Cortex.md
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Free local vault, paid AI depth

Start with an AI vault. Upgrade for deeper research.

25 AI credits every month - no payment method required. Free includes the local vault, sample flow, Activity ledger, graph, and context export. Plus and Pro add deeper sources, research packs, and larger AI budgets.

Local workflows are part of the vault.

Credits apply when hosted AI reads or researches content. The trust and handoff layer stays visible across plans.

First useful note

Use the sample vault or capture a source, run AI ingest, open the linked note, ask a question, and inspect the graph.

Included on Free
AI transparency ledger

Activity shows provider, model, credits, source type, inputs, snippets, outputs, and retention notes.

Included on all plans
Context packs

Export curated Markdown, manifest.json, and prompts for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Codex.

0 extra credits
Start here
Free
Start the local research vault and prove the workflow before paying.
$0
/forever
25 captures / month  + a few Ask actions
  • Guided sample vault
  • Quick web capture
  • Local Obsidian-compatible vault
  • Wiki + force-directed graph
  • Activity transparency ledger
  • Ask your vault
  • Context pack export
  • Documents, Drive, Gmail ingest
  • Research packs and source refresh
Install free

No payment method required.

Plus
If you outgrow Free - daily research with documents, Gmail, Drive, and YouTube.
$4.99
/month
Hundreds of captures  or a mixed research month
  • Everything in Free
  • Document ingest (PDF, DOCX, MD)
  • Google Drive, Gmail, and YouTube ingest
  • Standard & detailed AI ingest
  • Web research (Perplexity)
  • Save research packs
  • Source refresh + diff reports
  • AI link validation
  • Deep research, smart-merge audit
Pro
Power users - heavy research runs, evidence packs, deep audits, max-depth ingest.
$9.99
/month
Heavy research budget  + deep audits
  • Everything in Plus
  • Max-depth AI ingest
  • Deep web research (multi-step)
  • Evidence-grade research packs
  • Drive research
  • Graph investigate (cluster & orphan AI)
  • Smart-merge audit
  • Priority for new features

Why credits?

Managed AI makes Cortex.md useful without API-key setup. Credits make that usage visible and capped.

Credit costs by action

Hosted AI work consumes credits. Local vault, ledger, and export work is included unless it triggers a new AI run.

ActionCreditsAvailable on
Guided sample vault0Free, Plus, Pro
AI transparency ledger0Free, Plus, Pro
Context pack export0Free, Plus, Pro
Quick capture1Free, Plus, Pro
Standard AI ingest3Plus, Pro
Detailed AI ingest8Plus, Pro
Max-depth ingest25Pro
Ask your vault2Free, Plus, Pro
Document / Drive / Gmail / YouTube ingest3Plus, Pro
Web research15Plus, Pro
Save research packIncluded with research runPlus, Pro
Source refresh report0 unless re-ingestedPlus, Pro
Deep research40Pro
Drive research30Pro
AI lint2Plus, Pro
Graph investigate8Pro
Smart-merge audit8Pro