Where clarity rises from messy research.

Most second brain apps are good at storing information. Moss is built to generate it. The AI agent searches the web, pulls in sources, synthesizes findings, and writes them directly into your notes — with citations included. This is note taking for research, not just note filing. Moss is a research notes app for people who need to move fast through ideas: capturing a thought, pulling in supporting evidence, and developing it into something usable — all in the same document, without switching tools.

Ask Moss's AI agent to find recent papers on a topic, summarize key claims, compare competing theories, or pull supporting data for an argument you're building. It writes the results into your note inline, sources included. You stay in the document and focus on the thinking; Moss handles the retrieval. The result is a research workflow where your notes aren't a filing system — they're a workspace where ideas get developed in real time. Research note taking becomes less about capturing and more about making sense.

Research that mixes qualitative analysis with quantitative data usually lives across two tools: notes in one place, spreadsheets in another. Moss brings them together. Add inline formulas to run calculations on research figures. Generate bar charts or line graphs directly from data in your note. Keep your analysis connected to the writing it supports — in the same document, without switching apps. The chart is right next to the paragraph it illustrates. The formula is inline with the figures it's crunching. Nothing gets lost in translation between tools.

Moss supports wiki-style note links: type [[Note Title]] to connect notes on related topics. Build a research knowledge base where source notes, summary notes, and working drafts are all interlinked. Navigate your research by clicking through connected notes without leaving your current document. As your body of research grows, Moss helps you see the shape of it. Notes can also be tagged and organized automatically. Moss links related ideas and keeps your workspace structured without manual filing — so you can focus on the research, not the organization of it.

As a researcher, your notes often contain unpublished findings, sensitive data, or material you're not ready to share. Moss is local-first: every note is a plain .md file on your computer. Nothing is sent to a server without your action. No cloud account required, no proprietary database, no risk of your research being locked behind a paywall if you cancel a subscription. Obsidian users can open their vault in Moss directly — no import needed. Notion users can export to markdown and open the folder immediately. Your existing research notes work in Moss as-is.

The second brain framework is about capturing everything so you can find it when you need it. Moss takes that further: it captures, links, and then synthesizes — so your notes become a thinking tool, not just an archive. When you're preparing a presentation, drafting a paper, or trying to make sense of a complex topic, Moss can pull from your notes and the web simultaneously, bringing the relevant material together into something useful. That's what separates Moss from a document editor or a knowledge graph tool. It's not just a place to put research. It's a place to do research.

Moss is built for the way researchers actually work: capturing ideas, making connections, and synthesizing information into something usable. Notes are linked, searchable, and stored locally as markdown files. The AI agent does the legwork: searching the web, pulling sources, and summarizing findings directly into your notes. The goal isn't a perfect knowledge graph; it's staying in the flow of thinking while Moss handles the research grunt work.

Yes. Moss's AI agent can search the web, pull in sources, summarize findings, and add them directly to your notes, with sources included so you can verify and cite them. Ask it to find three papers on a topic, summarize key claims, or compare two competing theories. It writes the results inline, ready for you to edit and build on. You stay in the document; Moss does the research.

Obsidian is a powerful knowledge graph, but it requires extensive plugin setup and doesn't include AI research capabilities natively. Notion is cloud-first and subscription-dependent, which creates privacy and portability trade-offs. Moss sits between them: local-first like Obsidian (plain .md files, no cloud account required), but with a built-in AI research agent that searches the web, synthesizes sources, runs calculations, and builds charts, all inside the document without extra setup.

Yes. Moss supports inline formulas and charts: run calculations, visualize data, and keep analysis right next to the writing it supports. Build a bar chart from a dataset, run a formula on research figures, or summarize quantitative findings visually. Analysis stays in the same document as the writing, not in a separate spreadsheet. This is particularly useful for research that mixes qualitative notes with quantitative findings.

No. Moss does not use your notes, sources, or research to train AI models. Queries are processed to complete your task and nothing is retained afterward. This matters especially for researchers working on unpublished findings, proprietary data, or sensitive topics. Your notes stay private and local. Moss never has access to your files unless you explicitly invoke the AI agent.

Yes. Moss supports wiki-style note links — type [[Note Title]] to create a live link between notes. Build a research knowledge base where your notes on related topics reference each other, making it easy to navigate a large body of research. Links appear as interactive pills in the editor, and you can browse connected notes without leaving your current document. Notes can also be tagged and organized without manual effort.

From Obsidian, immediately and with zero effort: Obsidian vaults are folders of .md files, and Moss opens any markdown folder directly. No import needed; just point Moss at the vault directory. From Notion, export your notes as markdown (Notion supports this), then open the exported folder in Moss. Bear, iA Writer, and any other app that exports markdown works the same way.

Moss is a markdown-first research notes app, not a reference manager like Zotero or Mendeley. It doesn't have built-in citation management, but you can maintain source lists in notes, link to source-specific notes, and ask the AI agent to format references in a standard style. Moss works best as the writing and synthesis layer alongside a dedicated reference manager: your notes in Moss, your library in Zotero.

Yes. All your notes live locally on your computer as plain .md files. The AI agent needs a connection for web research, but everything else (reading, writing, organizing, linking notes, running formulas) works locally. Take your research notes anywhere without worrying about connectivity or account access.