head to head · open source
AnythingLLM vs Sidekick
AnythingLLM has 67,862 GitHub stars, 7,658 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Sidekick has 3,321 stars, 146 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. AnythingLLM leads on adoption by 1,943% (67,862 vs 3,321 stars). AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript under MIT; Sidekick is written in Swift under MIT. AnythingLLM has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Sidekick 4%. AnythingLLM was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (agentic-ai, ai-agents), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | Sidekick | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-09-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.7K | ⑂ 146 |
| 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 Sidekick if
- You want the Sidekick feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and Sidekick 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 Sidekick
Sidekick Chat with a local LLM that can respond with information from your files, folders and websites on your Mac without installing any other software. All conversations happen offline, and your data stays secure. Sidekick is a local first application –– with a built in inference engine for local models, while accommodating OpenAI compatible APIs for additional model options. Sidekick supports modern GGUF local models such as Qwen3.5 out of the box through its built in llama.cpp backend. Example Use Let’s say you're collecting evidence for a History paper about interactions between Aztecs and Spanish troops…
read the full Sidekick overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AnythingLLM or Sidekick more popular?
AnythingLLM has 67,862 GitHub stars and Sidekick has 3,321. AnythingLLM has the larger community by that measure.
Are AnythingLLM and Sidekick free?
Both are open source. AnythingLLM is licensed under MIT and Sidekick under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AnythingLLM and Sidekick?
AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript and Sidekick in Swift. 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 Sidekick?
Choose AnythingLLM if you want the larger community (67,862 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Sidekick if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.