AI agents
rowboat
A desktop AI coworker that remembers your email, meetings and notes
★ 17k
September 2026
Apache-2.0
AI agents
What we checked ourselves
Not copied from the project's own blurb. These are things we opened and verified, with the date.
- 7 Sept 2026We checked that the link to the project still resolves.
- 13 Sept 2026We read the licence text itself (LICENSE). No unusual restrictions were stated.
- 31 Aug 2026We read the project's own documentation and found no sign that development has stopped.
Where this sits among the 114 tools we list in AI agents
- Works without using a terminal21 of 114
- Commercial use confirmed as allowed95 of 114
- Requires an API key29 that do not →
- Sends your input to the provider11 that do not →
Only 16 of the 114 meet all of the conditions above.
Counted from our own checks: every tool we list is examined against the same criteria.
What it does
Indexes email, meetings, chat and past AI conversations into a linked personal knowledge base, then uses that context to draft replies to important mail, take meeting notes and run scheduled or event-triggered background tasks. Mail client, notes, browser and per-project workspaces all live inside the one app, with builds for Mac, Windows and Linux. Because it pools your most sensitive material in one place, check in the settings which AI provider each feature sends data to before connecting accounts.
Summary based on the project's own description. The Japanese page has a fuller beginner guide: setup difficulty, what to prepare, and a step-by-step start.
Screenshots & visuals
Before you start
- Setup difficultySome setup needed
- Command lineNot required
- API keyRequired
- Sends data onlineYes
Judged automatically from the project's own metadata. Always confirm on the official page.
rowboat FAQ
- Is rowboat free?
- rowboat itself is free, but it needs an API key for an external AI service. That service charges separately, though some have a free tier.
- Do I need to install anything or write code to use rowboat?
- You install it like a normal desktop app. No command line involved.
- Does rowboat work on a phone?
- No. It needs a computer.
- Can I use rowboat commercially?
- The licence is Apache-2.0, which permits commercial use. Conditions such as keeping the copyright notice still apply, so read the licence text before shipping it inside something.
How it compares
The conditions that decide whether you can actually use it, side by side.
| Tool | Command line | API key | Sends data out | Phone | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rowboat (this page) | Not needed | Required | Yes | No | Yes |
| pluely | Not needed | Required | Yes | No | Yes |
| skales | Not needed | Required | Yes | No | With conditions |
| Kai | Not needed | Required | Yes | Yes | Yes |
"Sends data out" means your input is uploaded to someone's server. Pick "No" when the material cannot leave your organisation.