OpenOnyx
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OPENONYX / CAREERS

Build tools for people who think.

OpenOnyx is building an open-source, local-first knowledge system where your notes, files, connections, and tools stay under your control.

We're looking for people who care about thoughtful software, open systems, and building things that last.

View open roles ↓Contribute on GitHub →

01 / WHY OPENONYX

We're not building another place to store information.We're building a place to understand it.

Most knowledge tools stop at storing what you write.

OpenOnyx is exploring what happens when local knowledge can connect, surface relationships, answer questions, and interact with tools — without giving up ownership of the underlying files.

We are building this in the open.

02 / HOW WE WORK

Small team. Real ownership.

01

Open by default

Important product development happens in the open. Code, issues, discussions, and technical decisions should be understandable to the people contributing to the project.

02

Ship, then learn

We prefer working software and real feedback over endless planning. Small, well-considered iterations beat giant speculative rewrites.

03

Own the problem

You should understand why something exists, not just implement a ticket. Maintainers and contributors are encouraged to question assumptions.

04

Local-first matters

Privacy and user ownership are architectural constraints, not marketing checkboxes.

03 / THE WORK

Hard problems. Useful software.

Local-first architecture

Design systems where user knowledge remains portable and under user control.

Knowledge intelligence

Build semantic connections, retrieval, synthesis, and contextual discovery across a user's vault.

Desktop engineering

Work on Electron, filesystem integration, performance, packaging, updates, and cross-platform behavior.

Tools & MCP

Connect knowledge to external capabilities while maintaining explicit permissions and strong security boundaries.

Editor & knowledge UX

Design interfaces for writing, navigating, connecting, and understanding large personal knowledge bases.

Open-source infrastructure

Improve releases, CI/CD, signing, testing, documentation, contributor experience, and project infrastructure.

04 / OPEN ROLES

Come build with us.

05 / START IN THE OPEN

You don't need permission to start.

  1. 01

    Use OpenOnyx

    Understand the product and find something that bothers you.

  2. 02

    Pick a problem

    Browse issues, discussions, or identify something worth improving.

  3. 03

    Build

    Open a pull request, prototype an idea, improve documentation, or start a technical discussion.

  4. 04

    Keep showing up

    Strong contributors can grow into maintainers and deeper project roles.

Open-source contribution does not guarantee employment or a paid role, but it is one of the best ways for us to understand how you think and build.

06 / YOU MIGHT LIKE IT HERE IF

You might like it here if

  • You care about the details users notice.
  • You can work without every decision being specified for you.
  • You'd rather understand a system than blindly add another abstraction.
  • You believe open-source software can still have exceptional product design.
  • You're comfortable saying: “I don't know yet — I'll figure it out.”
  • You care about shipping something people can actually use.

Don't see your role?

If you think you can meaningfully improve OpenOnyx, we'd still like to see what you build.

Contribute on GitHub →Explore OpenOnyx →