--- title: "kotaemon vs SAG" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/cinnamon-kotaemon-vs-zleap-ai-sag" tools: ["cinnamon-kotaemon", "zleap-ai-sag"] --- # kotaemon vs SAG *GraphCanon updated Aug 23, 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 SAG if sAG is a document retrieval project built with TypeScript to aid in efficient search and retrieval within knowledge bases. [kotaemon](https://cinnamon.github.io/kotaemon/) reports 26k GitHub stars, 2.1k forks, and 241 open issues, last pushed Jul 14, 2026. [SAG](https://zleap.com) has 2.4k stars, 148 forks, and 2 open issues, last pushed Aug 22, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [kotaemon's repository](https://github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon) and [SAG's repository](https://github.com/Zleap-AI/SAG). | | [kotaemon](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon.md) | [SAG](/tools/zleap-ai-sag.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | An open-source RAG-based tool for chatting with your documents. | Document retrieval system built on SAG | | Stars | 25,701 | 2,406 | | Forks | 2,141 | 148 | | Open issues | 241 | 2 | | 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. | SAG is a document retrieval project built with TypeScript to aid in efficient search and retrieval within knowledge bases. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools | AI Agents, Data & Retrieval | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [kotaemon](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon.md) | [SAG](/tools/zleap-ai-sag.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Steady (60%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 34d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 241 | 2 | | Stars delta | +138 (30d) | +190 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +4 (30d) | +2 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/zleap-ai-sag/trust.md) | ## Shared compatibility - **Python**: [kotaemon](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon.md) - Python runtime; [SAG](/tools/zleap-ai-sag.md) - Python runtime ## 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: SAG - **Adopt for:** SAG is a document retrieval project built with TypeScript to aid in efficient search and retrieval within knowledge bases. ## Choose when ### Choose kotaemon if… - kotaemon is primarily Python; SAG is TypeScript. - License: kotaemon is Apache-2.0, SAG is MIT. - Tags unique to kotaemon: chatbot, llms, open-source. - 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 SAG if… - SAG is primarily TypeScript; kotaemon is Python. - License: SAG is MIT, kotaemon is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to SAG: agent, ai, data-engineering, knowledge-graph. - Also covers AI Agents. - When you need graph and vector-based techniques for retrieving documents ## 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 SAG - Avoid if the project requires features not supported by TypeScript, favoring alternative languages or environments instead - Do not use SAG when the architecture of your system cannot benefit from graph and vector-based retrieval methods, as it may lead to underutilization of its capabilities ## Common questions ### What is the difference between kotaemon and SAG? kotaemon: An open-source RAG-based tool for chatting with your documents.. SAG: Document retrieval system built on SAG. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose kotaemon over SAG? Choose kotaemon over SAG when kotaemon is primarily Python; SAG is TypeScript; License: kotaemon is Apache-2.0, SAG is MIT; Tags unique to kotaemon: chatbot, llms, open-source; 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 SAG over kotaemon? Choose SAG over kotaemon when SAG is primarily TypeScript; kotaemon is Python; License: SAG is MIT, kotaemon is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to SAG: agent, ai, data-engineering, knowledge-graph; Also covers AI Agents; When you need graph and vector-based techniques for retrieving documents. ### 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 SAG? Avoid if the project requires features not supported by TypeScript, favoring alternative languages or environments instead Do not use SAG when the architecture of your system cannot benefit from graph and vector-based retrieval methods, as it may lead to underutilization of its capabilities ### Is kotaemon or SAG more popular on GitHub? kotaemon has more GitHub stars (25,701 vs 2,406). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are kotaemon and SAG open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (kotaemon: Apache-2.0, SAG: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to kotaemon or SAG? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [kotaemon alternatives](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/alternatives) and [SAG alternatives](/tools/zleap-ai-sag/alternatives) ([kotaemon markdown twin](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/alternatives.md), [SAG markdown twin](/tools/zleap-ai-sag/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-zleap-ai-sag.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, kotaemon or SAG? kotaemon: Steady. SAG: 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 SAG? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [kotaemon trust report](/tools/cinnamon-kotaemon/trust); [SAG trust report](/tools/zleap-ai-sag/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/_