head to head · open source
AnythingLLM vs botman
AnythingLLM has 67,862 GitHub stars, 7,658 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. botman has 6,148 stars, 813 forks, 10 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. AnythingLLM leads on adoption by 1,004% (67,862 vs 6,148 stars). AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript under MIT; botman is written in PHP under MIT. AnythingLLM has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, botman 13%. AnythingLLM was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| AnythingLLM | botman | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 6.1K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-04-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.7K | ⑂ 813 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AnythingLLM if
- You weight community size — 68K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick botman if
- You want the botman feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and botman fits your workflow better
About AnythingLLM
[!NOTE] We are also working on Open Computer which gives an entire computer environment for AI Agents to use. This will bring AnythingLLM's agent capabilities to a new level and a novel UX paradigm for AI Agent use. ⭐ Star the repo to stay updated! AnythingLLM: The all in one AI app you were looking for. Chat with your docs, use AI Agents, hyper configurable, multi user, & no frustrating setup required. Docs Hosted Instance English · 简体中文 · 日本語 👉 AnythingLLM for desktop (Mac, Windows, & Linux)! Download Now Chat with your docs. Automate complex workflows with AI Agents. Hyper configurable, multi user ready…
read the full AnythingLLM overview →
About botman
BotMan If you want to learn how to create reusable PHP packages yourself, take a look at my upcoming PHP Package Development video course. About BotMan BotMan is a framework agnostic PHP library that is designed to simplify the task of developing innovative bots for multiple messaging platforms, including Slack, Telegram, Microsoft Bot Framework, Nexmo, HipChat, Facebook Messenger and WeChat. If you want to learn how to create reusable PHP packages yourself, take a look at my upcoming PHP Package Development video course. Documentation You can find the BotMan documentation at Stand Alone Configuration If you are…
read the full botman overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AnythingLLM or botman more popular?
AnythingLLM has 67,862 GitHub stars and botman has 6,148. AnythingLLM has the larger community by that measure.
Are AnythingLLM and botman free?
Both are open source. AnythingLLM is licensed under MIT and botman under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AnythingLLM and botman?
AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript and botman in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, AnythingLLM or botman?
Choose AnythingLLM if you want the larger community (67,862 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose botman if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.