MindWiki vs Capacities.
Honest, side-by-side comparison so you can pick the right tool — and so we can point out where Capacities is still the better fit.
The short version
Capacities is an object-first notes app: everything is a typed object (person, idea, source, project) with structured fields. MindWikiis page-first: every unit is a markdown file with optional YAML frontmatter that plays the role of an "object schema" per page. Both support a graph view and structured properties. They differ on storage format (proprietary vs markdown on disk) and on how AI clients connect (limited external access vs first-class MCP endpoint).
Best for
MindWiki is best for: people who want their knowledge base to live as portable markdown with AI clients connected directly.
Capacities is best for: people who think in objects and want the app to enforce structured types like Person, Idea, or Source.
Where MindWiki is different from Capacities
- Plain markdown files on disk; Capacities uses a proprietary store.
- Frontmatter as your schema — flexible, not type-enforced, but Git-friendly.
- Built-in MCP endpoint for AI clients via OAuth.
- Native macOS app + web app sharing the same vault.
- Pro automation: Auto-Linker, Weekly Classifier, Pattern Detection land proposals you review; Monthly Summary writes one additive summary page per month.
Feature comparison
| Feature | MindWiki | Capacities |
|---|---|---|
| Atomic unit | Pages (markdown) | Typed objects |
| Storage | Plain markdown + frontmatter | Proprietary cloud store |
| Local-first | Yes (macOS app) | No (cloud) |
| Schema enforcement | Convention via frontmatter | Type-enforced object schemas |
| Graph view | Wikilink graph | Object graph view |
| AI access | MCP + REST API for external clients | Built-in AI; limited external access |
| Pricing | Free + Pro | Free + Pro tier |
Migration reality
Capacities exports objects as markdown plus image attachments. Migration steps:
- Export your Capacities space.
- Each object becomes a markdown page; object type becomes a
type:field in the YAML frontmatter. - Drop the resulting folder into your MindWiki vault. Wikilinks and properties survive the move.
- Type-enforced fields (number, date) become plain frontmatter values — MindWiki doesn't enforce types but the macOS app's table view filters and sorts on them.
When Capacities wins
- You want strong, type-enforced object schemas inside the app.
- You think and search by object type ("all my people", "all my sources") as the primary view.
- You don't need first-class external AI clients reading the data.
Frequently asked questions
Can I model people, sources, projects in MindWiki the way Capacities does?
Yes — set a type:field in each page's frontmatter (type: person, type: source, type: project) and use the table view to filter by type. It's convention rather than enforced types, but the workflow is similar.
Does MindWiki have an object graph like Capacities?
The graph view shows pages and the wikilinks between them. Object types appear as a property on each node, not as separate graphs per type.