--- title: "surf vs docs" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/deta-surf-vs-sismics-docs" tools: ["deta-surf", "sismics-docs"] --- # surf vs docs *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 docs if docs is a lightweight document management system that offers comprehensive functionalities including OCR and media conversion tools, accessible via Docker. [surf](https://deta.surf) reports 3.6k GitHub stars, 251 forks, and 32 open issues, last pushed Aug 24, 2026. [docs](https://teedy.io) has 2.6k stars, 686 forks, and 113 open issues, last pushed Aug 17, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [surf's repository](https://github.com/deta/surf) and [docs's repository](https://github.com/sismics/docs). | | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | [docs](/tools/sismics-docs.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks. | Lightweight document management system | | Stars | 3,572 | 2,565 | | Forks | 251 | 686 | | Open issues | 32 | 113 | | Language | TypeScript | JavaScript | | Adopt for | surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages. | docs is a lightweight document management system that offers comprehensive functionalities including OCR and media conversion tools, accessible via Docker. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 | | 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) | [docs](/tools/sismics-docs.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 26d | 29d | | Open issues (now) | 32 | 113 | | Stars delta | +50 (30d) | +8 (30d) | | Open issues delta | 0 (30d) | -1 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/sismics-docs/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: docs - **Requirements:** Requires Docker; Requires Java 11, Tesseract 4 for OCR, ffmpeg for video thumbnails, mediainfo for video metadata extraction. - **Adopt for:** docs is a lightweight document management system that offers comprehensive functionalities including OCR and media conversion tools, accessible via Docker. ## Choose when ### Choose surf if… - surf is primarily TypeScript; docs is JavaScript. - License: surf is Apache-2.0, docs is GPL-2.0. - 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 docs if… - docs is primarily JavaScript; surf is TypeScript. - License: docs is GPL-2.0, surf is Apache-2.0. - Requirements: Requires Docker; Requires Java 11, Tesseract 4 for OCR, ffmpeg for video thumbnails, mediainfo for video metadata extraction.. - Tags unique to docs: cloud, dms, docker, document. - docs ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - Use docs when you require an open-source solution with the capabilities of high-end document management systems but prefer something lightweight. ## 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 docs - Do not use docs in environments where strict security protocols are necessary, as default configurations like the 'admin' password must be changed manually before production. - Avoid this tool if your document management needs can't tolerate occasional instability during development or when you need a highly reliable and stable environment throughout. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between surf and docs? surf: Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.. docs: Lightweight document management system. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose surf over docs? Choose surf over docs when surf is primarily TypeScript; docs is JavaScript; License: surf is Apache-2.0, docs is GPL-2.0; 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 docs over surf? Choose docs over surf when docs is primarily JavaScript; surf is TypeScript; License: docs is GPL-2.0, surf is Apache-2.0; Requirements: Requires Docker; Requires Java 11, Tesseract 4 for OCR, ffmpeg for video thumbnails, mediainfo for video metadata extraction.; Tags unique to docs: cloud, dms, docker, document; docs ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Use docs when you require an open-source solution with the capabilities of high-end document management systems but prefer something lightweight. ### 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 docs? Do not use docs in environments where strict security protocols are necessary, as default configurations like the 'admin' password must be changed manually before production. Avoid this tool if your document management needs can't tolerate occasional instability during development or when you need a highly reliable and stable environment throughout. ### Is surf or docs more popular on GitHub? surf has more GitHub stars (3,572 vs 2,565). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are surf and docs open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (surf: Apache-2.0, docs: GPL-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to surf or docs? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [surf alternatives](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives) and [docs alternatives](/tools/sismics-docs/alternatives) ([surf markdown twin](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives.md), [docs markdown twin](/tools/sismics-docs/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-sismics-docs.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, surf or docs? surf: Active. docs: 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 docs? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [surf trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust); [docs trust report](/tools/sismics-docs/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/_