What is Synap?

Synap is a Personal Data Operating System that gives you superpowers

Unlike traditional apps that update your data and forget the past, Synap is built on a fundamentally different architecture that enables capabilities impossible in conventional systems.

🎯 At a Glance

Synap is not just a note-taking app. It's a complete platform for building intelligent, data-sovereign applications with:

🕐 Time-Travel - Never lose data, undo anything, see your workspace from any point in time
🌳 Branching - Git-like conversations, parallel AI exploration, context switching
🧠 Knowledge Graph - Automatic connections, bi-directional links, relationship discovery
🤖 Multi-Agent AI - Specialized AI team, not just one assistant
🔒 Data Sovereignty - You own it, you host it, you control it

🕐 Time-Travel Your Data

The Problem: In traditional apps, when you edit something, the old version is gone forever.

Synap's Solution: Every single change is recorded as an immutable event. Nothing is ever truly deleted.

What This Enables:

// Show me my workspace from last Tuesday
const workspace = await synap.timeline.getState('2024-12-17');

// Why did the AI suggest this?
const reasoning = await synap.events.getAIReasoning('suggestion_123');

// Undo my last 3 changes
await synap.history.undo({ count: 3 });

UI You Can Build:

Activity timeline view
Infinite undo/redo
"Show workspace from [date]" feature
AI reasoning explanations
Audit trails for compliance

vs Traditional Apps:

Feature	Notion/Obsidian	Synap
Undo	Limited history	Infinite
View past state	❌ Not possible	✅ Any point in time
AI transparency	Hidden	Full reasoning trace
Audit trail	Manual logs	Automatic

Learn more about Event Sourcing →

🌳 Branching Conversations

The Problem: When you're in a conversation and want to explore a tangent, you either:

Lose the main thread context
Pollute the main conversation
Open a new chat and lose continuity

Synap's Solution: Branch conversations like Git branches.

How It Works:

// Mid-conversation, branch off to research
const researchBranch = await synap.threads.createBranch({
  parentThreadId: 'main_thread',
  fromMessageId: 'msg_789',
  purpose: 'Research competitors in detail',
  agentId: 'research_specialist'  // Assign specialist AI
});

// Work happens in parallel
// Main thread continues
// Research branch deep-dives

// Merge insights back
await synap.threads.merge(researchBranch.id, 'main_thread');

UI You Can Build:

Git-style branch visualization
Parallel AI exploration
Branch history explorer
Merge conflict resolution UI

Real Example:

Main Conversation:
├─ User: "Plan marketing for new feature"
├─ Agent: "Let me research competitors"
│   └─ [BRANCH: Research] ← Research Agent works here
│       ├─ Analyzed Notion's pricing
│       ├─ Reviewed Obsidian's community
│       └─ [MERGED: 5 insights]
├─ Agent: "Based on research, here's a plan..."
└─ User: "Great! Create project"
    └─ [BRANCH: Setup] ← Action Agent works here

vs Traditional Chat:

Feature	ChatGPT/Claude	Synap
Branching	❌ No	✅ Full Git-like
Parallel exploration	❌ No	✅ Multiple agents
Merge context	❌ Manual copy-paste	✅ Automatic
Branch history	❌ Lost	✅ Full tree

Learn more about Branching →

🧠 Knowledge Graph

The Problem: In traditional apps, you manually create links between notes. It's tedious and incomplete.

Synap's Solution: Everything is automatically connected through a knowledge graph.

How It Works:

Every piece of content becomes an entity (note, task, person, project, event), and relationships are automatically discovered by AI or explicitly created.

// Find all notes mentioning "Marie" and "Project X"
const connected = await synap.graph.findRelated({
  entity: 'contact_marie',
  relationTypes: ['mentions', 'assigned_to'],
  filters: { projectId: 'project_x' }
});

// Discover hidden connections
const suggestions = await synap.graph.suggestConnections();
// "These 3 notes should be a project"

UI You Can Build:

Interactive network graph (like Obsidian)
Entity pages ("Show all mentions of Marie")
Smart relationship suggestions
Topic clusters
Cross-project analytics

Graph Structure:

[Note: "Call Marie"] ──mentions──> [Contact: Marie]
         │                              │
    belongs_to                     assigned_to
         │                              │
         v                              v
[Project: App Redesign] <────related_to───┘

vs Obsidian/Roam:

Feature	Obsidian	Synap
Links	Manual `[[]]`	Automatic + Manual
Graph view	✅ Yes	✅ Yes + AI insights
AI suggestions	❌ No	✅ "Connect these notes"
Typed relations	❌ Generic links	✅ mentions, assigned_to, etc.

Learn more about Knowledge Graph →

🤖 Multi-Agent AI

The Problem: One AI assistant tries to do everything (planning, research, coding, writing). Jack of all trades, master of none.

Synap's Solution: Multiple specialized agents, coordinated by an orchestrator.

The Team:

┌─────────────────┐
│  Orchestrator   │ ← Coordinates everything
└─────────────────┘
         │
    ┌────┴────┬────────────┬─────────────┐
    │         │            │             │
    v         v            v             v
[Research] [Technical] [Creative] [Your Custom Agent]

How It Works:

// Orchestrator analyzes your request
await synap.chat.send("Plan a marketing campaign");

// Orchestrator delegates:
// 1. Research Agent → Analyze competitors
// 2. Creative Agent → Generate campaign ideas
// 3. Technical Agent → Suggest implementation
// All work in parallel branches

// Results merge back to you with insights from each specialist

Real Flow:

You: "Plan marketing for new feature"

Orchestrator: "I'll coordinate research and creative"
  ├─ [Delegates to Research Agent]
  │   → Finds 5 competitor strategies
  ├─ [Delegates to Creative Agent]
  │   → Generates 10 campaign concepts
  └─ [Synthesizes results]
      → "Here's a plan combining insights from both"

vs Single AI:

Feature	ChatGPT/Claude	Synap
Specialization	❌ One model	✅ Multiple specialists
Parallel work	❌ Sequential	✅ Concurrent
Agent switching	❌ Manual	✅ Automatic delegation
Custom agents	❌ Limited	✅ Build your own

Learn more about Multi-Agent System →

🔒 Data Sovereignty

The Problem: Your data lives on someone else's servers (Notion, Google, Apple). They can:

Change pricing anytime
Change features
Shut down
Mine your data
Lock you in

Synap's Solution: You own the infrastructure.

What This Means:

✅ Self-Hosted: Run on your server, your laptop, or your Raspberry Pi
✅ Open Source: Core OS is MIT licensed, inspect every line
✅ Portable: Export everything, migrate anytime
✅ Private: Your data never leaves your control
✅ Extensible: Build plugins without asking permission

# Your data, your rules
docker compose up -d  # That's it, you're running Synap

Deployment Options:

🏠 Self-hosted: Docker Compose on your server
☁️ Cloud: Deploy to AWS/GCP/Azure (you control it)
🔒 Air-gapped: Works completely offline
🌐 Managed (future): We host, you still own the data

Learn more about Data Sovereignty →

🎨 What Can You Build?

Because Synap is a platform, not just an app, you can build:

Personal Apps:

Second Brain (like Obsidian)
Daily journal with AI insights
Personal CRM
Research assistant
Habit tracker with analytics

Team Apps:

Collaborative workspace (like Notion)
Project management
Knowledge base
Meeting notes + AI summaries
Team wiki with graph view

Specialized Apps:

Legal case management
Medical research database
Investment analysis tool
Academic paper organizer
Sales pipeline + AI insights

All with:

✅ Full event history
✅ Knowledge graph connections
✅ Branching conversations
✅ Multi-agent AI
✅ Your ownership

🆚 How Synap Compares

vs Notion

✅ Synap Advantages:
- You own the infrastructure
- Infinite undo (event sourcing)
- Branching conversations
- Multi-agent AI
- Full API access

⚠️ Notion Better For:
- Simpler onboarding
- No hosting needed
- Team already on Notion

vs Obsidian

✅ Synap Advantages:
- Automatic connections (AI-powered)
- Real-time collaboration
- Multi-agent AI
- Event history
- Branching conversations

⚠️ Obsidian Better For:
- Offline-first simplicity
- No server needed
- Markdown purists

vs Standard Notes

✅ Synap Advantages:
- Knowledge graph
- AI capabilities
- Branching
- Extensibility
- Event sourcing

⚠️ Standard Notes Better For:
- Ultra-simple encryption
- Mobile-first

See full comparisons →

🚀 Getting Started

Ready to experience the difference?

5-Minute Demo - Deploy a working app
Core Concepts - Understand the architecture
Build Tutorial - Create your first app
Migrate - Bring your data

💡 Key Takeaway

Synap isn't "another note app."

It's a Personal Data Operating System that fundamentally changes what's possible:

Traditional Apps	Synap
Update → forget	Record → remember
Single AI	AI team
Flat notes	Knowledge graph
Linear chat	Branching exploration
They own it	You own it

Next: Learn about the Event Sourcing that powers time-travel →

🎯 At a Glance​

🕐 Time-Travel Your Data​

What This Enables:​

🌳 Branching Conversations​

How It Works:​

🧠 Knowledge Graph​

How It Works:​

🤖 Multi-Agent AI​

The Team:​

🔒 Data Sovereignty​

What This Means:​

🎨 What Can You Build?​

Personal Apps:​

Team Apps:​

Specialized Apps:​

🆚 How Synap Compares​

vs Notion​

vs Obsidian​

vs Standard Notes​

🚀 Getting Started​

💡 Key Takeaway​

🎯 At a Glance

🕐 Time-Travel Your Data

What This Enables:

🌳 Branching Conversations

How It Works:

🧠 Knowledge Graph

How It Works:

🤖 Multi-Agent AI

The Team:

🔒 Data Sovereignty

What This Means:

🎨 What Can You Build?

Personal Apps:

Team Apps:

Specialized Apps:

🆚 How Synap Compares

vs Notion

vs Obsidian

vs Standard Notes

🚀 Getting Started

💡 Key Takeaway