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Artificial Intelligencedocker-ready100% FOSS🟢 Lightweight · ~512MB

Khoj: Open Source alternative to ChatGPT Plus in 2026

Khoj is a self-hostable personal AI assistant that searches and answers questions over your own documents, notes and web browsing, like a second AI-augmented memory.

Alternative to ChatGPT Plus
License AGPL-3.037.7k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Reduced maintenance

  • Latest release — 2.0.0-beta.28 · 6 months ago

  • Docker Compose — Partial

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

Khoj vs. ChatGPT Plus

Pros

  • Combines your own data with local or remote models

Things to consider

  • Initial document indexing setup takes some time

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on ChatGPT Plus.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
version: "3.9"
services:
  khoj:
    image: ghcr.io/khoj-ai/khoj:1.42.10
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "42110:42110"
    environment:
      - KHOJ_DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=change-me-super-secret
    volumes:
      - khoj_data:/root/.khoj
volumes:
  khoj_data:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=khoj" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit 2 months ago.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
AGPL-3.0
Category
Artificial Intelligence
Replaces
ChatGPT Plus
Tech stack
PythonDjango

Under the hood

Database

PostgreSQL

Language

Python (Django)

Platforms

Web · Desktop (Mac/Win/Linux) · Mobile (iOS/Android)

Key features

  • Semantic search over your notes and documents
  • Chat with your own PDFs and markdown
  • Integration with Obsidian and Notion

Preview

Khoj interface preview

Public image provided by Khoj on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:42110
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy