Looksyk

A simple personal knowledge platform with a focus on clean markdown files, simple queries and a journal.

Installation

Run Looksyk

If you're using Arch Linux, I highly recommend running either the AUR package or the PKGBUILD manually.

Only use the Flatpak installation if other options, such as AppImage, aren't available.

The Docker Compose variant can be used for mobile, but it's not yet fully optimized for smartphones.

Operation System Installation Method Status
Arch Linux AUR ✅ recommended Installation Guide
Arch Linux PKGBUILD Installation Guide
Linux (any) manual build Installation Guide
Linux (any) AppImage Installation Guide
Linux (any) AppImage manual build Installation Guide
Linux (any) Flatpak Installation Guide
Linux (any) Flatpak manual build Installation Guide
Linux, Windows, Mac (amd64, arm64) docker / docker compose Installation Guide
Windows native manual build *) untested / not working out of the box *)
Mac native manual build *) untested / not working out of the box *)

*) The application is programmed to be platform independent, but the build script and the installation process are not yet implemented on Windows and Mac. Mainly because I have no knowledge of packaging for Windows and Mac, and because I don't have a test environment. If you want to help, please create an issue or a pull request.

Arch Linux / AUR

You can install Looksyk from the AUR. The package is called looksyk-desktop.

You can run the application with the command looksyk.

Arch Linux / PKGBUILD

You can build the application with the PKGBUILD. Run makepkg and install the package with pacman -U ./looksyk-desktop-<version>.tar.zst.

You can run the application with the command looksyk.

Docker / docker-compose

The repository contains two docker-compose.yml's:

Just run docker compose up -d to start Looksyk and visit with Chrome / Chromium the URL http://localhost:11000.

AppImage

You can download the latest AppImage from the releases page. Make the AppImage executable with chmod +x Looksyk-x86_64.AppImage and run it with ./Looksyk-x86_64.AppImage.

AppImage manual build

  1. Build the components with bash build.sh (this will build the frontend and backend,and requires npm and cargo)
  2. Build the appimage with bash build_appimage.sh
  3. The AppImage is now in the root-folder of the repository
  4. Make the AppImage executable with chmod +x Looksyk-x86_64.AppImage.
  5. Start the application with ./Looksyk-x86_64.AppImage.

Flatpak

A installation via flatpak is possible, but the least stable option. There may be issues. If you encounter problems, please create an issue.

You can download the latest AppImage from the releases page.

Install it with flatpak install --user Looksyk-x86_64.flatpak and run it with clicking on the desktop-icon.

Note, that flatpak only supports inserting files from the home-directory. So you have to copy your graph into your home-directory, and only insert assets from there.

Flatpak manual build

A installation via flatpak is possible, but the least stable option. There may be issues. If you encounter problems, please create an issue.

Build the flatpak with sh build-flatpak.sh.

Install it with flatpak install --user Looksyk-x86_64.flatpak and run it with clicking on the desktop-icon.

Note, that flatpak only supports inserting files from the home-directory. So you have to copy your graph into your home-directory, and only insert assets from there.

Production Build / Manual Installation

  1. Run the script bash build.sh (this will build the frontend and backend, and requires npm and cargo)
  2. The application is now in the target folder
  3. (Optional) Create a shortcut icon sh create_desktop_shortcut.sh
  4. Start the application. Use the created shortcut or run ./application-wrapper/looksyk in the target folder. You can instrument the application with the arguments --port and --graph-location to change the port and the graph location. With the argument --devtools true the electron devtools are opened as default.
  5. The application is now available at http://localhost:11000 (or the configured port)

Running different looksyk graphs at the same time (with different ports)

You can use the create_desktop_shortcut.sh script to create a shortcut with a different port and graph location. Or you can run the application with the arguments --port and --graph-location manually.


Are you having problems installing or setting up? Create an issue!

Or would you like to improve the documentation or provide alternative installation methods? Make a pull request.


FAQ / Troubleshooting

Known issues with building the application-wrapper

The application does not start / I get an error message

If the error message says "Address is already in use," then it's highly likely that the port on the machine is already blocked by another application. This could be, for example, another instance of Looksyk running on that port, or any other application also using that port. Looksyk isn't dependent on a specific port; you can configure any port using a parameter.

Please note that only one Looksyk instance can run on a graph at a time. Multiple Looksyk instances on the same graph can lead to inconsistencies and even data loss. It is possible, however, to run one backend and multiple frontends (for example, by opening them in a browser). Only multiple Rust backends should not run on the same graph simultaneously.

Priority has no effect on Kanban boards yet.

Yes, that's correct. This feature is still under development.