Slite vs OpenKB
OpenKB is a self-hostable, Apache-2.0, Python-based system for compiling heterogeneous documents into an LLM-generated Markdown wiki and querying it with citations. Choose it when local control, inspectable code, long-document retrieval, multimodal source handling, or Obsidian-compatible files matter most. Slite remains the better fit for teams needing a managed collaborative knowledge workspace with granular access,
Decision guide
The practical reasons to choose either option, based on documented capabilities.
Choose OpenKB if
- Teams compiling PDFs, Office files, web pages, and other source material into an interlinked wiki
- Technical or research workflows involving long documents, tables, figures, and images
- Organizations wanting a self-hosted, modifiable knowledge system with Markdown-based storage and no vector database
Stay with Slite if
- Teams require collaborative editing with comments, mentions, and workspace publishing workflows
- Organizations need documented user- or group-level document permissions rather than an optional server-wide bearer token
- Teams depend on document-owner verification, centralized maintenance queues, analytics, or approval-routed AI updates
Deployment and operations
OpenKB is Apache-2.0 licensed and self-hostable. It installs through pip or from source; the optional web package runs a REST API and browser workbench on port 7566. Authentication is disabled by default, with an optional bearer token, so it should not be exposed without configuration. An LLM provider must be configured through LiteLLM; most providers require credentials. PageIndex runs locally by default, while optional cloud indexing requires a separate API key. Docker and Kubernetes support
Migration considerations
OpenKB does not document a Slite importer. Its generated wiki consists of plain Markdown files with wikilinks and can be opened as an Obsidian vault, which provides a concrete downstream compatibility path. Teams should also account for the documented behavior that recompilation overwrites manual edits to generated concept pages.
Feature fit
What OpenKB covers
- Browsable internal knowledge base
- Document ingestion and organization
- Cited question answering
- Automated knowledge maintenance
- Web-based knowledge browsing
What’s different or missing
- Collaborative comments and mentions
- Owner-led document verification
- Granular document access controls
- Central maintenance review panel
- Knowledge usage analytics
- Approval-based update routing
- Permission-inheriting MCP document writes
Project snapshot
- GitHub stars
- 3,777
- Contributors
- 14
- Language
- Python
- Last commit
- Jul 22, 2026
- Latest release
- Jul 20, 2026
Categories: Document Collaboration, Knowledge Management, Search Engines
Sources and editorial review11 linked sources
Public documentation supports this comparison. Automation assists collection and classification; editorial standards and corrections remain the responsibility of Kris.
OpenKB: Open LLM Knowledge Base
repository description · github.comOpenKB ... compiles raw documents into a structured, interlinked wiki-style knowledge base using LLMs.
readme · github.comQuery & chat: One-off questions or multi-turn conversations over your wiki, with persisted sessions to resume.
readme · github.comKnowledge Workbench (Web UI): A bundled web UI served at `/` to browse the KB, upload and compile documents, and stream queries and chats — all in the browser.
readme · github.comThe wiki is a directory of Markdown files with `[[wikilinks]]`. Obsidian renders it natively.
readme · github.comPageIndex runs locally by default using the open-source version ... with no external dependencies required.
readme · github.comA grounded answer with citations (`--save` to persist to `wiki/explorations/`)
shared feature · github.compip install "openkb[web]" openkb-web # serves the API + Workbench at http://127.0.0.1:7566/
deployment · github.comAuth is off by default (local-first); set `OPENKB_API_TOKEN` to require a bearer token before exposing the server.
deployment · github.comThe wiki is a directory of Markdown files with `[[wikilinks]]`. Obsidian renders it natively.
migration · github.comRe-run the compile pipeline on already-indexed docs without re-indexing. Regenerates summaries and rewrites concept pages; manual edits are overwritten
migration · github.com
