The AI second brain that makes ChatGPT and Claude remember.
Every AI chat starts from zero. Granite gives your AI a second brain: your notes, ideas, meetings, and decisions in one private place that Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and your agents can search, cite, and add to. One brain, every AI, no lock-in.
In short
An AI second brain (also called a second AI brain or an AI-powered second brain) is a personal knowledge base that your AI assistant can read and write. Instead of guessing or forgetting, the AI searches your own notes before it answers, cites the exact note it used, and saves new knowledge back for next time. Granite is an AI second brain app built on plain Markdown notes, with a built-in MCP server that connects Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude Code, and any MCP client. It's free to start, and your notes are never used to train AI models.
The problem
Your AI is brilliant. It just doesn't know you.
You re-explain your projects, paste the same documents, and lose every good answer in a chat history you'll never scroll back through. Built-in AI "memory" keeps a few short facts, locked inside one vendor's app.
- Remembers everything you've written, not just a handful of saved facts.
- Answers with sources, so you can check every claim against your own notes.
- Learns as you work: let your AI save summaries, decisions, and drafts as new notes.
- Works with every AI: switch from ChatGPT to Claude and your memory comes with you.
How it works
From scattered notes to an AI that knows your work.
Capture
Write in the web, desktop, or Android app, even offline. Send ideas from Telegram or Apple Shortcuts, and pull in meeting notes from Granola, Fireflies, Otter, and other recorders.
Connect
Link ideas with
[[wikilinks]]and tags. Backlinks and the graph turn notes into a web your AI can follow.Plug in your AI
Add
https://mcp.granite.md/mcpas a connector in Claude or ChatGPT, or one line in Cursor or Claude Code. Choose the vaults and whether it may write.Ask and remember
Your AI searches your second brain before it answers, cites the notes it used, and saves what's worth keeping for next time.
Why Granite
Not a notes app with a chatbot. A memory for every AI you use.
Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude Code, and your agents share one memory
Granite speaks the Model Context Protocol, the open standard AI tools use to reach your data. Use Claude for writing, ChatGPT for research, and Cursor for code, all on the same knowledge. Change AI vendors any time without losing a thing.
Answers you can check
Ranked passages that link to the exact note and heading, so your AI quotes you instead of making things up.
Your AI takes notes too
With write access, your AI can create and update notes. Every change is a version you can restore.
Never training data
Granite runs no AI model and never trains on your notes. Each vault has its own encryption key.
Plain Markdown files
Obsidian-compatible notes in an open format. No proprietary blocks, no lock-in.
No vector database, no pipeline, no scripts
Granite indexes your notes for meaning-based search automatically. What developers spend weeks building with embeddings and RAG, you get by pasting one URL.
A local AI brain on your own computer
The local MCP server reads a folder of notes directly and works offline, on every plan, Free included.
AI second brain options compared
Why Granite beats AI memory, bundled AI, and DIY.
| What matters | Granite | Built-in chatbot memory | Notes app with its own AI | DIY: Markdown app + plugins or RAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and agents | All of them, through MCP | One vendor only | Mostly its own AI | If you build it |
| Holds full notes and documents | Your whole knowledge base | Short saved facts | Yes | Yes |
| Answers cite your notes | Note and heading | No | Varies | If you build it |
| AI can save new notes | With your permission, versioned | Facts only | Varies | Plugin-dependent |
| Plain files you own | Markdown | No | Usually proprietary | Yes |
| Never used to train AI | Never | Depends on settings | Check the terms | Depends on the AI |
| Works on every device and in the browser | Web, desktop, Android, CLI | Yes | Yes | Usually one computer |
| Setup | Paste one URL | None | None | Hours to weeks |
Coming from Obsidian? Read Granite vs Obsidian. Choosing for a team? See the AI knowledge base for companies.
Who it's for
One second brain, a hundred ways to use it.
Your thinking, on call
Ask your AI to draft posts, investor updates, and plans from your own ideas, past decisions, and research, in your voice.
Every source, connected
Reading notes, highlights, and papers linked together, so your AI can synthesize across them and point to where each idea came from.
Context for Cursor and Claude Code
Specs, architecture decisions, and runbooks your coding agent reads before it writes a line, and updates when it's done.
Never forget a meeting
Meeting recordings flow into notes; your AI recalls what each client or teammate agreed, with the date and the source.
A company brain
Shared vaults, live co-editing, SSO, and an AI knowledge base that respects each person's permissions. Granite for companies →
Pricing
Start free. Upgrade when your AI needs more.
| Plan | Price | Your AI second brain gets |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 forever, no card | 1 synced vault, local MCP server for AI on your computer, full-text search, graph, and backlinks |
| Pro | $3.99 a month, first 30 days free | 10 vaults, remote MCP for Claude and ChatGPT on any device, the AI knowledge base with cited answers, 12 months of version history |
| Business | $14.99 per seat a month, 30-day trial | A shared company brain with admin AI policy, SSO, SCIM, audit log, and permission-aware answers |
Compare every limit on the pricing page.
What is an AI second brain?
An AI second brain is a personal knowledge base that an AI assistant can search and update. You keep notes, ideas, meetings, and documents in one place; the AI reads them before it answers, cites the notes it used, and can save new notes for later. It turns a forgetful chatbot into an assistant that knows your work.
What is the best AI second brain app?
Granite is the best AI second brain app for people who want their notes to work with any AI. It stores notes as plain Markdown with wikilinks, backlinks, and a graph, syncs them to every device, and includes a built-in MCP server so Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Claude Code can search your notes with citations and, if you allow it, write to them. It's free to start and never trains AI on your notes.
How do I give ChatGPT a memory of my notes?
Put your notes in Granite, then add https://mcp.granite.md/mcp as a connector in ChatGPT and sign in to approve which vaults it may use. ChatGPT can then search and read your notes when it answers. Remote access is included in Granite Pro, which is free for the first 30 days.
How do I connect Claude to my second brain?
In Claude, open Settings, then Connectors, choose Add custom connector, and enter https://mcp.granite.md/mcp. Sign in to Granite, choose the vaults and whether Claude may write, and approve. In Claude Code, run claude mcp add --transport http granite https://mcp.granite.md/mcp.
How is this different from ChatGPT or Claude memory?
Built-in memory saves a few short facts inside one AI vendor's app. A Granite AI second brain holds your full notes and documents, works with every MCP-compatible AI tool, cites its sources, and stays in plain Markdown files you can read and edit. Switch AI tools and your memory comes with you.
Is my AI second brain private?
Yes. Notes are encrypted at rest with a key per vault and sent over TLS. Granite runs no AI model, never trains AI on your notes, and an AI tool sees only the vaults you approve, only when it asks. You can revoke any connection instantly.
Can the AI edit or delete my notes?
Only if you give it write access. Write tools are off unless you approve them, every change is saved as a version you can restore, and deletes are soft.
Do I need to code or set up a vector database?
No. Granite indexes your notes for search automatically and exposes them through MCP. There's no embedding pipeline, vector database, or script to maintain; you paste one URL into your AI tool.
Can I use my Obsidian vault as an AI second brain?
Yes. Zip your Obsidian vault and import it into Granite. Wikilinks, embeds, tags, callouts, and frontmatter keep working, and your AI tools can search it right away through MCP.
Which AI tools work with Granite?
Any MCP client, including Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Zed, and custom agents. Granite doesn't bundle its own AI, so you use the one you already pay for.
Is there a free AI second brain?
Yes. Granite's Free plan includes one synced vault and the local MCP server, so AI tools on your computer can use your notes at no cost. Pro, at $3.99 a month, adds remote access from Claude and ChatGPT on any device and the AI knowledge base with cited answers.
Give your company a memory it can trust
Free for one person. Pro and Business are free for 30 days.
- Encrypted with a key per vault
- Never used to train AI
- Export as Markdown anytime