Question 1

What is Synap?

Accepted Answer

Synap is an AI-powered personal workspace that captures anything you throw at it — links, notes, files, voice messages — and AI automatically organizes it into structured, searchable entities. Your data lives on your own private server (a data pod), not in a shared cloud database.

Question 2

How is Synap different from Notion or Obsidian?

Accepted Answer

Three key differences: (1) AI does the organizing — you never manually tag or sort. (2) Your data lives on a dedicated private server you own, not in a shared database. (3) Any AI model works — Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, or local models. You're never locked to one provider.

Question 3

What is a data pod?

Accepted Answer

A data pod is a dedicated private server provisioned just for you. It runs a full stack: PostgreSQL + pgvector for structured data and semantic search, Typesense for full-text search, MinIO for file storage, and the Synap backend for AI orchestration and event processing. Your data is stored in open formats — SQL tables, Markdown notes, S3 buckets — that work independently of Synap.

Question 4

Can I use any AI model with Synap?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Synap connects AI through the Hub Protocol — an open API standard. Any AI model that implements the protocol can access your data. Currently supports Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, and local models via OpenRouter. When you switch models, all your context stays intact.

Question 5

Can I export my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes, always. Export everything as SQL, JSON, or Markdown at any time, no request needed. You can also connect any SQL client directly to your pod's database. If Synap disappears, your server keeps running — it's your infrastructure.

Question 6

Can I self-host Synap?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The entire pod stack is available as a Docker Compose configuration. You can run it on any Linux VPS, on-premise server, or home lab. Same codebase as managed pods.

Sovereign apps that run on your pod

Chat (OpenWebUI)

Hermes

OpenClaw