Dotient is a local-first desktop app for finding and organizing personal files with AI embeddings and visual search on your own device.

Dotient

Local-first visual search for personal files

Dotient is a local-first desktop application for organizing and searching personal file archives with AI embeddings and visual search. It is designed for people who want to find images and media by describing what they look like instead of relying on filenames, folder names, or manual tagging.

The product runs on the user’s own machine and the site says files never leave the device. After import, Dotient indexes the archive locally with a quantized vision and text model, then lets users search, browse, group, annotate, and explore related items through its gallery, graph, signals, and cubbies workflows.

Features

Visual search

Search for files with natural-language queries based on what they look like, rather than only on filenames or tags. The site also says signal tuning can make results more specific.

Local AI indexing

The app embeds files with a quantized vision and text model and creates searchable profiles. The docs frame this as AI embeddings running on the user's own machine.

Similarity graph view

Browse your archive in a node-based graph or a force-directed WebGL graph, with clusters and similarity edges that help you see related files together.

Cubbies for organization

Group files into Cubbies for collections, moodboards, todo lists, annotations, and freeform canvas layouts. The docs describe drag-and-drop arrangement and sticky notes inside Cubbies.

Signals and result tuning

Create and combine Signals to train semantic classifiers, intersect concepts, and tune results. The research docs also mention hubness analysis as part of this workflow.

Gallery and settings controls

Browse media in a virtualized masonry grid, search by text or color, filter results, and inspect media details. The docs also point to settings for appearance and embedding parameters.

Use cases

  • Finding images in large shoot archives

    Photographers and videographers can import large shoot archives and search for a specific scene or frame without adding tags first. The homepage explicitly calls out finding shots across hundreds of folders by description.

  • Organizing visual reference boards

    Designers and art directors can keep reference dumps, mood boards, and inspiration folders in Cubbies, then annotate them with notes and layout them on a freeform canvas.

  • Searching personal photo libraries

    People with years of personal photos can search by scene cues such as beach sunset or a family member’s name signal, then review matching results inside the gallery.

  • Exploring archive relationships

    Users trying to understand how a collection is related can open the graph view to inspect similarity clusters and connections between files.

  • Refining search with custom signals

    Users who want more relevant results can label examples, create signals, and tune semantic classifiers so the app surfaces files that better match their own definitions.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Files stay on the user's machine and the site explicitly says the app works locally and fully offline.
  • Search is based on visual and semantic similarity, which is useful when filenames or folders are not descriptive.
  • The app includes several ways to work with an archive: gallery browsing, graph exploration, grouping into Cubbies, and signal-based tuning.
  • The pricing page states the one-time license includes future updates and priority support.

Cons

  • The source indicates a license key is required before the downloaded app can be used.
  • The product is focused on local desktop use, so the provided sources do not describe web, mobile, or cloud access.
  • The docs mention supported file formats and import methods, but the actual format list and any hard limits are not included in the provided text.

FAQ

What platforms does Dotient support?

Dotient is a local-first desktop app. The source says it runs on your own machine, and the download page offers installers for Windows and macOS.

How do you get started with Dotient?

You download the app installer, activate a license key, import files, and then wait for the app to index them locally before searching. The docs also point new users to a Getting Started guide that covers install through first search.

How does Dotient search files?

The app is built around AI embeddings and visual search. It indexes imported files with a quantized vision and text model, then lets you search by describing what something looks like or by using text and color filters in the gallery.

Does Dotient support team collaboration?

The docs describe gallery browsing, signals, cubbies, graph exploration, settings, and reference material for keyboard shortcuts, supported file formats, and import methods. That suggests a fairly complete single-user workflow inside the desktop app, but the source does not describe collaboration features.

Does Dotient require an internet connection?

The site states that files stay on your machine and that the app works fully offline. No external service is described for indexing or searching in the provided sources.

Quick Facts

Category
Desktop app, visual search, file organization
Platform
Windows and macOS installers are offered
Deployment
Local-first; runs on the user's machine
Primary users
People organizing personal photo, image, and media archives
Pricing model
One-time purchase; the source says no subscription
Notable workflow
Import files, let the app index them, then search by natural-language descriptions or browse via gallery and graph views