Wren
Wren is a free, open-source, local-first reference manager for research on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 or later.
What Wren is
Wren is a free, open-source, local-first reference manager for research on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 or later. It handles more than 40 bibliographic item types and stores PDFs, EPUBs, HTML snapshots, images, and notes as plain files. Built-in PDF and EPUB readers support annotations, with PDF highlights exportable inside a PDF. Its Markdown editor includes math, code highlighting, reference links, anchored comments, and automatic backlinks. Full-text and semantic search can connect results to source passages. On-device layout analysis, OCR, and table extraction process PDFs, including scanned papers, offline. Libraries sync through iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or another synced folder without a Wren account or Wren servers. A Chrome connector captures references and files. Optional user-supplied AI models, a local REST API, deep links, and BibTeX, BibLaTeX, CSL-JSON, and archive import/export are included.
Good
- Free and open source
- Offline OCR and table extraction
- PDF and EPUB annotation
- Semantic search with source links
- No Wren account required for sync
Watch out
- Requires macOS 14 or later
- Apple Silicon required
- No mobile apps
- Windows and Linux builds are roadmap items
Who it suits
It suits researchers who use Apple Silicon Macs and want local files, offline document processing, and optional local AI. Windows and Linux users must wait for roadmap builds.
Verdict
Wren combines reference management, reading, annotation, search, and local document processing in a file-based workflow. Its current availability is limited to supported Mac hardware and software.
Plans and prices
From Wren's own pricing page, checked 15 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | macOS 14 Sonoma+ · Apple Silicon desktop app · v0.1.0 early access |
The facts
Each one read from Wren's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- AI behavior
- AI helpers enrich metadata, structure documents and build embeddings; Wren states it has no chat or answer-generation feature.checked 15 Oct 2026
- AI integrations
- Optional bring-your-own-model AI supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Ollama, and Apple MLX, including fully local use with no key.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Annotations
- Highlights and other annotations are stored separately from original PDFs and can be exported into PDF copies.checked 15 Oct 2026
- API
- A local REST API on 127.0.0.1 can list items, search, retrieve citations, browse collections and tags, and add notes.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Attachments
- It stores PDFs, EPUBs, HTML snapshots, images, notes and web links as local attachments.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Availability
- The listed Mac app requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later and Apple Silicon; Windows and Linux builds are on the roadmap.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Bibliographic model
- Wren supports more than 40 Zotero-style item types with structured bibliographic fields and creators.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Build requirements
- Source builds require macOS, Rust 1.96 or newer, Node.js 20 or newer and Xcode Command Line Tools.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Deep links
- The wren:// URL scheme can open entries and specific PDF pages or annotations.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Document extraction
- An on-device pipeline performs layout analysis, OCR and table recognition, including on scanned PDFs.checked 15 Oct 2026
- EPUB reader
- The EPUB reader supports chapters, in-book search, font sizing and light or dark themes.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Import and export
- Import and export formats include BibTeX, BibLaTeX, CSL-JSON and a portable native .wren archive.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Optional AI providers include OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Ollama and oMLX; cloud-folder sync can use iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Library
- It supports 40+ bibliographic item types and stores PDFs, EPUBs, HTML snapshots, images, and notes as plain files.checked 7 Oct 2026
- License
- The Wren application is released under the MIT License, while its separate browser connector is AGPL-3.0.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: collaboration
- The roadmap lists bundle sharing and peer-to-peer encrypted sync as future features, so they are not current capabilities.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: mobile availability
- Companion iOS and Android apps are listed on the roadmap rather than as currently shipped products.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: plugin API
- A documented plugin or automation API is listed as planned rather than shipped.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Local storage
- The library is stored on the user's machine using plain files and a local database.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Notes
- The Markdown editor includes KaTeX mathematics, Shiki code highlighting, slash commands, anchored comments and backlinks.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Organization
- Collections, colorable tags, saved smart filters and duplicate detection with merging are available.checked 15 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Browser capture
- The Chrome connector saves references, PDFs and snapshots and is compatible with the Zotero connector workflow.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Browser connector
- A Chrome browser connector saves references, PDFs, and snapshots in one click and communicates with Wren's local server.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Limit: platform coverage
- The repository identifies the project as early development and macOS-only for now; Windows and Linux builds are listed as future work.checked 15 Oct 2026
Alternatives to Wren
- 1
Colyseus
Free planOpen sourceAndroidiOSWebAPI8.5From $15 a month - 2
BrowserGap
Free planWebAPILinuxmacOS7.5$3.81 one-time - 3
Faye
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxmacOS7.5Free plan - 4
PubNub Chat
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI7.5From $98 a month - 5
Scaledrone
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI7.4From $19 a month - 6
Lightstreamer
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI7.1Free plan