--- title: "reasoning-from-scratch vs Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch-vs-timothyxxx-chain-of-thoughtspapers" tools: ["rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch", "timothyxxx-chain-of-thoughtspapers"] --- # reasoning-from-scratch vs Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers *GraphCanon updated Aug 17, 2026* ## Verdict Pick reasoning-from-scratch if a step-by-step guide to building a reasoning large language model (LLM) using PyTorch, suitable for running on consumer hardware with automatic GPU utilization; pick Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers if chain-of-ThoughtsPapers curates critical research on chain-of-thought reasoning in large language models, aimed at enhancing a model's ability to perform logical reasoning through iterative step-by-step analyses. [reasoning-from-scratch](https://mng.bz/lZ5B) reports 5.0k GitHub stars, 759 forks, and 2 open issues, last pushed Aug 4, 2026. [Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers](https://github.com/Timothyxxx/Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers) has 2.1k stars, 142 forks, and 0 open issues, last pushed Oct 5, 2023. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [reasoning-from-scratch's repository](https://github.com/rasbt/reasoning-from-scratch) and [Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers's repository](https://github.com/Timothyxxx/Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers). | | [reasoning-from-scratch](/tools/rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch.md) | [Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers](/tools/timothyxxx-chain-of-thoughtspapers.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Implement a reasoning LLM in PyTorch from scratch, step by step | A curated list of papers exploring chain-of-thought reasoning in large language models. | | Stars | 4,998 | 2,104 | | Forks | 759 | 142 | | Open issues | 2 | 0 | | Language | Jupyter Notebook | - | | Adopt for | A step-by-step guide to building a reasoning large language model (LLM) using PyTorch, suitable for running on consumer hardware with automatic GPU utilization. | Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers curates critical research on chain-of-thought reasoning in large language models, aimed at enhancing a model's ability to perform logical reasoning through iterative step-by-step analyses. | | Persona | - | end user agent | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 License | - | | Categories | LLM Frameworks, Model Training | LLM Frameworks, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [reasoning-from-scratch](/tools/rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch.md) | [Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers](/tools/timothyxxx-chain-of-thoughtspapers.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Active (82%) | Archived (8%) | | Days since push | 12d | 1036d | | Archived on GitHub | No | Yes | | Open issues (now) | 2 | 0 | | Stars delta | +252 (30d) | Unknown | | Open issues delta | 0 (30d) | Unknown | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/timothyxxx-chain-of-thoughtspapers/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: reasoning-from-scratch - **Requirements:** Automatic GPU utilization where available, though not strictly necessary for the early chapters. - **Adopt for:** A step-by-step guide to building a reasoning large language model (LLM) using PyTorch, suitable for running on consumer hardware with automatic GPU utilization. - **License detail:** Apache-2.0 License ## Decision facts: Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers - **Adopt for:** Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers curates critical research on chain-of-thought reasoning in large language models, aimed at enhancing a model's ability to perform logical reasoning through iterative step-by-step analyses. - **Persona:** end user agent ## Choose when ### Choose reasoning-from-scratch if… - Requirements: Automatic GPU utilization where available, though not strictly necessary for the early chapters.. - Tags unique to reasoning-from-scratch: ai, artificial-intelligence, deep-learning, distillation. - When you have intermediate knowledge of PyTorch and want detailed insights into the implementation process of reasoning LLMS. ### Choose Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers if… - Tags unique to Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers: codex, gpt-3, in-context-learning, palm. - When you need insights into foundational and cutting-edge research on how language models can be prompted or structured to reason logically. - Leaner open-issue backlog (0). ## When NOT to use reasoning-from-scratch - Avoid this tool if you are looking for rapid prototyping or quick model deployment; it focuses more on understanding and building the LLM from scratch rather than providing prebuilt components. - If specialized server hardware is available and preferred for the entire project, as chapters 5 and 6 recommend GPU use but earlier sections can be completed with just a CPU. ## When NOT to use Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers - If your focus is on unrelated areas such as image processing or speech recognition, where chain-of-thought reasoning in LLMs does not directly play a role. - This repository focuses on research and theoretical foundations, not ready-to-use software libraries or codebases, making it less suitable for projects that require immediate practical coding implementations. - In scenarios necessitating alternative approaches to language model training which do not emphasize step-by-step reasoning, such as models trained purely for pattern recognition without emphasis on a - what_is_missing ## Common questions ### What is the difference between reasoning-from-scratch and Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers? reasoning-from-scratch: Implement a reasoning LLM in PyTorch from scratch, step by step. Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers: A curated list of papers exploring chain-of-thought reasoning in large language models.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose reasoning-from-scratch over Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers? Choose reasoning-from-scratch over Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers when Requirements: Automatic GPU utilization where available, though not strictly necessary for the early chapters.; Tags unique to reasoning-from-scratch: ai, artificial-intelligence, deep-learning, distillation; When you have intermediate knowledge of PyTorch and want detailed insights into the implementation process of reasoning LLMS. ### When should I choose Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers over reasoning-from-scratch? Choose Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers over reasoning-from-scratch when Tags unique to Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers: codex, gpt-3, in-context-learning, palm; When you need insights into foundational and cutting-edge research on how language models can be prompted or structured to reason logically; Leaner open-issue backlog (0). ### When should I avoid reasoning-from-scratch? Avoid this tool if you are looking for rapid prototyping or quick model deployment; it focuses more on understanding and building the LLM from scratch rather than providing prebuilt components. If specialized server hardware is available and preferred for the entire project, as chapters 5 and 6 recommend GPU use but earlier sections can be completed with just a CPU. ### When should I avoid Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers? If your focus is on unrelated areas such as image processing or speech recognition, where chain-of-thought reasoning in LLMs does not directly play a role. This repository focuses on research and theoretical foundations, not ready-to-use software libraries or codebases, making it less suitable for projects that require immediate practical coding implementations. In scenarios necessitating alternative approaches to language model training which do not emphasize step-by-step reasoning, such as models trained purely for pattern recognition without emphasis on a what_is_missing ### Is reasoning-from-scratch or Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers more popular on GitHub? reasoning-from-scratch has more GitHub stars (4,998 vs 2,104). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are reasoning-from-scratch and Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub. ### Where can I find alternatives to reasoning-from-scratch or Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [reasoning-from-scratch alternatives](/tools/rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch/alternatives) and [Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers alternatives](/tools/timothyxxx-chain-of-thoughtspapers/alternatives) ([reasoning-from-scratch markdown twin](/tools/rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch/alternatives.md), [Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers markdown twin](/tools/timothyxxx-chain-of-thoughtspapers/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/rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch-vs-timothyxxx-chain-of-thoughtspapers.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, reasoning-from-scratch or Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers? reasoning-from-scratch: Active. Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers: Archived. 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 reasoning-from-scratch and Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [reasoning-from-scratch trust report](/tools/rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch/trust); [Chain-of-ThoughtsPapers trust report](/tools/timothyxxx-chain-of-thoughtspapers/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=rasbt-reasoning-from-scratch) - 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/_