--- title: "kotaemon vs book-gpt" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/cinnamon-kotaemon-vs-fraserxu-book-gpt" tools: ["cinnamon-kotaemon", "fraserxu-book-gpt"] --- # kotaemon vs book-gpt *GraphCanon updated Jul 12, 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 book-gpt if book-GPT, primarily developed using TypeScript, enables users to upload a book and then interactively query its content. [kotaemon](https://cinnamon.github.io/kotaemon/) reports 26k GitHub stars, 2.1k forks, and 235 open issues, last pushed Jun 9, 2026. [book-gpt](https://book-gpt.fraserxu.dev) has 436 stars, 48 forks, and 10 open issues, last pushed Apr 3, 2023. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [kotaemon's repository](https://github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon) and [book-gpt's repository](https://github.com/fraserxu/book-gpt). | | [kotaemon](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon.md) | [book-gpt](/tools/fraserxu-book-gpt.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | An open-source RAG-based tool for chatting with your documents. | Upload a book, ask me anything about it. | | Stars | 25,534 | 436 | | Forks | 2,123 | 48 | | Open issues | 235 | 10 | | 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. | Book-GPT, primarily developed using TypeScript, enables users to upload a book and then interactively query its content. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | - | | Categories | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools | Data & Retrieval, Evaluation & Observability | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [kotaemon](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon.md) | [book-gpt](/tools/fraserxu-book-gpt.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Steady (60%) | Dormant (18%) | | Days since push | 32d | 1194d | | Open issues (now) | 235 | 10 | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/fraserxu-book-gpt/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: book-gpt - **Adopt for:** Book-GPT, primarily developed using TypeScript, enables users to upload a book and then interactively query its content. ## Choose when ### Choose kotaemon if… - kotaemon is primarily Python; book-gpt is TypeScript. - Tags unique to kotaemon: chatbot, llms, open source, rag. - Also covers Developer Tools. - 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 book-gpt if… - book-gpt is primarily TypeScript; kotaemon is Python. - Tags unique to book-gpt: typescript. - Also covers Evaluation & Observability. - When you need an interactive way to explore the content of specific books with detailed queries. ## 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 book-gpt - If your project requires customization across various development libraries, since Book-GPT is specifically developed in TypeScript. - When support for multiple formats beyond those currently available in the project is required; this indicates ongoing work to expand format compatibility. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between kotaemon and book-gpt? kotaemon: An open-source RAG-based tool for chatting with your documents.. book-gpt: Upload a book, ask me anything about it.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose kotaemon over book-gpt? Choose kotaemon over book-gpt when kotaemon is primarily Python; book-gpt is TypeScript; Tags unique to kotaemon: chatbot, llms, open source, rag; Also covers Developer Tools; 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 book-gpt over kotaemon? Choose book-gpt over kotaemon when book-gpt is primarily TypeScript; kotaemon is Python; Tags unique to book-gpt: typescript; Also covers Evaluation & Observability; When you need an interactive way to explore the content of specific books with detailed queries. ### 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 book-gpt? If your project requires customization across various development libraries, since Book-GPT is specifically developed in TypeScript. When support for multiple formats beyond those currently available in the project is required; this indicates ongoing work to expand format compatibility. ### Is kotaemon or book-gpt more popular on GitHub? kotaemon has more GitHub stars (25,534 vs 436). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are kotaemon and book-gpt open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub. ### Where can I find alternatives to kotaemon or book-gpt? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [kotaemon alternatives](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/alternatives) and [book-gpt alternatives](/tools/fraserxu-book-gpt/alternatives) ([kotaemon markdown twin](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/alternatives.md), [book-gpt markdown twin](/tools/fraserxu-book-gpt/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-fraserxu-book-gpt.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, kotaemon or book-gpt? kotaemon: Steady. book-gpt: Dormant. 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 book-gpt? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [kotaemon trust report](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/trust); [book-gpt trust report](/tools/fraserxu-book-gpt/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/_