--- title: "moby vs catai" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/moby-moby-vs-withcatai-catai" tools: ["moby-moby", "withcatai-catai"] --- # moby vs catai *GraphCanon updated Jul 15, 2026* ## Verdict Pick moby when moby is primarily Go; catai is TypeScript; pick catai when catai is primarily TypeScript; moby is Go. [moby](https://mobyproject.org/) reports 72k GitHub stars, 19k forks, and 3.8k open issues, last pushed Jul 10, 2026. [catai](https://withcatai.github.io/catai/) has 497 stars, 39 forks, and 2 open issues, last pushed Nov 16, 2025. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [moby's repository](https://github.com/moby/moby) and [catai's repository](https://github.com/withcatai/catai). | | [moby](/tools/moby-moby.md) | [catai](/tools/withcatai-catai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | The Moby Project - a collaborative project for the container ecosystem to assemble container-based systems | Run AI ✨ assistant locally! with simple API for Node.js 🚀 | | Stars | 71,899 | 497 | | Forks | 19,126 | 39 | | Open issues | 3,821 | 2 | | Language | Go | TypeScript | | Adopt for | - | - | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | Developer Tools, Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [moby](/tools/moby-moby.md) | [catai](/tools/withcatai-catai.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 1d | 240d | | Open issues (now) | 3.8k | 2 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/moby-moby/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/withcatai-catai/trust.md) | ## Choose when ### Choose moby if… - moby is primarily Go; catai is TypeScript. - License: moby is Apache-2.0, catai is MIT. - Tags unique to moby: containers, docker, go, golang. - Also covers Developer Tools. - moby ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### Choose catai if… - catai is primarily TypeScript; moby is Go. - License: catai is MIT, moby is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to catai: ai, ai-assistant, catai, chatbot. ## When NOT to use moby - Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ## When NOT to use catai - Last GitHub push was 240 days ago (slowing maintenance, Nov 16, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on catai. - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between moby and catai? moby: The Moby Project - a collaborative project for the container ecosystem to assemble container-based systems. catai: Run AI ✨ assistant locally! with simple API for Node.js 🚀. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose moby over catai? Choose moby over catai when moby is primarily Go; catai is TypeScript; License: moby is Apache-2.0, catai is MIT; Tags unique to moby: containers, docker, go, golang; Also covers Developer Tools; moby ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### When should I choose catai over moby? Choose catai over moby when catai is primarily TypeScript; moby is Go; License: catai is MIT, moby is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to catai: ai, ai-assistant, catai, chatbot. ### When should I avoid moby? Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ### When should I avoid catai? Last GitHub push was 240 days ago (slowing maintenance, Nov 16, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on catai. Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ### Is moby or catai more popular on GitHub? moby has more GitHub stars (71,899 vs 497). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are moby and catai open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (moby: Apache-2.0, catai: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to moby or catai? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [moby alternatives](/tools/moby-moby/alternatives) and [catai alternatives](/tools/withcatai-catai/alternatives) ([moby markdown twin](/tools/moby-moby/alternatives.md), [catai markdown twin](/tools/withcatai-catai/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/moby-moby-vs-withcatai-catai.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, moby or catai? moby: Very active. catai: 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 moby and catai? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [moby trust report](/tools/moby-moby/trust); [catai trust report](/tools/withcatai-catai/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=moby-moby`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=moby-moby) - 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/_