--- title: "surf vs ArkhamMirror" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/deta-surf-vs-mantisfury-arkhammirror" tools: ["deta-surf", "mantisfury-arkhammirror"] --- # surf vs ArkhamMirror *GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026* ## 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 ArkhamMirror if arkhamMirror is a privacy-focused, self-hosted document intelligence platform with entity extraction and knowledge graph creation capabilities tailored for investigative journalists in air-gapped environments. [surf](https://deta.surf) reports 3.6k GitHub stars, 251 forks, and 32 open issues, last pushed Aug 24, 2026. [ArkhamMirror](https://github.com/mantisfury/ArkhamMirror) has 490 stars, 49 forks, and 0 open issues, last pushed Jan 25, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [surf's repository](https://github.com/deta/surf) and [ArkhamMirror's repository](https://github.com/mantisfury/ArkhamMirror). | | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | [ArkhamMirror](/tools/mantisfury-arkhammirror.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks. | Local-first AI-powered document intelligence platform for investigative journalism | | Stars | 3,572 | 490 | | Forks | 251 | 49 | | Open issues | 32 | 0 | | Language | TypeScript | Python | | Adopt for | surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages. | ArkhamMirror is a privacy-focused, self-hosted document intelligence platform with entity extraction and knowledge graph creation capabilities tailored for investigative journalists in air-gapped environments. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools, LLM Frameworks | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | [ArkhamMirror](/tools/mantisfury-arkhammirror.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Active (82%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 26d | 237d | | Open issues (now) | 32 | 0 | | Stars delta | +50 (30d) | +6 (30d) | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/mantisfury-arkhammirror/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: surf - **Adopt for:** surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages. ## Decision facts: ArkhamMirror - **Requirements:** Min 8 GB RAM; Requires Docker - **Adopt for:** ArkhamMirror is a privacy-focused, self-hosted document intelligence platform with entity extraction and knowledge graph creation capabilities tailored for investigative journalists in air-gapped environments. ## Choose when ### Choose surf if… - surf is primarily TypeScript; ArkhamMirror is Python. - License: surf is Apache-2.0, ArkhamMirror is MIT. - Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base. - Also covers LLM Frameworks. - Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation ### Choose ArkhamMirror if… - ArkhamMirror is primarily Python; surf is TypeScript. - License: ArkhamMirror is MIT, surf is Apache-2.0. - Requirements: Min 8 GB RAM; Requires Docker. - Tags unique to ArkhamMirror: air-gapped, data-visualization, digital-forensics, docker. - ArkhamMirror ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - When handling sensitive data that requires strict privacy controls and confidentiality ## 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 ## When NOT to use ArkhamMirror - When you require cloud-based services or real-time collaboration features that are not available in a self-hosted solution - For general-purpose document intelligence tasks that do not involve investigative journalism or detailed privacy requirements - If your project's success depends on the integration with specific third-party APIs or cloud storage systems - In scenarios where continuous online data synchronization and real-time updates to central servers are essential ## Common questions ### What is the difference between surf and ArkhamMirror? surf: Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.. ArkhamMirror: Local-first AI-powered document intelligence platform for investigative journalism. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose surf over ArkhamMirror? Choose surf over ArkhamMirror when surf is primarily TypeScript; ArkhamMirror is Python; License: surf is Apache-2.0, ArkhamMirror is MIT; Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base; Also covers LLM Frameworks; Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation. ### When should I choose ArkhamMirror over surf? Choose ArkhamMirror over surf when ArkhamMirror is primarily Python; surf is TypeScript; License: ArkhamMirror is MIT, surf is Apache-2.0; Requirements: Min 8 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Tags unique to ArkhamMirror: air-gapped, data-visualization, digital-forensics, docker; ArkhamMirror ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; When handling sensitive data that requires strict privacy controls and confidentiality. ### 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 ArkhamMirror? When you require cloud-based services or real-time collaboration features that are not available in a self-hosted solution For general-purpose document intelligence tasks that do not involve investigative journalism or detailed privacy requirements If your project's success depends on the integration with specific third-party APIs or cloud storage systems In scenarios where continuous online data synchronization and real-time updates to central servers are essential ### Is surf or ArkhamMirror more popular on GitHub? surf has more GitHub stars (3,572 vs 490). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are surf and ArkhamMirror open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (surf: Apache-2.0, ArkhamMirror: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to surf or ArkhamMirror? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [surf alternatives](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives) and [ArkhamMirror alternatives](/tools/mantisfury-arkhammirror/alternatives) ([surf markdown twin](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives.md), [ArkhamMirror markdown twin](/tools/mantisfury-arkhammirror/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/deta-surf-vs-mantisfury-arkhammirror.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, surf or ArkhamMirror? surf: Active. ArkhamMirror: Slowing. 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 ArkhamMirror? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [surf trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust); [ArkhamMirror trust report](/tools/mantisfury-arkhammirror/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=deta-surf`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=deta-surf) - 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/_