Apps to suggest related files, alternative to DevonSphere

Software
1

Good day all,

I am an on-again-off-again user of DevonThink for over a decade now. Well, to be accurate I have slowly moved my usage from importing to solely indexing. I find it easier to work with my files from other programs but I always come back to DevonThink “See Also”. Quite a valuable feature. Now I’m looking at simply finding a more standalone option for that indexing and pointing out related items, if it exists. I looked at DevonSphere and it’s exactly what I want (despite the outdated UI :wink: ) but it doesn’t seem to be viable anymore: it hangs (beachballs) indefinitely after a few minutes of use.

So I am here to ask you power users whether there’s anything else like DevonSphere out there. I have seen HoudahSpot and FoxTrot, but they seem to be for search with query input, whereas I am looking for something that creates an index, and suggests connected items merely based on selecting a file. (EagleFiler does index I believe but I cannot tell whether it is still purely search-based. Would love more information.)

My other big requirement is that this must be local-only. I will not upload all my documents to some web service; this includes any of the LLM services. However I am willing to run just about any kind of local software: I’ll pay and run a package installer, I’ll build libraries and run a Makefile, or anything in between.

Many thanks for any input!

2

Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as ‘ready-to-use’ software like DevonSphere, which is now pretty much abandonware.
If you want to copy DevonSphere’s ‘See also’ function, but only on your own computer, then take a look at Recoll. It’s a desktop search engine with full-text indexing (it uses Xapian).
It’s got really powerful indexing, supports loads of formats and you can even write similarity queries using Xapian’s query language.
Some people use it to find related entries via embeddings.
It’s really customisable, but it’s not a plug-and-play kind of thing, so it’s worth checking out if you’re ready to get your hands dirty.

1 Like
3

Very interesting! I am happy to do some light scripting, so I will have a look at this, thank you!

4

@Atom: That is incorrect. DEVONsphere Express is not abandonware. We have been incredibly busy with more pressing matters.

@lestebevo: have you asked on our forums or opened a support ticket? This is not a primary support channel for us.

1 Like