Comparison
kotaemon vs surf
Verdict
Pick kotaemon if cinnamon's kotaemon is an open-source Retrieval-Augmented Generation-based chat tool that facilitates document interaction through a user-friendly chat interface; pick surf if surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages.
Markdown twin · kotaemon alternatives · surf alternatives
GraphCanon updated 3d
Trust & integrity
| Signal | kotaemon | surf |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Steady (34d since push) As of 3d · github_public_v1 | Very active (2d since push) As of 1w · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of 3d · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of 1w · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- kotaemon
- An open-source RAG-based tool for chatting with your documents.
- surf
- Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.
Stars
- kotaemon
- 26k
- surf
- 3.5k
Forks
- kotaemon
- 2.1k
- surf
- 251
Open issues
- kotaemon
- 241
- surf
- 32
Language
- kotaemon
- Python
- surf
- TypeScript
Adopt for
- kotaemon
- Cinnamon's kotaemon is an open-source Retrieval-Augmented Generation-based chat tool that facilitates document interaction through a user-friendly chat interface.
- surf
- surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages.
Persona
- kotaemon
- -
- surf
- -
Runtime
- kotaemon
- -
- surf
- -
License
- kotaemon
- Apache-2.0
- surf
- Apache-2.0
Last pushed
- kotaemon
- Jul 14, 2026
- surf
- Aug 10, 2026
Categories
- kotaemon
- Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools
- surf
- Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools, LLM Frameworks
Trust and health
Maintenance
- kotaemon
- Steady (60%)
- surf
- Very active (96%)
Days since push
- kotaemon
- 34d
- surf
- 2d
Open issues (now)
- kotaemon
- 241
- surf
- 32
Stars delta
- kotaemon
- +138 (30d)
- surf
- Unknown
Open issues delta
- kotaemon
- +4 (30d)
- surf
- Unknown
Full report
- kotaemon
- Trust report
- surf
- Trust report
Choose kotaemon if…
- kotaemon is primarily Python; surf is TypeScript.
- Tags unique to kotaemon: chatbot, llms, open-source, rag.
- kotaemon ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- When you need to customize the file types you can process beyond PDFs, HTML, MHTML, and XLSX by opting for the `full` Docker version which includes additional packages from 'unstructured'.
When NOT to use kotaemon
- If you only need to process a limited set of file types (PDF, HTML, MHTML, XLSX) and prefer the smaller Docker image size, as the `lite` version lacks additional package dependencies.
- In environments with strict constraints on external dependencies where installing Docker or Python packages is not feasible.
Choose surf if…
- surf is primarily TypeScript; kotaemon is Python.
- Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base.
- Also covers LLM Frameworks.
- Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation
When NOT to use surf
- Prefer using proprietary, closed-source tools that do not allow open model choices
- Require extensive cloud-based collaboration features among multiple users
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (Cinnamon/kotaemon) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- GitHub forks (Cinnamon/kotaemon) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- Last push (Cinnamon/kotaemon) · observed Jul 14, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub stars (deta/surf) · observed Aug 12, 2026
- GitHub forks (deta/surf) · observed Aug 12, 2026
- Last push (deta/surf) · observed Aug 10, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 12, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: kotaemon 26k · surf 3.5k (synced Aug 18, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between kotaemon and surf?
- kotaemon: An open-source RAG-based tool for chatting with your documents.. surf: Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose kotaemon over surf?
- Choose kotaemon over surf when kotaemon is primarily Python; surf is TypeScript; Tags unique to kotaemon: chatbot, llms, open-source, rag; kotaemon ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; When you need to customize the file types you can process beyond PDFs, HTML, MHTML, and XLSX by opting for the
fullDocker version which includes additional packages from 'unstructured'. - When should I choose surf over kotaemon?
- Choose surf over kotaemon when surf is primarily TypeScript; kotaemon is Python; Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base; Also covers LLM Frameworks; Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation.
- When should I avoid kotaemon?
- If you only need to process a limited set of file types (PDF, HTML, MHTML, XLSX) and prefer the smaller Docker image size, as the
liteversion lacks additional package dependencies. In environments with strict constraints on external dependencies where installing Docker or Python packages is not feasible. - When should I avoid surf?
- Prefer using proprietary, closed-source tools that do not allow open model choices Require extensive cloud-based collaboration features among multiple users
- Is kotaemon or surf more popular on GitHub?
- kotaemon has more GitHub stars (25,701 vs 3,522). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are kotaemon and surf open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (kotaemon: Apache-2.0, surf: Apache-2.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to kotaemon or surf?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at kotaemon alternatives and surf alternatives (kotaemon markdown twin, surf markdown twin), 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 mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, kotaemon or surf?
- kotaemon: Steady. surf: Very 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 kotaemon and surf?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: kotaemon trust report; surf trust report.