--- title: "surf vs annotateai" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/deta-surf-vs-neuml-annotateai" tools: ["deta-surf", "neuml-annotateai"] --- # surf vs annotateai *GraphCanon updated Aug 23, 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 annotateai if annotateai uses LLMs to automate the annotation of scientific and medical papers. It's open-source under Apache-2.0, categorized as an LLM Framework and Data & Retrieval tool. [surf](https://deta.surf) reports 3.5k GitHub stars, 251 forks, and 32 open issues, last pushed Aug 10, 2026. [annotateai](https://github.com/neuml/annotateai) has 423 stars, 43 forks, and 0 open issues, last pushed May 5, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [surf's repository](https://github.com/deta/surf) and [annotateai's repository](https://github.com/neuml/annotateai). | | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | [annotateai](/tools/neuml-annotateai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks. | Automatically annotate papers using LLMs | | Stars | 3,522 | 423 | | Forks | 251 | 43 | | 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. | annotateai uses LLMs to automate the annotation of scientific and medical papers. It's open-source under Apache-2.0, categorized as an LLM Framework and Data & Retrieval tool. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools, LLM Frameworks | Data & Retrieval, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | [annotateai](/tools/neuml-annotateai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 2d | 110d | | Open issues (now) | 32 | 0 | | Stars delta | Unknown | +1 (30d) | | Open issues delta | Unknown | 0 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/neuml-annotateai/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: annotateai - **Adopt for:** annotateai uses LLMs to automate the annotation of scientific and medical papers. It's open-source under Apache-2.0, categorized as an LLM Framework and Data & Retrieval tool. ## Choose when ### Choose surf if… - surf is primarily TypeScript; annotateai is Python. - Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base. - Also covers Developer Tools. - Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation ### Choose annotateai if… - annotateai is primarily Python; surf is TypeScript. - Tags unique to annotateai: ai, artificial-intelligence, large language models, llm. - Need automated annotations for large volumes of scientific or medical papers ## 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 annotateai - Require detailed, custom annotations that go beyond general LLML capabilities - Situations where regulatory approval necessitates human review over machine-generated annotations ## Common questions ### What is the difference between surf and annotateai? surf: Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.. annotateai: Automatically annotate papers using LLMs. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose surf over annotateai? Choose surf over annotateai when surf is primarily TypeScript; annotateai is Python; Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base; Also covers Developer Tools; Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation. ### When should I choose annotateai over surf? Choose annotateai over surf when annotateai is primarily Python; surf is TypeScript; Tags unique to annotateai: ai, artificial-intelligence, large language models, llm; Need automated annotations for large volumes of scientific or medical papers. ### 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 annotateai? Require detailed, custom annotations that go beyond general LLML capabilities Situations where regulatory approval necessitates human review over machine-generated annotations ### Is surf or annotateai more popular on GitHub? surf has more GitHub stars (3,522 vs 423). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are surf and annotateai open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (surf: Apache-2.0, annotateai: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to surf or annotateai? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [surf alternatives](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives) and [annotateai alternatives](/tools/neuml-annotateai/alternatives) ([surf markdown twin](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives.md), [annotateai markdown twin](/tools/neuml-annotateai/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-neuml-annotateai.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, surf or annotateai? surf: Very active. annotateai: 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 annotateai? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [surf trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust); [annotateai trust report](/tools/neuml-annotateai/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/_