head to head · open source
AnythingLLM vs claude-forge
AnythingLLM has 66,155 GitHub stars, 7,348 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped yesterday. claude-forge has 837 stars, 178 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped 15 days ago. AnythingLLM leads on adoption by 7,804% (66,155 vs 837 stars). AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript under MIT; claude-forge is written in Shell under MIT. AnythingLLM has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, claude-forge 21%. 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 | claude-forge | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 837 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.3K | ⑂ 178 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AnythingLLM if
- You weight community size — 66K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick claude-forge if
- You want the claude-forge feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and claude-forge fits your workflow better
About AnythingLLM
AnythingLLM is a local first AI application that enables users to chat with their documents using any large language model (LLM), local or cloud hosted. It runs as a self hosted service—by default in Docker—and provides a complete interface for document ingestion, agent orchestration, multi user access, and workflow automation without requiring external cloud dependencies. The project lives in the local AI and AI interaction ecosystem, targeting users who want full control over their data and model selection.
read the full AnythingLLM overview →
About claude-forge
⚡ New here? Walk through setup in 60 seconds → English · 한국어 · 中文 · setup guide in 13 languages oh my zsh for Claude Code — one install, full professional kit What is it? • Why bother? • Install • What's inside • How to use • Architecture • FAQ • 한국어 v4.3.0 (September 2026, latest) — session time report now reads Codex too. Same hook, same report; it detects whether a transcript is a Claude Code transcript or a Codex rollout log and counts either. Wiring for Codex is two entries you add to /.codex/hooks.json (how). v4.2.0 (September 2026) — Adds session time report (22nd hook): …
read the full claude-forge overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AnythingLLM or claude-forge more popular?
AnythingLLM has 66,155 GitHub stars and claude-forge has 837. AnythingLLM has the larger community by that measure.
Are AnythingLLM and claude-forge free?
Both are open source. AnythingLLM is licensed under MIT and claude-forge under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AnythingLLM and claude-forge?
AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript and claude-forge in Shell. 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 claude-forge?
Choose AnythingLLM if you want the larger community (66,155 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose claude-forge if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.