--- title: "kotaemon vs surf" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/cinnamon-kotaemon-vs-deta-surf" tools: ["cinnamon-kotaemon", "deta-surf"] --- # kotaemon vs surf *GraphCanon updated Aug 18, 2026* ## 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. [kotaemon](https://cinnamon.github.io/kotaemon/) reports 26k GitHub stars, 2.1k forks, and 241 open issues, last pushed Jul 14, 2026. [surf](https://deta.surf) has 3.5k stars, 251 forks, and 32 open issues, last pushed Aug 10, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [kotaemon's repository](https://github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon) and [surf's repository](https://github.com/deta/surf). | | [kotaemon](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon.md) | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | An open-source RAG-based tool for chatting with your documents. | Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks. | | Stars | 25,701 | 3,522 | | Forks | 2,141 | 251 | | Open issues | 241 | 32 | | Language | Python | TypeScript | | Adopt for | Cinnamon's kotaemon is an open-source Retrieval-Augmented Generation-based chat tool that facilitates document interaction through a user-friendly chat interface. | surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [kotaemon](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon.md) | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Steady (60%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 34d | 2d | | Open issues (now) | 241 | 32 | | Stars delta | +138 (30d) | Unknown | | Open issues delta | +4 (30d) | Unknown | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: kotaemon - **Adopt for:** Cinnamon's kotaemon is an open-source Retrieval-Augmented Generation-based chat tool that facilitates document interaction through a user-friendly chat interface. ## Decision facts: surf - **Adopt for:** surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages. ## Choose when ### 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'. ### 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 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. ## 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 ## 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 `full` Docker 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 `lite` version 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](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/alternatives) and [surf alternatives](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives) ([kotaemon markdown twin](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/alternatives.md), [surf markdown twin](/tools/deta-surf/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/cinnamon-kotaemon-vs-deta-surf.md) 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](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/trust); [surf trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=cinnamon-kotaemon`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=cinnamon-kotaemon) - 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/_