--- title: "surf vs cortex-memory" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/deta-surf-vs-skullfire07-cortex-memory" tools: ["deta-surf", "skullfire07-cortex-memory"] --- # surf vs cortex-memory *GraphCanon updated Aug 12, 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 cortex-memory if cortex-memory is a TypeScript-based tool with an MIT license that provides persistent memory capabilities for Claude Code, Cursor & Cline through a VSCode extension and CLI. [surf](https://deta.surf) reports 3.5k GitHub stars, 251 forks, and 32 open issues, last pushed Aug 10, 2026. [cortex-memory](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=cortex-dev.cortex-ai-memory) has 7 stars, 1 forks, and 0 open issues, last pushed Mar 25, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [surf's repository](https://github.com/deta/surf) and [cortex-memory's repository](https://github.com/SKULLFIRE07/cortex-memory). | | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | [cortex-memory](/tools/skullfire07-cortex-memory.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks. | Persistent AI memory for Claude Code, Cursor & Cline with a VSCode extension and CLI. | | Stars | 3,522 | 7 | | Forks | 251 | 1 | | Open issues | 32 | 0 | | Language | TypeScript | TypeScript | | Adopt for | surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages. | cortex-memory is a TypeScript-based tool with an MIT license that provides persistent memory capabilities for Claude Code, Cursor & Cline through a VSCode extension and CLI. | | 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) | [cortex-memory](/tools/skullfire07-cortex-memory.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 2d | 128d | | Open issues (now) | 32 | 0 | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/skullfire07-cortex-memory/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: cortex-memory - **Pricing:** freemium - Being open-source under the MIT license, cortex-memory is free for use, although specific pricing around value-added services or enterprise support are not detailed in the provided repository content. - **Adopt for:** cortex-memory is a TypeScript-based tool with an MIT license that provides persistent memory capabilities for Claude Code, Cursor & Cline through a VSCode extension and CLI. ## Choose when ### Choose surf if… - License: surf is Apache-2.0, cortex-memory 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 cortex-memory if… - License: cortex-memory is MIT, surf is Apache-2.0. - Pricing: Being open-source under the MIT license, cortex-memory is free for use, although specific pricing around value-added services or enterprise support are not detailed in the provided repository content.. - Tags unique to cortex-memory: ai, ai-coding-assistant, ai-memory, claude-code. - If you are working extensively with Claude Code, Cursor & Cline and want to automatically capture decisions, patterns, and context across sessions without configuration. ## 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 cortex-memory - If you prefer not using tools that integrate deeply with specific AI platforms like Claude Code, which may limit its usefulness in environments where multiple or different platforms are used. - In scenarios where custom configuration is required, as cortex-memory emphasizes zero-config setup which might not be adaptable to highly customized workflows. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between surf and cortex-memory? surf: Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.. cortex-memory: Persistent AI memory for Claude Code, Cursor & Cline with a VSCode extension and CLI.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose surf over cortex-memory? Choose surf over cortex-memory when License: surf is Apache-2.0, cortex-memory 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 cortex-memory over surf? Choose cortex-memory over surf when License: cortex-memory is MIT, surf is Apache-2.0; Pricing: Being open-source under the MIT license, cortex-memory is free for use, although specific pricing around value-added services or enterprise support are not detailed in the provided repository content.; Tags unique to cortex-memory: ai, ai-coding-assistant, ai-memory, claude-code; If you are working extensively with Claude Code, Cursor & Cline and want to automatically capture decisions, patterns, and context across sessions without configuration. ### 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 cortex-memory? If you prefer not using tools that integrate deeply with specific AI platforms like Claude Code, which may limit its usefulness in environments where multiple or different platforms are used. In scenarios where custom configuration is required, as cortex-memory emphasizes zero-config setup which might not be adaptable to highly customized workflows. ### Is surf or cortex-memory more popular on GitHub? surf has more GitHub stars (3,522 vs 7). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are surf and cortex-memory open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (surf: Apache-2.0, cortex-memory: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to surf or cortex-memory? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [surf alternatives](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives) and [cortex-memory alternatives](/tools/skullfire07-cortex-memory/alternatives) ([surf markdown twin](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives.md), [cortex-memory markdown twin](/tools/skullfire07-cortex-memory/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-skullfire07-cortex-memory.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, surf or cortex-memory? surf: Very active. cortex-memory: 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 cortex-memory? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [surf trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust); [cortex-memory trust report](/tools/skullfire07-cortex-memory/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/_