--- title: "dolly vs LlamaFactory" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/databrickslabs-dolly-vs-hiyouga-llamafactory" tools: ["databrickslabs-dolly", "hiyouga-llamafactory"] --- # dolly vs LlamaFactory *GraphCanon updated Jul 11, 2026* ## Verdict Pick dolly when tags unique to dolly: databricks, python, chatbot, dolly; pick LlamaFactory when tags unique to LlamaFactory: gemma, fine-tuning, deepseek, ai. [dolly](https://www.databricks.com/blog/2023/03/24/hello-dolly-democratizing-magic-chatgpt-open-models.html) reports 11k GitHub stars, 1.1k forks, and 6 open issues, last pushed Jun 30, 2023. [LlamaFactory](https://llamafactory.readthedocs.io) has 73k stars, 8.9k forks, and 1.1k open issues, last pushed Jul 10, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [dolly's repository](https://github.com/databrickslabs/dolly) and [LlamaFactory's repository](https://github.com/hiyouga/LlamaFactory). | | [dolly](/tools/databrickslabs-dolly.md) | [LlamaFactory](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Databricks’ Dolly, a large language model trained on the Databricks Machine Learning Platform | Unified Efficient Fine-Tuning of 100+ LLMs & VLMs | | Stars | 10,802 | 73,157 | | Forks | 1,138 | 8,937 | | Open issues | 6 | 1,067 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | - | LlamaFactory is a sophisticated tool for fine-tuning numerous large language models and visual language models efficiently using various methods such as LoRA, QLoRA, RLHF, and quantization. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | LLM Frameworks, Model Training, Inference & Serving | LLM Frameworks, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [dolly](/tools/databrickslabs-dolly.md) | [LlamaFactory](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Dormant (18%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 1107d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 6 | 1.1k | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Security scan | 69 low (69 low) | No lockfile | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/databrickslabs-dolly/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: LlamaFactory - **Adopt for:** LlamaFactory is a sophisticated tool for fine-tuning numerous large language models and visual language models efficiently using various methods such as LoRA, QLoRA, RLHF, and quantization. ## Choose when ### Choose dolly if… - Tags unique to dolly: databricks, python, chatbot, dolly. - Also covers Inference & Serving. - Leaner open-issue backlog (6). ### Choose LlamaFactory if… - Tags unique to LlamaFactory: gemma, fine-tuning, deepseek, ai. - When you need to fine-tune over 100 different LLMs or VLMs with efficient methods like LoRA or QLoRA. - More GitHub stars (73k vs 11k) - visibility, not fit. ## When NOT to use dolly - Last GitHub push was 1107 days ago (dormant maintenance, Jun 30, 2023). Validate activity before betting a new project on dolly. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. - Model Training: Try prompting and RAG first; fine-tuning is the answer to style/format, not missing knowledge. - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ## When NOT to use LlamaFactory - When you are looking to fine-tune less popular or niche models that are not supported within the 100+ models covered by LlamaFactory. - If your project specifically requires custom fine-tuning methods not available in this repository, such as certain versions of PEFT (Parameter Efficient Fine-Tuning) techniques excluding LoRA and QLoa ## Common questions ### What is the difference between dolly and LlamaFactory? dolly: Databricks’ Dolly, a large language model trained on the Databricks Machine Learning Platform. LlamaFactory: Unified Efficient Fine-Tuning of 100+ LLMs & VLMs. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose dolly over LlamaFactory? Choose dolly over LlamaFactory when Tags unique to dolly: databricks, python, chatbot, dolly; Also covers Inference & Serving; Leaner open-issue backlog (6). ### When should I choose LlamaFactory over dolly? Choose LlamaFactory over dolly when Tags unique to LlamaFactory: gemma, fine-tuning, deepseek, ai; When you need to fine-tune over 100 different LLMs or VLMs with efficient methods like LoRA or QLoRA; More GitHub stars (73k vs 11k) - visibility, not fit. ### When should I avoid dolly? Last GitHub push was 1107 days ago (dormant maintenance, Jun 30, 2023). Validate activity before betting a new project on dolly. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. Model Training: Try prompting and RAG first; fine-tuning is the answer to style/format, not missing knowledge. Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ### When should I avoid LlamaFactory? When you are looking to fine-tune less popular or niche models that are not supported within the 100+ models covered by LlamaFactory. If your project specifically requires custom fine-tuning methods not available in this repository, such as certain versions of PEFT (Parameter Efficient Fine-Tuning) techniques excluding LoRA and QLoa ### Is dolly or LlamaFactory more popular on GitHub? LlamaFactory has more GitHub stars (73,157 vs 10,802). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are dolly and LlamaFactory open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (dolly: Apache-2.0, LlamaFactory: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to dolly or LlamaFactory? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [dolly alternatives](/tools/databrickslabs-dolly/alternatives) and [LlamaFactory alternatives](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/alternatives) ([dolly markdown twin](/tools/databrickslabs-dolly/alternatives.md), [LlamaFactory markdown twin](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/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/databrickslabs-dolly-vs-hiyouga-llamafactory.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, dolly or LlamaFactory? dolly: Dormant. LlamaFactory: 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 dolly and LlamaFactory? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [dolly trust report](/tools/databrickslabs-dolly/trust); [LlamaFactory trust report](/tools/hiyouga-llamafactory/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=databrickslabs-dolly`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=databrickslabs-dolly) - 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/_