--- title: "surf vs unstract" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/deta-surf-vs-zipstack-unstract" tools: ["deta-surf", "zipstack-unstract"] --- # surf vs unstract *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 unstract if unstract is a Python-driven tool for transforming unstructured data into structured formats using OCR, PDF extraction, and other techniques to integrate with APIs and ETL workflows under AGPL-3.0 license. [surf](https://deta.surf) reports 3.5k GitHub stars, 251 forks, and 32 open issues, last pushed Aug 10, 2026. [unstract](https://unstract.com) has 6.9k stars, 663 forks, and 88 open issues, last pushed Jul 27, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [surf's repository](https://github.com/deta/surf) and [unstract's repository](https://github.com/Zipstack/unstract). | | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | [unstract](/tools/zipstack-unstract.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks. | LLM-Driven Extraction of Unstructured Data for API Deployments and ETL Pipeline Workflows | | Stars | 3,522 | 6,932 | | Forks | 251 | 663 | | Open issues | 32 | 88 | | 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. | Unstract is a Python-driven tool for transforming unstructured data into structured formats using OCR, PDF extraction, and other techniques to integrate with APIs and ETL workflows under AGPL-3.0 license. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 | | 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) | [unstract](/tools/zipstack-unstract.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 2d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 32 | 88 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/zipstack-unstract/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: unstract - **Adopt for:** Unstract is a Python-driven tool for transforming unstructured data into structured formats using OCR, PDF extraction, and other techniques to integrate with APIs and ETL workflows under AGPL-3.0 license. ## Choose when ### Choose surf if… - surf is primarily TypeScript; unstract is Python. - License: surf is Apache-2.0, unstract is AGPL-3.0. - 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 unstract if… - unstract is primarily Python; surf is TypeScript. - License: unstract is AGPL-3.0, surf is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to unstract: ai-agents, data-engineering, document-ai, generative-ai. - You prioritize open-source contributions and require the flexibility of the AGPL-3.0 license. ## 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 unstract - Your workflow strictly adheres to closed-source software management policies and requires proprietary control. - Projects needing direct integration with commercial data processing services incompatible with AGPL-3.0 licensing. - Cases where real-time performance is critical, as the LLM-driven extraction may introduce latency. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between surf and unstract? surf: Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.. unstract: LLM-Driven Extraction of Unstructured Data for API Deployments and ETL Pipeline Workflows. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose surf over unstract? Choose surf over unstract when surf is primarily TypeScript; unstract is Python; License: surf is Apache-2.0, unstract is AGPL-3.0; 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 unstract over surf? Choose unstract over surf when unstract is primarily Python; surf is TypeScript; License: unstract is AGPL-3.0, surf is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to unstract: ai-agents, data-engineering, document-ai, generative-ai; You prioritize open-source contributions and require the flexibility of the AGPL-3.0 license. ### 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 unstract? Your workflow strictly adheres to closed-source software management policies and requires proprietary control. Projects needing direct integration with commercial data processing services incompatible with AGPL-3.0 licensing. Cases where real-time performance is critical, as the LLM-driven extraction may introduce latency. ### Is surf or unstract more popular on GitHub? unstract has more GitHub stars (6,932 vs 3,522). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are surf and unstract open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (surf: Apache-2.0, unstract: AGPL-3.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to surf or unstract? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [surf alternatives](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives) and [unstract alternatives](/tools/zipstack-unstract/alternatives) ([surf markdown twin](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives.md), [unstract markdown twin](/tools/zipstack-unstract/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-zipstack-unstract.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, surf or unstract? surf: Very active. unstract: 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 unstract? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [surf trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust); [unstract trust report](/tools/zipstack-unstract/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/_