AgentIndex icon
AgentIndex
knowledge-rag logo
knowledge-rag
★ 300
vs
rtfm logo
rtfm
★ 26

knowledge-rag vs rtfm

knowledge-rag: Knowledge RAG is a fully local, zero-cloud document retrieval system that lets Claude Code search your PDFs, markdown, code, and notebooks natively. It indexes up to 1800+ files in under 3 minutes, using hybrid search (BM25 + semantic vectors + cross-encoder reranking) via 12 MCP tools. Everything runs locally via ONNX, no Docker, Ollama, or API keys required.; rtfm: RTFM is a local, open-source retrieval layer that indexes everything in a project (code, docs, PDFs, etc.) so that AI agents can find the right context instantly without hallucinations or cloud costs. It integrates with Claude Code and other MCP clients, supports multiple formats, and provides fast search with progressive disclosure.

01

TL;DR

knowledge-rag logo
knowledge-ragRAG / Knowledge Base · ★ 300

Personal document retrieval and knowledge base for developers

Read knowledge-rag full review →
rtfm logo
rtfmRAG / Knowledge Base · ★ 26

Legal and regulatory document retrieval with support for specialized formats

Read rtfm full review →
02

Side-by-Side Comparison

Field
knowledge-rag logoknowledge-rag
rtfm logortfm
Category
RAG / Knowledge Base
RAG / Knowledge Base
Stars
★ 300
★ 26
License
MIT
MIT
Install Command
pip install knowledge-rag
pip install rtfm-ai && cd your-project && rtfm init
Updated
1w ago
1d ago
Open Source
Yes
Yes
Website
↗ Visit
↗ Visit
GitHub
↗ GitHub
↗ GitHub
Tags
bm25, chromadb, claude
ai-agents, claude, claude-code
03

Features

knowledge-rag logoknowledge-rag
01Hybrid Search with BM25 + semantic vectors + cross-encoder reranking
02Optional GPU acceleration for 5-10x faster indexing
0320 format parsers (MD, PDF, DOCX, code, etc.)
04YAML configuration with domain-specific presets
0512 MCP tools for full CRUD, search, and evaluation
rtfm logortfm
01Full-text, semantic, and hybrid search with progressive disclosure
02Multi-format indexing with 22 built-in parsers (code, docs, PDFs, etc.)
03Local, free, and open-source (MIT license)
04Knowledge graph with wikilinks and import edges, plus version history
05Seamless MCP integration (native Claude Code plugin and manual install)
04

Use Cases

knowledge-rag logoknowledge-rag
↳Personal document retrieval and knowledge base for developers
↳Security research document indexing and querying
↳Offline documentation assistant for sensitive environments
rtfm logortfm
↳Legal and regulatory document retrieval with support for specialized formats
↳Research projects combining code, papers, and datasets
↳Any project mixing code with domain-specific documents (FinTech, HealthTech, etc.)
FAQ

FAQ

What is the difference between knowledge-rag and rtfm?
Both knowledge-rag and rtfm are in the RAG / Knowledge Base category. knowledge-rag has 300 stars, while rtfm has 26 stars.
Which is better, knowledge-rag or rtfm?
The best choice depends on your use case. Choose knowledge-rag if Personal document retrieval and knowledge base for developers, and rtfm if Legal and regulatory document retrieval with support for specialized formats.
Is knowledge-rag free or open source?
Yes, knowledge-rag is open source on GitHub (MIT).
Is rtfm free or open source?
Yes, rtfm is open source on GitHub (MIT).
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Related

Alternatives to knowledge-rag →Alternatives to rtfm →knowledge-rag details →rtfm details →