minino: a local-first Roam Research alternative that works offline
Roam made networked thought famous — but it lives in the cloud, needs an account, and costs a subscription from day one. minino keeps the everything-is-a-block outliner and daily notes, makes them local-first and private, and adds tasks that size themselves plus an AI agent that actually does a job.
If you've searched for a <strong>Roam Research alternative</strong>, you're usually after one of three things: to get your thinking <strong>off the cloud</strong> and onto your own device, to stop paying a subscription just to open your notes, or to keep Roam's fast, block-based outliner but with less of the setup and more of the doing. minino is built on the same everything-is-a-block idea — daily notes, outliner, tags — but it's offline by default with no account, and it adds the "doing" layer Roam leaves to you: effort inference, a refinement agent, and Notion-style pages when a stream of thought needs to become a project.
minino vs Roam Research at a glance
| Feature | minino | Roam Research |
|---|---|---|
| Local-first & works offline | Yes — offline by default | Cloud-hosted, needs connection |
| No account required | Yes | Account required |
| Everything-is-a-block outliner + daily notes | Yes | Yes |
| Infers task effort (never estimate) | Paw badges: mouse/cat/lion | No |
| Built-in AI agent that refines tasks | The Pounce (BYO key free) | No (some plugins) |
| #tags → radial mind map | Automatic | Graph + bidirectional links |
| Bidirectional links, block refs & queries | Links & tags; no query language yet | Mature — its whole point |
| Notion-style pages & projects | Yes | Outline-first, no page structure |
| Price | Free whole app · Pro $14.99/mo · $299.99 lifetime | No free tier · ~$15/mo, $165/yr |
Why choose minino over Roam Research
1. 1. Local-first and private, not rented in the cloud
Roam keeps your graph on its servers behind a login and a subscription. With minino your notes live on your device and everything works with no connection and no account — nothing to sign up for, nothing to trust. When you do want it on every device, Pro adds encrypted sync as a deliberate choice, not a requirement.
2. 2. Tasks that size themselves — you never estimate effort
Roam gives you TODO markers and leaves the judgment to you. minino infers how big each task is — a paw badge (mouse, cat, or lion) drawn from your own history — and a lion that won't shrink breaks itself into smaller steps. It's wrong less often than you are, gets less wrong over time, and the only input it asks for is a one-tap correction.
3. 3. The Pounce turns rough notes into real briefs
Instead of leaving a daily note as a pile of bullets, minino has "the Pounce": a friendly agent that interviews you and turns a one-line idea into a proper user story or bug report — and can hand it straight to Claude Code. It's opt-in AI that does a job, and on the free tier it runs on your own Claude key.
Where Roam Research still wins
We'll be honest — Roam pioneered networked thought and is still ahead in a few areas that matter deeply to its users:
- Mature bidirectional linking and block references — [[links]] and ((block refs)) are the heart of Roam, and years of refinement show.
- A real query language — {{query}} lets you assemble live views across your whole graph in ways minino doesn't match yet.
- A famously devoted community — #roamcult, shared workflows, and a deep culture of note-taking practice.
If bidirectional linking and queries are the core of how you think, and you're happy in the cloud, Roam is a great home. minino is for people who want that fast block-based outliner off the cloud, private and offline — with tasks, AI and structure handled for them.
Who minino is for — and who it isn't
You'll love minino if…
- You love Roam's block outliner but want it offline, private, and account-free.
- You're tired of paying a subscription just to open your own notes.
- You want tasks that size themselves instead of estimating effort by hand.
- You want opt-in AI that actually helps, plus Notion-style pages when you need them.
Stick with Roam Research if…
- Bidirectional links and block references are the center of how you think.
- You rely on Roam's query language to build live views across your graph.
- You value the #roamcult community and its shared workflows.
Local-first and private, with tasks and AI built in. Try it in your browser in under a minute.
Open minino — it's freeFrequently asked questions
What is a good Roam Research alternative that works offline?
minino is the closest in spirit for offline use: a local-first, everything-is-a-block outliner with daily notes, where everything works with no connection and no account. It adds what Roam leaves to you — tasks that infer their own size, a built-in AI agent, and Notion-style pages — plus optional encrypted sync. Logseq is also local-first; minino adds native note→task, effort-inference and the Pounce.
Is there a Roam alternative without a subscription?
Yes. Roam has no free tier and charges from day one (~$15/mo or $165/yr). minino's entire app is free and needs no account, fully offline and private, with AI via your own Claude key. Pro ($14.99/mo, $149.99/yr, or $299.99 lifetime) adds encrypted sync and managed AI only if you want them.
Does minino have bidirectional links like Roam?
minino has links and inline #tags that automatically weave a radial mind map, but Roam's mature bidirectional linking, block references and query language are deeper — that's genuinely Roam's edge. minino trades some of that networked-thought depth for local-first privacy, tasks that size themselves, a built-in AI agent and a calmer out-of-the-box experience.