--- title: "SumizAI vs Idaesbasic" url: "https://sumizai.com/alternative-to/sumizai-alternative-to-idaesbasic.html" date: "2026-08-14T00:00:00+02:00" modified: "2026-08-14T00:00:00+02:00" description: "Looking for a Idaesbasic alternative? SumizAI and Idaesbasic side by side: price, licence, platforms and what each one actually does." tags: ["ai notes", "sumizai", "idaesbasic", "alternative to Idaesbasic"] --- # SumizAI vs Idaesbasic Looking for a Idaesbasic alternative? SumizAI and Idaesbasic side by side: price, licence, platforms and what each one actually does. ## What Idaesbasic is Idaesbasic is a small, open-source project manager built by a single developer (Ben Herbst) in Java and Kotlin with a JavaFX interface. The project's philosophy is simple — everything the manager tracks (todo lists, kanban boards, a calendar) ends up in plain files saved directly inside the project folder, instead of an external database or the cloud. Key features: Todo lists are saved as `.todo` files and kanban boards as `.kanban` files — both human-readable formats that can be opened in a plain text editor if needed. The app recommends creating a dedicated `idaes-files` folder inside the project where these files collect alongside the rest of the repository. The program is available as a `.jar` file, a Windows `.exe` installer, a Linux `.deb` package, or as source code to build yourself, under the Apache 2.0 license. Who it's for: Idaesbasic appeals to developers and small teams who want to keep their work plan close to the code — literally in the same repository — rather than in a separate SaaS tool that requires an account and internet access. It suits people who value simplicity and full control over their data more than elaborate integration or reporting features. Use cases: In practice, Idaesbasic works well for keeping a simple task backlog for an open-source project, planning a sprint with a kanban board without signing up for an external service, and working offline where internet access isn't guaranteed. A developer juggling several projects at once can keep each one's plan separate, inside its own repository. Pricing and business model: The app is fully free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license — no subscription, no premium tier, no freemium model. Development runs as a single creator's passion project. Limitations and what to watch for: This is still an early-stage, small single-developer project, not a commercial product with a support team — planned features like a pomodoro timer, time tracking, or video calls may arrive more slowly than in larger, funded tools. It's worth checking repository activity on GitHub before making a team's daily work depend on it. AI notes saved directly in the repository: Idaesbasic has no built-in AI model integration, but because everything ends up in plain text files inside the project, pasting a fragment of an AI conversation as a ai notes entry into a `.todo` file or a separate Markdown file in the `idaes-files` folder is as easy as adding a new task — that ai notes entry lands immediately under version control alongside the rest of the code. Files instead of databases — a broader trend in developer tools: The "everything in files next to the code" approach isn't unique to Idaesbasic — it's the same current running through `.md` files in Obsidian or Logseq, just applied to task management instead of notes. The upside is portability: the project folder can be cloned, emailed, or archived, and the work plan travels with the code, with no dependency on an external server staying up. What's worth checking before choosing: Before installing, check the latest commit on GitHub and whether the `.todo`/`.kanban` file format integrates easily with an existing team workflow, especially if some teammates prefer a browser-based kanban board. Bottom line: Idaesbasic is a minimalist, file-based project manager for developers who value simplicity over integrations. Anyone who wants ai notes from AI conversations about project architecture to land in the same repository as the task plan will find a natural home for such a file here — though without the automation dedicated tools offer. Comparison with SumizAI: Idaesbasic and SumizAI operate in completely different domains. Idaesbasic manages tasks and kanban boards in `.todo`/`.kanban` files inside a project's repository. SumizAI turns conversations with an AI model into ai notes saved as Markdown files in a separate vault the user owns, with their own API key to one of seven providers. Anyone planning tasks close to their code will pick Idaesbasic; anyone who wants valuable answers from AI conversations to build a separate, searchable knowledge archive will find SumizAI the better-fitting tool. **Key facts** - Price: Free - License: Open Source - Category: Note-taking ## What SumizAI is A note-taking application built around a conversation with an AI model. You ask a question, the answer streams back, and the answers worth keeping become Markdown notes — filed into a vault that is a folder on your own disk. A vault is a directory holding `base.md`, a generated table of contents up to six levels deep, and a `notes/` folder with one `.md` file per note. Before a note is written it is checked against the ones already there, so the fourth note about the same idea gets merged instead of added. Links between notes are ordinary Markdown links to files that exist. The model is never ours: you bring your own API key to one of seven providers — Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, a local Ollama or your own server — and pay that provider directly. A question sends the table of contents plus at most five relevant notes within a 24,000-character budget, and the app shows you which five it used. ## Where they differ - AlternativeTo's description of Idaesbasic does not mention an AI model. That is the whole starting point in SumizAI: you have a conversation with a model on your own API key, and the answers worth keeping become notes without you filing them. - Idaesbasic is open source (Apache-2.0), and SumizAI is not. If reading the source is what decides it for you, that is a real argument for Idaesbasic. The guarantee SumizAI offers instead is structural rather than legal: the notes are Markdown files in a folder you chose, so they open in any editor whether or not the application is running. - AlternativeTo's description of Idaesbasic does not mention Markdown, so check what format your notes end up in before you fill it up. SumizAI writes standard `.md` files to a folder you picked, and an unpaid account can still export all of them. - AlternativeTo lists no mobile version of Idaesbasic. SumizAI runs on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. Full side-by-side comparison table and pricing: [https://sumizai.com/alternative-to/sumizai-alternative-to-idaesbasic.html](https://sumizai.com/alternative-to/sumizai-alternative-to-idaesbasic.html)