Markdown Notes as a Graph, Not a Folder Tree

What it does

IWE reads a local directory of .md files and treats the links between them as a graph structure rather than a folder hierarchy. It exposes this structure through a real LSP server for editors like VS Code, Neovim, Zed, and Helix, and through an MCP server and CLI for AI agents. The result is the same notes readable in any text editor, but navigable as a connected web with search, refactor, and rename operations that update links automatically.

The interesting bit

The project distinguishes between “inclusion links” on their own line—defining a parent-child tree—and regular inline cross-references, allowing a single note to belong to multiple topics without duplication. When an AI agent retrieves a note, IWE can include context from its ancestors in the hierarchy, so the agent gets the surrounding topic, not just the file.

Key highlights

• Runs fully offline on local files; no cloud, no database, no proprietary format
• Real LSP integration with autocomplete, go-to-definition, backlinks, and inlay hints
• MCP server (iwec) exposes notes to compatible AI tools like Claude Desktop and Cursor
• CLI supports fuzzy search, tree browsing, squashing subtrees, and automated refactoring
• Built in Rust; the README claims it processes 20,000 files in under a second

Verdict

Worth a look if you maintain a large personal knowledge base in Markdown and want your editor and AI tools to share a single, structured view of it. Skip it if you’re happy with flat folders or already locked into a proprietary note-taking app.