head to head · open source
graphify vs Cairn
graphify has 119,123 GitHub stars, 11,519 forks, 1,350 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Cairn has 2,834 stars, 379 forks, 10 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. graphify leads on adoption by 4,103% (119,123 vs 2,834 stars). graphify is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Cairn is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. graphify has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Cairn 13%. graphify 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
| graphify | Cairn | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 119K | ★ 2.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 12K | ⑂ 379 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick graphify if
- You weight community size — 119K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Cairn if
- You want the Cairn feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Cairn fits your workflow better
About graphify
graphify is an Apache 2.0 Python CLI and /graphify skill that turns a whole project — code, docs, SQL schemas, configs, PDFs, images, and video — into a queryable knowledge graph, built for developers and AI agent users in Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and Gemini CLI who want to query a codebase instead of grepping through files.
read the full graphify overview →
About Cairn
Cairn is a general purpose AI state space search engine, written in Python and licensed AGPL 3.0, that takes a known origin and a defined goal and searches for a path through an unknown problem space — validated first on autonomous penetration testing, and aimed at security teams, red teamers, CTF players and AI agent developers facing problems with a clear starting point, a clear success condition and an unknown route between them.
read the full Cairn overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is graphify or Cairn more popular?
graphify has 119,123 GitHub stars and Cairn has 2,834. graphify has the larger community by that measure.
Are graphify and Cairn free?
Both are open source. graphify is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Cairn under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between graphify and Cairn?
graphify is written in Python and Cairn in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, graphify or Cairn?
Choose graphify if you want the larger community (119,123 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Cairn if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.