# 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

```bash
# 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.

```bash
# 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.

```bash
gno serve  # Open http://localhost:3000
```

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

```bash
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.

```bash
gno daemon
```

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

```bash
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:

```bash
# 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.
