Find the command you already figured out.
Cairn keeps your commands, scripts and snippets with the reason you saved them, and finds them by what you remember. A keystroke away, fully offline.
Windows 10 and 11. No account needed.Cairn runs on Windows 10 and 11.
- Start-Service postgresql-x64-18Start the local PostgreSQL service when the app can’t connect to the database.
- Postgres won’t start: port 5432 in useAnother instance is holding port 5432. Find the process and stop it.
Start-Service postgresql-x64-18
Why I saved this
Start the local PostgreSQL service when the app can’t connect to the database.
This is the real search, running in your browser. Try port in use or git history.
Search by what you remember, not what you typed.
Every entry carries one sentence: why you saved it. Cairn searches that sentence as seriously as the command itself, so the words you remember months later are enough.
Typing partial words works, accents don't matter, and if no entry has every word, Cairn shows the closest ones instead of nothing.
| You type | Cairn finds |
|---|---|
| start the database | Start-Service postgresql-x64-18 |
| port in use | netstat -ano | findstr 5432 |
| open psql in docker | docker exec -it pg-dev psql -U postgres |
| backup before migration | backup-dev-db.ps1 |
Five kinds of things worth keeping.
No folders to maintain. Pick a kind, add a few tags, and filter with a keystroke.
Commands
The one-liners you look up every few weeks.
Scripts
Multi-line PowerShell or cmd you run as a whole.
Code
The hook or query you always end up rewriting.
Notes
The fix you found after an hour of searching.
Ideas
Half-formed thoughts, saved before they're gone.
Never leave the keyboard.
Open Cairn from anywhere, type, and press Enter to copy. Ctrl Enter pastes straight into the window you came from. Ctrl K shows every action, with its shortcut, so you learn as you go.
Start-Service postgresql-x64-18
- Copy to clipboard↵
- Paste into active windowCtrl ↵
- Run in PowerShellCtrl R
- EditCtrl E
- Add to favorites
- DeleteCtrl ⇧ ⌫
- SettingsCtrl ,
Offline by design. Your notes never leave your machine.
Commands hold server names, paths and sometimes passwords. Cairn makes no network requests at all: everything lives in one SQLite file you can copy, back up or delete.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\com.ayoubedahlouli.cairn\cairn.dbNo account
Install it and start typing. Nothing to sign up for, ever.
No telemetry
No analytics, no crash reports sent anywhere. Even the fonts are built in.
Open source
Every line is on GitHub, so you don't have to take our word for any of this.
On the trail ahead.
Version 0.1 is the foundation. Here's what comes next, in order.
Available now
Version 0.1
Search by intent, actions, editor, themes, run and paste.
Next
Smarter search
Typo tolerance, and what you use often rises to the top.
Then
Search by meaning
Find entries by idea, with a model that runs on your computer.
Then
Capture faster
Quick capture, fill parameters, and import from shell history.
Later
Local AI helpers
A suggested why, automatic tags, questions about your entries.
Questions
Is Cairn free?
Yes. Cairn is free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid tier and no account.
Why does Windows warn me when I install it?
Version 0.1 isn’t code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen doesn’t recognise the publisher. Click More info, then Run anyway. The source and the build are on GitHub if you’d rather check first.
Does it work on macOS or Linux?
Not yet. Cairn is built with Tauri, which runs on all three, but version 0.1 is tested and released for Windows 10 and 11 only.
Where is my data stored?
In one SQLite file on your computer, under %LOCALAPPDATA%. Cairn never sends it anywhere. To back it up, quit Cairn and copy cairn.db, plus cairn.db-wal and cairn.db-shm if they’re still next to it.
What if Alt Space is already taken?
If another app such as PowerToys Run uses Alt Space, Cairn falls back to Ctrl Shift Space. The tray icon’s tooltip always shows the shortcut that works.
Leave a stone for your future self.
Free, open source and offline. Windows 10 and 11.