KernYour work, in one calm place.
Tasks, projects, notes and whiteboards in one desktop app that keeps everything on your own computer.
For Windows and Linux
Features
Everything in one place. Nothing in your way.
Kern keeps the tools you reach for every day close together, and stays quiet the rest of the time.
Plan your day
Capture tasks in seconds and sort them later. Each morning, a short rundown suggests what to work on and explains why.
Run projects
Boards, milestones and an overview that tells you at a glance whether things are on track.
Think visually
Whiteboards with sticky notes, shapes, a pen and connectors. You can drop live tasks and projects right onto them.
Work together, if you like
Free Kern Cloud syncs your work across computers and lets you share workspaces with live updates and multiplayer whiteboards.
- Also included:
- Notes
- Focus timer
- Time tracking
- Ctrl+K search
- Quick capture
- Repeating tasks
- Git & GitHub
- Built-in terminal
- Optional AI with your own key
Privacy
Your data stays yours.
No account needed, no subscription, nothing sent anywhere unless you turn it on.
- Stored locallyEverything lives in one folder on your computer and works fully offline.
- No trackingNo analytics, telemetry or ads. An account is only needed for Kern Cloud.
- One switchTurn off every online feature at once in Settings → Privacy.
- Easy to leaveAutomatic backups, and export to JSON, Markdown or CSV any time.
Download
Get Kern for free.
Every file is on the latest release page. Kern tells you when a new version is out.
Installation help
Windows
Open Kern_…_x64-setup.exe. The installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows
may show "Windows protected your PC". If it does, click More info → Run anyway.
On managed machines, use Kern_…_x64_en-US.msi instead.
Linux
| Distribution | Install with |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, Pop!_OS | sudo apt install ./Kern_*_amd64.deb |
| Fedora, openSUSE | sudo dnf install ./Kern-*.x86_64.rpm |
| Anything else | chmod +x Kern_*.AppImage, then run it |
Updating
When an Update available card appears in the sidebar, download the new installer and run it over the old one. Your data is kept and backed up first.
Contribute
Help shape Kern.
Kern is developed in the open on GitHub, and help of any size is welcome.
Report a bug
Tell us what happened, with your version from Settings → About.
↗Suggest an idea
Missing something? Open an issue and describe what you'd like to see.
↗Send a pull request
Keep it focused and tested. For bigger changes, open an issue first.
Build from source
Kern is a Tauri 2 app with a React frontend and a Rust
backend. You'll need Node 20+ and stable Rust, plus the
Tauri dependencies on Linux.
Set KERN_DATA_DIR to a temporary folder to keep your real data safe.
DEVELOPMENT.md has the rest.
git clone https://github.com/ChristianRelf/KERN.git
cd KERN && npm install
npm run app:dev # run with hot reload
npm test # frontend tests
cd src-tauri && cargo test # backend tests