--- title: "minima vs R2R" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/dmayboroda-minima-vs-sciphi-ai-r2r" tools: ["dmayboroda-minima", "sciphi-ai-r2r"] --- # minima vs R2R *GraphCanon updated Jul 12, 2026* ## Verdict Pick minima when license: minima is MPL-2.0, R2R is MIT; pick R2R when license: R2R is MIT, minima is MPL-2.0. [minima](https://github.com/dmayboroda/minima) reports 1.0k GitHub stars, 103 forks, and 14 open issues, last pushed Jan 22, 2026. [R2R](https://github.com/SciPhi-AI/R2R) has 7.9k stars, 644 forks, and 122 open issues, last pushed Nov 7, 2025. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [minima's repository](https://github.com/dmayboroda/minima) and [R2R's repository](https://github.com/SciPhi-AI/R2R). | | [minima](/tools/dmayboroda-minima.md) | [R2R](/tools/sciphi-ai-r2r.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | On-premises conversational RAG with configurable containers | SoTA production-ready AI retrieval system. Agentic Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) with a RESTful API. | | Stars | 1,049 | 7,926 | | Forks | 103 | 644 | | Open issues | 14 | 122 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | - | R2R is designed for developers aiming to integrate state-of-the-art retrieval abilities into their applications via a RESTful API. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | MPL-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | LLM Frameworks, Data & Retrieval | AI Agents, LLM Frameworks, Data & Retrieval | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [minima](/tools/dmayboroda-minima.md) | [R2R](/tools/sciphi-ai-r2r.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 170d | 246d | | Open issues (now) | 14 | 122 | | Owner type | User | Organization | | Security scan | No MCP manifest | No lockfile | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/dmayboroda-minima/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/sciphi-ai-r2r/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: R2R - **Pricing:** unknown - Details on pricing are not available; the license is MIT, allowing for free use in both open-source and commercial projects. - **Requirements:** Min 8 GB RAM; Requires Docker - **Adopt for:** R2R is designed for developers aiming to integrate state-of-the-art retrieval abilities into their applications via a RESTful API. ## Choose when ### Choose minima if… - License: minima is MPL-2.0, R2R is MIT. - Tags unique to minima: ai, custom-gpts, docker, docker-compose. - More recently updated (last pushed Jan 22, 2026). ### Choose R2R if… - License: R2R is MIT, minima is MPL-2.0. - Pricing: Details on pricing are not available; the license is MIT, allowing for free use in both open-source and commercial projects.. - Requirements: Min 8 GB RAM; Requires Docker. - Tags unique to R2R: search, artificial-intelligence, python, large-language-models. - Also covers AI Agents. - - When your application requires precise and advanced retrieval capabilities that can be easily integrated via a RESTful interface. ## When NOT to use minima - Last GitHub push was 170 days ago (slowing maintenance, Jan 22, 2026). Validate activity before betting a new project on minima. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. - Data & Retrieval: Skip a heavy ingestion framework when your corpus is small and static; a script plus the embedding API is enough. ## When NOT to use R2R - - If the project does not require high-level retrieval or generation abilities, as R2R is more suited for comprehensive integration in applications demanding advanced AI services. - - When a simpler or lighter integration is needed, as R2R might offer more features than required leading to unnecessary complexity. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between minima and R2R? minima: On-premises conversational RAG with configurable containers. R2R: SoTA production-ready AI retrieval system. Agentic Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) with a RESTful API.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose minima over R2R? Choose minima over R2R when License: minima is MPL-2.0, R2R is MIT; Tags unique to minima: ai, custom-gpts, docker, docker-compose; More recently updated (last pushed Jan 22, 2026). ### When should I choose R2R over minima? Choose R2R over minima when License: R2R is MIT, minima is MPL-2.0; Pricing: Details on pricing are not available; the license is MIT, allowing for free use in both open-source and commercial projects.; Requirements: Min 8 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Tags unique to R2R: search, artificial-intelligence, python, large-language-models; Also covers AI Agents; - When your application requires precise and advanced retrieval capabilities that can be easily integrated via a RESTful interface. ### When should I avoid minima? Last GitHub push was 170 days ago (slowing maintenance, Jan 22, 2026). Validate activity before betting a new project on minima. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. Data & Retrieval: Skip a heavy ingestion framework when your corpus is small and static; a script plus the embedding API is enough. ### When should I avoid R2R? - If the project does not require high-level retrieval or generation abilities, as R2R is more suited for comprehensive integration in applications demanding advanced AI services. - When a simpler or lighter integration is needed, as R2R might offer more features than required leading to unnecessary complexity. ### Is minima or R2R more popular on GitHub? R2R has more GitHub stars (7,926 vs 1,049). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are minima and R2R open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (minima: MPL-2.0, R2R: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to minima or R2R? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [minima alternatives](/tools/dmayboroda-minima/alternatives) and [R2R alternatives](/tools/sciphi-ai-r2r/alternatives) ([minima markdown twin](/tools/dmayboroda-minima/alternatives.md), [R2R markdown twin](/tools/sciphi-ai-r2r/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/dmayboroda-minima-vs-sciphi-ai-r2r.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, minima or R2R? minima: Slowing. R2R: 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 minima and R2R? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [minima trust report](/tools/dmayboroda-minima/trust); [R2R trust report](/tools/sciphi-ai-r2r/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=dmayboroda-minima`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=dmayboroda-minima) - 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/_