--- title: "paperless-ngx vs Chat-with-Scanned-Documents" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx-vs-tony-xlh-chat-with-scanned-documents" tools: ["paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx", "tony-xlh-chat-with-scanned-documents"] --- # paperless-ngx vs Chat-with-Scanned-Documents *GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026* ## Verdict Pick paperless-ngx if paperless-ngx is a community-supported document management system that leverages OCR and machine learning for scanning, indexing, and archiving documents. It is built with Python and is licensed under GPL-3.0; pick Chat-with-Scanned-Documents if leverages Dynamic Web TWAIN for scanning and Tesseract.js for text extraction, integrating LangChain for chat functionality. [paperless-ngx](http://docs.paperless-ngx.com/) reports 45k GitHub stars, 3.1k forks, and 6 open issues, last pushed Sep 18, 2026. [Chat-with-Scanned-Documents](https://github.com/tony-xlh/Chat-with-Scanned-Documents) has 6 stars, 3 forks, and 0 open issues, last pushed May 25, 2023. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [paperless-ngx's repository](https://github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx) and [Chat-with-Scanned-Documents's repository](https://github.com/tony-xlh/Chat-with-Scanned-Documents). | | [paperless-ngx](/tools/paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx.md) | [Chat-with-Scanned-Documents](/tools/tony-xlh-chat-with-scanned-documents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | A community-supported supercharged document management system | A demo chatting with documents scanned using Dynamic Web TWAIN and Tesseract.js | | Stars | 45,263 | 6 | | Forks | 3,122 | 3 | | Open issues | 6 | 0 | | Language | Python | JavaScript | | Adopt for | paperless-ngx is a community-supported document management system that leverages OCR and machine learning for scanning, indexing, and archiving documents. It is built with Python and is licensed under GPL-3.0. | Leverages Dynamic Web TWAIN for scanning and Tesseract.js for text extraction, integrating LangChain for chat functionality. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | GPL-3.0 | MIT | | Categories | Data & Retrieval | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [paperless-ngx](/tools/paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx.md) | [Chat-with-Scanned-Documents](/tools/tony-xlh-chat-with-scanned-documents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Dormant (18%) | | Days since push | 0d | 1214d | | Open issues (now) | 6 | 0 | | Stars delta | Unknown | 0 (30d) | | Open issues delta | Unknown | 0 (30d) | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/tony-xlh-chat-with-scanned-documents/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: paperless-ngx - **Adopt for:** paperless-ngx is a community-supported document management system that leverages OCR and machine learning for scanning, indexing, and archiving documents. It is built with Python and is licensed under GPL-3.0. ## Decision facts: Chat-with-Scanned-Documents - **Adopt for:** Leverages Dynamic Web TWAIN for scanning and Tesseract.js for text extraction, integrating LangChain for chat functionality. ## Choose when ### Choose paperless-ngx if… - paperless-ngx is primarily Python; Chat-with-Scanned-Documents is JavaScript. - License: paperless-ngx is GPL-3.0, Chat-with-Scanned-Documents is MIT. - Tags unique to paperless-ngx: ai, angular, archiving, django. - paperless-ngx ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - Use paperless-ngx if you are looking for a system that supports scanning, indexing, and archiving documents with a strong community support and continuous updates. ### Choose Chat-with-Scanned-Documents if… - Chat-with-Scanned-Documents is primarily JavaScript; paperless-ngx is Python. - License: Chat-with-Scanned-Documents is MIT, paperless-ngx is GPL-3.0. - Tags unique to Chat-with-Scanned-Documents: document scanning, dynamic web twain, langchain, ocr. - Also covers Developer Tools. - Need to interact with content from scanned documents ## When NOT to use paperless-ngx - Avoid paperless-ngx if you require a proprietary solution with commercial support, as it is an open-source project under GPL-3.0. - Do not use paperless-ngx if you need a document management system that does not rely on Docker for deployment, as it heavily integrates Docker for its setup. - Skip paperless-ngx if you are looking for a system that does not involve community-supported development, as it may not meet specific enterprise-level requirements for customization and support. ## When NOT to use Chat-with-Scanned-Documents - Situations demanding real-time, high-volume document scanning and processing - Applications requiring more advanced AI chat capabilities beyond LangChain ## Common questions ### What is the difference between paperless-ngx and Chat-with-Scanned-Documents? paperless-ngx: A community-supported supercharged document management system. Chat-with-Scanned-Documents: A demo chatting with documents scanned using Dynamic Web TWAIN and Tesseract.js. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose paperless-ngx over Chat-with-Scanned-Documents? Choose paperless-ngx over Chat-with-Scanned-Documents when paperless-ngx is primarily Python; Chat-with-Scanned-Documents is JavaScript; License: paperless-ngx is GPL-3.0, Chat-with-Scanned-Documents is MIT; Tags unique to paperless-ngx: ai, angular, archiving, django; paperless-ngx ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Use paperless-ngx if you are looking for a system that supports scanning, indexing, and archiving documents with a strong community support and continuous updates. ### When should I choose Chat-with-Scanned-Documents over paperless-ngx? Choose Chat-with-Scanned-Documents over paperless-ngx when Chat-with-Scanned-Documents is primarily JavaScript; paperless-ngx is Python; License: Chat-with-Scanned-Documents is MIT, paperless-ngx is GPL-3.0; Tags unique to Chat-with-Scanned-Documents: document scanning, dynamic web twain, langchain, ocr; Also covers Developer Tools; Need to interact with content from scanned documents. ### When should I avoid paperless-ngx? Avoid paperless-ngx if you require a proprietary solution with commercial support, as it is an open-source project under GPL-3.0. Do not use paperless-ngx if you need a document management system that does not rely on Docker for deployment, as it heavily integrates Docker for its setup. Skip paperless-ngx if you are looking for a system that does not involve community-supported development, as it may not meet specific enterprise-level requirements for customization and support. ### When should I avoid Chat-with-Scanned-Documents? Situations demanding real-time, high-volume document scanning and processing Applications requiring more advanced AI chat capabilities beyond LangChain ### Is paperless-ngx or Chat-with-Scanned-Documents more popular on GitHub? paperless-ngx has more GitHub stars (45,263 vs 6). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are paperless-ngx and Chat-with-Scanned-Documents open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (paperless-ngx: GPL-3.0, Chat-with-Scanned-Documents: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to paperless-ngx or Chat-with-Scanned-Documents? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [paperless-ngx alternatives](/tools/paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx/alternatives) and [Chat-with-Scanned-Documents alternatives](/tools/tony-xlh-chat-with-scanned-documents/alternatives) ([paperless-ngx markdown twin](/tools/paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx/alternatives.md), [Chat-with-Scanned-Documents markdown twin](/tools/tony-xlh-chat-with-scanned-documents/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/paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx-vs-tony-xlh-chat-with-scanned-documents.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, paperless-ngx or Chat-with-Scanned-Documents? paperless-ngx: Very active. Chat-with-Scanned-Documents: Dormant. 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 paperless-ngx and Chat-with-Scanned-Documents? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [paperless-ngx trust report](/tools/paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx/trust); [Chat-with-Scanned-Documents trust report](/tools/tony-xlh-chat-with-scanned-documents/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=paperless-ngx-paperless-ngx) - 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/_