About
Khoj is an applied artificial intelligence company on a mission to build safe, transparent, and useful AI software for humans. Their flagship product, the Khoj app, functions as an AI second brain — you can connect your personal documents, build custom agents, schedule automations, and research topics across both your private knowledge base and the web. It turns any underlying AI model into a personalized assistant tailored to your data and workflows. Khoj also offers two additional products: **Open Paper**, a research workbench designed to help users keep up with the latest academic literature by reading, organizing, and understanding papers with verifiable citations; and **Pipali** (currently in beta), a desktop AI co-worker that allows you to assign tasks, track progress, and receive polished deliverables — all running locally and safely on your computer. Built openly on GitHub, Khoj is designed for transparency and adaptability. It is particularly well-suited for researchers, knowledge workers, students, and developers who want a private, self-hostable AI assistant that integrates with their personal data. The open-source nature means the community can inspect, contribute to, and customize the software, making it a trusted choice for those concerned about data privacy and AI safety.
Key Features
- AI Second Brain (Khoj App): Connect your personal documents and the web to create a unified knowledge base. Build custom agents, schedule automations, and get research-powered answers grounded in your own data.
- Pipali – Desktop AI Co-worker: A local desktop AI agent that lets you assign complex tasks, track their progress, and receive polished deliverables — all processed safely on your own machine.
- Open Paper – Research Workbench: Stay current with academic literature by reading, organizing, and understanding research papers with AI-assisted summaries and verifiable citations.
- Custom Agent Builder: Create specialized AI agents tailored to specific workflows, connecting them to your documents, web searches, and external tools.
- Open-Source & Self-Hostable: Fully transparent codebase available on GitHub. Self-host for complete data privacy, or use the managed cloud version.
Use Cases
- Researchers using Open Paper to stay current with academic literature and organize papers with AI-generated summaries and verified citations.
- Knowledge workers building a personal AI second brain by connecting notes, PDFs, and web sources for intelligent Q&A and research.
- Developers self-hosting Khoj to create private, data-secure AI assistants for their teams or personal use.
- Professionals using Pipali to delegate complex research, writing, or automation tasks to a local desktop AI agent.
- Students leveraging Khoj to search across lecture notes and research documents for study assistance and essay research.
Pros
- Open-source and privacy-first: Khoj can be self-hosted, giving users full control over their data without relying on third-party servers.
- Versatile product suite: Covers multiple workflows — personal knowledge management, academic research, and desktop task automation — under one ecosystem.
- Model-agnostic: Works with various underlying AI models, letting users choose or swap the LLM powering their assistant.
- Active community and transparent development: Built in the open with a public GitHub repository, fostering community contributions and trust through transparency.
Cons
- Self-hosting requires technical setup: Running Khoj locally or on your own server demands some technical knowledge, which may be a barrier for non-developers.
- Pipali is still in beta: The desktop AI co-worker feature is not yet fully stable and may have limited functionality or occasional issues.
- Smaller team and ecosystem: As a small, independent company, Khoj may have fewer integrations and slower feature releases compared to larger AI platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Khoj free to use?
Khoj is open-source and can be self-hosted for free. A managed cloud version is also available, which may have free and paid tiers depending on usage.
Can I use Khoj with my own documents?
Yes. Khoj is designed to ingest your personal documents and files, allowing you to search, query, and chat with your own knowledge base using AI.
What is Pipali?
Pipali is Khoj's desktop AI co-worker currently in beta. It runs locally on your computer, allowing you to assign research and creative tasks, track progress, and receive deliverables without sending data to the cloud.
What is Open Paper?
Open Paper is a research workbench built by Khoj that helps you read, organize, and understand academic papers. It uses AI to summarize and explain research while providing citations you can verify.
Which AI models does Khoj support?
Khoj is model-agnostic and can work with various large language models, enabling users to plug in their preferred AI backend.
