Knot, peer-to-peer version control
Knot watches the folders you choose. Every save becomes a real git commit on your teammates' machines within seconds. No server, no account.
Multiple machines, AI agents, one repo: they build it together over your LAN, hands-free, while you watch.
The folder and the peers are one-time setup. The save is the only piece in your day.
01
Pick any folder. Tell Knot once. It now behaves like a git repository, because under the hood it is one. Existing `git` commands still work.
02
Anyone you collaborate with installs Knot. You hand them a one-time pairing code; they accept. From that moment your machines are paired.
03
Write code. Hit save. Knot makes a real git commit and sends it to every paired teammate. They see it within seconds.
Built and verified end-to-end on real hardware, across networks.
AI assistants on your paired machines build one project between them, no human in the loop, and you watch every step live. The thing a central host can't do.
Every save turns into a real git commit a moment after you stop typing, then reaches every teammate over Tor, encrypted end-to-end, with no ports to open.
Knot uses git's real object format, so `git log`, `git diff`, and `git branch` all still work. Nothing to relearn.
Every commit is signed by the person and the AI session behind it, and each agent is scoped to the paths it may touch. Export a tamper-evident record anyone can verify.
For AI agents, Knot maps a repo's whole shape in one call instead of many, measured ≥3.4× fewer tokens on a real codebase, and you can verify it on your own machine.
Free, for macOS and Linux. Not yet notarized, so your system shows a one-time first-run warning; the steps to open it are below. Windows is coming.
Step-by-step help: the installation guide covers macOS, Linux, verifying your download, and your first synced save.
Also on the VS Code Marketplace Knot's live sync, project intelligence, and AI memory inside your editor. Works alongside the app.Not yet notarized, so macOS blocks the first open. Clear it once, pick one:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Knot.app"A real .deb: apt handles dependencies, systemd integration, and clean upgrades. Self-contained — Tor and the on-device AI runtime ship inside.
sudo apt install ./knot-vcs-amd64.deb
systemctl --user enable --now knot-vcs
knot-app # or `knot solo` in any folderWhy a command and not a double-click: current Ubuntu ships no GUI that installs local .deb files (App Center is snap-only) — that limitation is Ubuntu-wide, not Knot's. Details in the installation guide.
Your code never leaves your machines regardless of the signature. Full three-way merge of diverged histories is still manual via `git` today.
Full release history: changelog. Questions, or a use case to talk through? Get in touch.
Ed25519 identities, mutual authentication, Tor transport, real git objects. No central server to run, and nothing on the wire but encrypted bytes.
The same Tor primitives that route Whispr's messages, the same git object format every git host runs on. We didn't reinvent the cryptography; we removed the centralised server.
Every connection uses Ed25519 mutual authentication: both sides cryptographically prove their identity before any byte of code crosses the wire. The wire itself is Tor (.onion hidden services), so bytes are encrypted end-to-end and relays only ever see ciphertext. Pairing a new device needs explicit confirmation on both sides; trust never happens by accident. Same well-audited primitives Signal, Tor, and OpenSSH ship, not new crypto.
No. Code transfer is always peer-to-peer, through Tor circuits. There is an optional small "coordinator" that helps peers find each other across the internet, but it never sees a byte of your code, only "peer X hosts project Y." You can run it on a $35 Raspberry Pi, or skip it entirely.
Yes. Knot uses git's real object format, so a Knot folder is also a real git repository. `git log`, `git diff`, `git branch`, `git checkout`, all work. Knot is the layer above git that automates the save-commit-push ritual and removes the central server. It doesn't replace git; it makes git invisible when you don't need it.
Nothing transfers until they come back online, same as any peer-to-peer protocol. Your commit is safe on your machine; queued commits sync automatically when their daemon reconnects. Common workaround: a third always-on peer (a home server or a $5/month VPS running the same free build) that bridges the gap. It pairs like any other peer, so it's a better-connected teammate, not a central server.