden in them. It understands context, not just keywords.
Optimized for:
- Code repository markdown READMEs in your repos folder
- Obsidian (or other markdown-based) notetaking app folders
- Clipped web content (like Obsidian Web Clipper saves)
Use cases:
- Consolidate ideas from past incomplete projects
- Surface ideas jotted down in notes over the years
- Gather ideas from meta-repos like awesome lists
- Find ideas from clipped tweets and arxiv papers
Built for how you work
Local AI Processing
Runs entirely on your Mac using MLX. Your notes are analyzed locally—nothing is sent to the cloud, ever.
Markdown Focused
Scans Obsidian vaults, repo READMEs, clipped content, or any folder of markdown files. Just point and scan.
Pause & Resume
Processing takes time for large folders. Pause and resume anytime—pick up where you left off without re-processing.
Drag-Drop Organization
Review surfaced ideas and organize them with simple drag-and-drop. Keep, dismiss, or categorize as you go.
Multiple Export Formats
Export your curated ideas to markdown, CSV, or JSON. Take them wherever your workflow goes.
Apple Silicon Optimized
Native performance on M1/M2/M3/M4 Macs. Fast inference without draining your battery.
See it in action
Requirements & Notes
- Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) with minimum 16GB RAM required
- Currently reads markdown files only—more formats based on demand
- Uses MLX—Apple's optimized AI model framework for Apple Silicon
- Works with any mlx_lm compatible model that fits on your machine
- Model should be roughly ≤ half your system RAM for reasonable speed
- Processing time depends on folder size—you can pause and resume anytime
- Contains AI-generated content—use with caution
ahai = aha (ideas) + h (human) + ai (AI)
Pay what you want
Simple, fair pricing for indie software