Comparison
surf vs paperless-gpt
Verdict
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; pick paperless-gpt if paperless-gpt uses LLMs and OCR for document processing within the paperless-ngx framework, available in Go with MIT license.
Markdown twin · surf alternatives · paperless-gpt alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026
11views this month
Trust & integrity
| Signal | surf | paperless-gpt |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active (26d since push) As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Very active (1d since push) As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Personal account As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Jul 15, 2026 · osv@v1 | Published findings As of Jul 15, 2026 · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- surf
- Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.
- paperless-gpt
- Document Digitalization powered by AI
Stars
- surf
- 3.6k
- paperless-gpt
- 2.7k
Forks
- surf
- 251
- paperless-gpt
- 208
Open issues
- surf
- 32
- paperless-gpt
- 157
Language
- surf
- TypeScript
- paperless-gpt
- Go
Adopt for
- surf
- surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages.
- paperless-gpt
- paperless-gpt uses LLMs and OCR for document processing within the paperless-ngx framework, available in Go with MIT license.
Persona
- surf
- -
- paperless-gpt
- -
Runtime
- surf
- -
- paperless-gpt
- -
License
- surf
- Apache-2.0
- paperless-gpt
- MIT
Last pushed
- surf
- Aug 24, 2026
- paperless-gpt
- Sep 19, 2026
Categories
- surf
- Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools, LLM Frameworks
- paperless-gpt
- Computer Vision, LLM Frameworks
Trust and health
Maintenance
- surf
- Active (82%)
- paperless-gpt
- Very active (96%)
Days since push
- surf
- 26d
- paperless-gpt
- 1d
Open issues (now)
- surf
- 32
- paperless-gpt
- 157
Stars delta
- surf
- +50 (30d)
- paperless-gpt
- +88 (30d)
Open issues delta
- surf
- 0 (30d)
- paperless-gpt
- -20 (30d)
Owner type
- surf
- Organization
- paperless-gpt
- User
OSV dependency advisories
- surf
- No lockfile (source not queried)
- paperless-gpt
- Published findings
Full report
- surf
- Trust report
- paperless-gpt
- Trust report
Choose surf if…
- surf is primarily TypeScript; paperless-gpt is Go.
- License: surf is Apache-2.0, paperless-gpt is MIT.
- Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base.
- Also covers Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools.
- Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation
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
Choose paperless-gpt if…
- paperless-gpt is primarily Go; surf is TypeScript.
- License: paperless-gpt is MIT, surf is Apache-2.0.
- Tags unique to paperless-gpt: ai, document-processing, llm, ocr.
- Also covers Computer Vision.
- paperless-gpt ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- Need integration with existing paperless-ngx setup
When NOT to use paperless-gpt
- Looking for a tool that operates independently of paperless-ngx infrastructure
- Prefer solutions not requiring configuration for different LLM providers
- Require real-time high-volume processing where additional latency from AI integration is undesirable
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (deta/surf) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (deta/surf) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (deta/surf) · observed Aug 24, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub stars (icereed/paperless-gpt) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (icereed/paperless-gpt) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (icereed/paperless-gpt) · observed Sep 19, 2026
- License file (MIT) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 16, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: surf 3.6k · paperless-gpt 2.7k (synced Sep 20, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between surf and paperless-gpt?
- surf: Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.. paperless-gpt: Document Digitalization powered by AI. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose surf over paperless-gpt?
- Choose surf over paperless-gpt when surf is primarily TypeScript; paperless-gpt is Go; License: surf is Apache-2.0, paperless-gpt is MIT; Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base; Also covers Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools; Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation.
- When should I choose paperless-gpt over surf?
- Choose paperless-gpt over surf when paperless-gpt is primarily Go; surf is TypeScript; License: paperless-gpt is MIT, surf is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to paperless-gpt: ai, document-processing, llm, ocr; Also covers Computer Vision; paperless-gpt ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Need integration with existing paperless-ngx setup.
- 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
- When should I avoid paperless-gpt?
- Looking for a tool that operates independently of paperless-ngx infrastructure Prefer solutions not requiring configuration for different LLM providers Require real-time high-volume processing where additional latency from AI integration is undesirable
- Is surf or paperless-gpt more popular on GitHub?
- surf has more GitHub stars (3,572 vs 2,702). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are surf and paperless-gpt open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (surf: Apache-2.0, paperless-gpt: MIT).
- Where can I find alternatives to surf or paperless-gpt?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at surf alternatives and paperless-gpt alternatives (surf markdown twin, paperless-gpt markdown twin), 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 mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, surf or paperless-gpt?
- surf: Active. paperless-gpt: 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 surf and paperless-gpt?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: surf trust report; paperless-gpt trust report.