GNO vs QMD

Verdict: QMD focuses on markdown-only simplicity. GNO is a broader local knowledge workspace with web UI, graph, API, agent integrations, and safer multi-format handling on top of stronger retrieval.

The tradeoff is lightweight markdown-only focus versus a more complete local workspace and agent memory surface.

At a Glance

  • Choose QMD if you want a smaller markdown-only semantic search tool and do not need workspace UI, API, or agent integrations.
  • Choose GNO if you want a fuller local product surface around search: browse tree, graph, answers, web UI, SDK, CLI, and agent tooling.

Get Started

# GNO
bun install -g @gmickel/gno
gno init ~/notes --name notes && gno index

# QMD
bun install -g qmd
qmd init && qmd index

Quick Summary

Aspect GNO QMD
Best for Multi-format knowledge bases Markdown-only collections
Unique strength Web UI, REST API, RAG answers Shopify founder’s tool
Language support 30+ languages English-focused

Feature Comparison

Feature GNO QMD
File Formats MD, PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, TXT Markdown only
Search Modes BM25, Vector, Hybrid BM25, Vector, Hybrid
Query Expansion ✓ LLM-powered ✓ LLM-powered
Reranking ✓ Cross-encoder ✓ Cross-encoder
HyDE ✓ ✓
Remote Inference ✓ Native HTTP backends ✗ Local or cloud only
AI Answers (RAG) ✓ gno ask --answer ✗
Web UI ✓ gno serve ✗
REST API ✓ gno serve ✗
Headless Daemon ✓ gno daemon ✗
Languages 30+ (auto-detect) English-focused
MCP Install CLI ✓ 10+ targets ✗ Manual config
Skills ✓ Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw ✗
Model Presets slim/balanced/quality Single config
Search Depth fast/balanced/thorough ✗
Incremental Index ✓ SHA-256 tracking ✓
Collection Contexts ✓ Semantic hints ✓
Output Formats JSON, CSV, MD, XML, files JSON, CSV, MD, XML
Tab Completion ✓ bash/zsh/fish ✗

Key Differentiators

GNO Advantages

Multi-format support: Index PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations alongside Markdown. Your knowledge base isn’t limited to one format.

# Index everything in your Documents folder
gno init ~/Documents --name docs
gno index

Multilingual: Auto-detects 30+ languages. Search across notes in English, German, Japanese, and more without configuration.

Web UI & REST API: Visual dashboard for search, browsing, and AI answers. Full REST API for custom integrations.

gno serve  # Open http://localhost:3000

MCP install CLI: One-command setup for 10+ targets. QMD requires manual config editing.

gno mcp install --target cursor

Skills: Native integration for Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and OpenClaw via CLI.

Headless continuous indexing: Run the watcher/sync/embed loop without opening the web workspace.

gno daemon

RAG answers with citations: Get AI-generated answers with source citations.

gno ask "what is our authentication strategy" --answer

HyDE query expansion: Generates hypothetical answers to improve semantic search quality.

QMD Advantages

  • Created by Tobi Lütke (Shopify founder)
  • Focused simplicity for markdown-only workflows
  • Mature, stable codebase

When to Choose GNO

  • You want a Web UI for visual search and browsing
  • You need a REST API for custom integrations
  • You have PDFs, Word docs, or Office files to search
  • You need multilingual support
  • You want RAG-style answers from your documents
  • You want one-command MCP install for any editor
  • You want Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, or OpenClaw Skills integration

When to Choose QMD

  • Your knowledge base is 100% Markdown
  • You don’t need Web UI or REST API
  • You prefer a more focused, single-purpose tool

Migration from QMD

If you’re currently using QMD and want to try GNO:

# Install GNO
bun install -g @gmickel/gno

# Initialize with your existing notes folder
gno init ~/your-notes --name notes

# Index (supports same markdown files QMD uses)
gno index

# Search
gno query "your search query"

GNO will index the same Markdown files QMD uses, plus any other document formats in the folder.