--- title: "kotaemon vs docs" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/cinnamon-kotaemon-vs-sismics-docs" tools: ["cinnamon-kotaemon", "sismics-docs"] --- # kotaemon vs docs *GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 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 docs if docs is a lightweight document management system that offers comprehensive functionalities including OCR and media conversion tools, accessible via Docker. [kotaemon](https://cinnamon.github.io/kotaemon/) reports 26k GitHub stars, 2.1k forks, and 241 open issues, last pushed Jul 14, 2026. [docs](https://teedy.io) has 2.6k stars, 686 forks, and 113 open issues, last pushed Aug 17, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [kotaemon's repository](https://github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon) and [docs's repository](https://github.com/sismics/docs). | | [kotaemon](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon.md) | [docs](/tools/sismics-docs.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | An open-source RAG-based tool for chatting with your documents. | Lightweight document management system | | Stars | 25,701 | 2,565 | | Forks | 2,141 | 686 | | Open issues | 241 | 113 | | Language | Python | JavaScript | | 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. | docs is a lightweight document management system that offers comprehensive functionalities including OCR and media conversion tools, accessible via Docker. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 | | Categories | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [kotaemon](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon.md) | [docs](/tools/sismics-docs.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Steady (60%) | Active (82%) | | Days since push | 34d | 29d | | Open issues (now) | 241 | 113 | | Stars delta | +138 (30d) | +8 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +4 (30d) | -1 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/sismics-docs/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: docs - **Requirements:** Requires Docker; Requires Java 11, Tesseract 4 for OCR, ffmpeg for video thumbnails, mediainfo for video metadata extraction. - **Adopt for:** docs is a lightweight document management system that offers comprehensive functionalities including OCR and media conversion tools, accessible via Docker. ## Choose when ### Choose kotaemon if… - kotaemon is primarily Python; docs is JavaScript. - License: kotaemon is Apache-2.0, docs is GPL-2.0. - Tags unique to kotaemon: chatbot, llms, open-source, rag. - 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 docs if… - docs is primarily JavaScript; kotaemon is Python. - License: docs is GPL-2.0, kotaemon is Apache-2.0. - Requirements: Requires Docker; Requires Java 11, Tesseract 4 for OCR, ffmpeg for video thumbnails, mediainfo for video metadata extraction.. - Tags unique to docs: cloud, dms, docker, document. - Use docs when you require an open-source solution with the capabilities of high-end document management systems but prefer something lightweight. ## 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 docs - Do not use docs in environments where strict security protocols are necessary, as default configurations like the 'admin' password must be changed manually before production. - Avoid this tool if your document management needs can't tolerate occasional instability during development or when you need a highly reliable and stable environment throughout. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between kotaemon and docs? kotaemon: An open-source RAG-based tool for chatting with your documents.. docs: Lightweight document management system. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose kotaemon over docs? Choose kotaemon over docs when kotaemon is primarily Python; docs is JavaScript; License: kotaemon is Apache-2.0, docs is GPL-2.0; Tags unique to kotaemon: chatbot, llms, open-source, rag; 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 docs over kotaemon? Choose docs over kotaemon when docs is primarily JavaScript; kotaemon is Python; License: docs is GPL-2.0, kotaemon is Apache-2.0; Requirements: Requires Docker; Requires Java 11, Tesseract 4 for OCR, ffmpeg for video thumbnails, mediainfo for video metadata extraction.; Tags unique to docs: cloud, dms, docker, document; Use docs when you require an open-source solution with the capabilities of high-end document management systems but prefer something lightweight. ### 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 docs? Do not use docs in environments where strict security protocols are necessary, as default configurations like the 'admin' password must be changed manually before production. Avoid this tool if your document management needs can't tolerate occasional instability during development or when you need a highly reliable and stable environment throughout. ### Is kotaemon or docs more popular on GitHub? kotaemon has more GitHub stars (25,701 vs 2,565). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are kotaemon and docs open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (kotaemon: Apache-2.0, docs: GPL-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to kotaemon or docs? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [kotaemon alternatives](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/alternatives) and [docs alternatives](/tools/sismics-docs/alternatives) ([kotaemon markdown twin](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/alternatives.md), [docs markdown twin](/tools/sismics-docs/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-sismics-docs.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, kotaemon or docs? kotaemon: Steady. docs: 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 docs? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [kotaemon trust report](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/trust); [docs trust report](/tools/sismics-docs/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/_