--- title: "chatbox vs paperless-ai" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/chatboxai-chatbox-vs-clusterzx-paperless-ai" tools: ["chatboxai-chatbox", "clusterzx-paperless-ai"] --- # chatbox vs paperless-ai *GraphCanon updated Jul 15, 2026* ## Verdict Pick chatbox when chatbox is primarily TypeScript; paperless-ai is JavaScript; pick paperless-ai when paperless-ai is primarily JavaScript; chatbox is TypeScript. [chatbox](https://chatboxai.app?utm_medium=github) reports 41k GitHub stars, 4.2k forks, and 1.2k open issues, last pushed Jun 12, 2026. [paperless-ai](https://clusterzx.github.io/paperless-ai/) has 5.8k stars, 318 forks, and 56 open issues, last pushed Jul 5, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [chatbox's repository](https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox) and [paperless-ai's repository](https://github.com/clusterzx/paperless-ai). | | [chatbox](/tools/chatboxai-chatbox.md) | [paperless-ai](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Powerful AI Client | An automated document analyzer for Paperless-ngx using OpenAI API, Ollama, Deepseek-r1, Azure and all OpenAI API compatible Services to automatically analyze and tag your documents. | | Stars | 41,011 | 5,819 | | Forks | 4,150 | 318 | | Open issues | 1,208 | 56 | | Language | TypeScript | JavaScript | | Adopt for | - | - | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | GPL-3.0 | MIT | | Categories | Computer Vision, Developer Tools, Inference & Serving | Inference & Serving | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [chatbox](/tools/chatboxai-chatbox.md) | [paperless-ai](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Steady (60%) | Active (82%) | | Days since push | 33d | 10d | | Open issues (now) | 1.2k | 56 | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/chatboxai-chatbox/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai/trust.md) | ## Choose when ### Choose chatbox if… - chatbox is primarily TypeScript; paperless-ai is JavaScript. - License: chatbox is GPL-3.0, paperless-ai is MIT. - Tags unique to chatbox: assistant, chatbot, chatgpt, claude. - Also covers Computer Vision, Developer Tools. - chatbox ships an MCP server manifest. ### Choose paperless-ai if… - paperless-ai is primarily JavaScript; chatbox is TypeScript. - License: paperless-ai is MIT, chatbox is GPL-3.0. - Tags unique to paperless-ai: ai, automation, gemma, llama. ## When NOT to use chatbox - Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ## When NOT to use paperless-ai - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between chatbox and paperless-ai? chatbox: Powerful AI Client. paperless-ai: An automated document analyzer for Paperless-ngx using OpenAI API, Ollama, Deepseek-r1, Azure and all OpenAI API compatible Services to automatically analyze and tag your documents.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose chatbox over paperless-ai? Choose chatbox over paperless-ai when chatbox is primarily TypeScript; paperless-ai is JavaScript; License: chatbox is GPL-3.0, paperless-ai is MIT; Tags unique to chatbox: assistant, chatbot, chatgpt, claude; Also covers Computer Vision, Developer Tools; chatbox ships an MCP server manifest. ### When should I choose paperless-ai over chatbox? Choose paperless-ai over chatbox when paperless-ai is primarily JavaScript; chatbox is TypeScript; License: paperless-ai is MIT, chatbox is GPL-3.0; Tags unique to paperless-ai: ai, automation, gemma, llama. ### When should I avoid chatbox? Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ### When should I avoid paperless-ai? Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ### Is chatbox or paperless-ai more popular on GitHub? chatbox has more GitHub stars (41,011 vs 5,819). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are chatbox and paperless-ai open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (chatbox: GPL-3.0, paperless-ai: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to chatbox or paperless-ai? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [chatbox alternatives](/tools/chatboxai-chatbox/alternatives) and [paperless-ai alternatives](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai/alternatives) ([chatbox markdown twin](/tools/chatboxai-chatbox/alternatives.md), [paperless-ai markdown twin](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/chatboxai-chatbox-vs-clusterzx-paperless-ai.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, chatbox or paperless-ai? chatbox: Steady. paperless-ai: Active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for chatbox and paperless-ai? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [chatbox trust report](/tools/chatboxai-chatbox/trust); [paperless-ai trust report](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=chatboxai-chatbox`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=chatboxai-chatbox) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_