Open-source, local-first Granola / Otter alternative that Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and any MCP client can query. Records meetings, calls, and voice memos, transcribes on-device, writes markdown you own to ~/meetings/. Nothing is uploaded.
Your AI remembers the conversations you authorize — and no one can take them from you.
brew install --cask silverstein/tap/minutes
brew install silverstein/tap/minutes
cargo install minutes-cli
npx minutes-mcp # or: claude mcp add minutes -- npx -y minutes-mcpIf Homebrew reports an untrusted tap, run brew trust silverstein/tap once.
Add Minutes to your agent, seed five sample meetings (no mic needed), then ask about them:
claude mcp add minutes -- npx -y minutes-mcp
minutes demo --fullWhat did we decide about monthly billing, and did it stick?
The answer spans two meetings a month apart: launched on Feb 28, reversed on Mar 25.
A direct MCP call uses the same local meeting files:
search_meetings({"query":"monthly billing decision"})
Record a real one with minutes record, then minutes stop to transcribe. minutes demo --clean removes the samples.
Setup: Codex, Gemini CLI, and Claude Desktop,
Cursor,
OpenCode,
Pi,
Mistral Vibe, and
Cowork or Dispatch.
Claude Code · Codex · Cursor · OpenCode · Pi · Gemini CLI · Claude Desktop · Mistral Vibe · Cowork · Dispatch · Obsidian · Logseq · any MCP client
| Feature | Granola | Otter.ai | Anarlog (ex-Hyprnote) | minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local transcription | No (cloud) | No (cloud) | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | No | MIT | MIT |
| Free | Freemium | Freemium | Free | Free |
| Agent surface | Hosted MCP | Hosted integrations | Local app | Files + 34 MCP tools |
| Cross-meeting intelligence | Cloud chat | Cloud chat | No | Policy-safe search |
| Consent provenance | No | No | No | In every file |
| Dictation mode | No | No | No | Yes |
| Voice memos | No | No | No | iPhone pipeline |
| People memory | No | No | No | Bounded profiles |
| Data ownership | Their servers | Their servers | Local | Local |
| Data format | Cloud DB | Cloud DB | Local files | Markdown + YAML |
| Agent-agnostic | No | No | Partially | Yes |
| Speaker labels | Cloud | Cloud | Not verified | Free, on-device |
Competitor cells follow public product documentation spot-checked in September 2026. Corrections welcome as issues.
Agent-first users treat Minutes as the capture layer of a local second brain. They search meetings through Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, MCP, or the CLI, then fold useful context into a vault or wiki they own.
Desktop notetaker users record and read results in the app. They value reliable setup, clear processing and recovery, Recall, documents, Coach, and summary quality. See the full persona notes.
| Surface | What it provides | Docs |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop app | Menu bar capture, Recall, documents, and Coach. | Install |
| CLI (58 commands) | Local recording, processing, search, import, and automation. | Commands |
| MCP server (34 tools) | Local meeting tools and resources for any MCP client. | MCP reference |
| Claude Code plugin (23 skills) | Prep, capture, live help, debrief, and memory workflows. | Client setup |
| SDK | TypeScript access to meeting files without MCP. | Agent architecture |
Meetings are plain markdown with structured YAML frontmatter:
---
title: Q2 Pricing Discussion with Alex
type: meeting
date: 2026-03-17T14:00:00
duration: 42m
context: Discuss Q2 pricing
action_items:
- assignee: mat
task: Send pricing doc
due: Friday
status: open
decisions:
- text: Test monthly billing with 10 advisors
---See the frontmatter schema. Files work with Obsidian, grep, and any markdown tool.
- Transcription and speaker processing run on-device. Audio stays on your machine.
- Sensitive meetings save typed markers without audio and default to restricted.
- Consent reminders, acknowledgement, and provenance help you disclose recording.
- Text leaves the machine only when you send authorized context to a cloud agent or summarizer.
See the security documentation and consent enforcement design.
- Features and commands
- Install, setup, updating, and troubleshooting
- Agent and MCP client integrations
- Phone voice memo pipeline
- Summarization and automation
- Configuration
- Architecture and agent development
- Switching from Granola and importing archives
- Frontmatter schema
- Security
- Personas
- MCP tools
- Error reference
- Agent index
- Full agent index
See CONTRIBUTING.md. Minutes is MIT licensed and staying that way: no relicensing, no paid tier for anything in this repo.
MIT — Built by Mat Silverstein, founder of X1 Wealth.
