8 Best Chainlit Alternatives in 2026 (Open Source)
Chainlit — Build Conversational AI in minutes ⚡️. vs Streamlit: purpose-built for conversational AI with step visualization and streaming; vs Gradio: more focused on chat interfaces with built-in auth and conversation management
These 8 open-source tools do the same job. They are ordered by how closely they match Chainlit, with live GitHub data so you can see which projects are actively maintained.
| Tool | GitHub stars | Stars / 30d | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chainlit(original) | 12.5k | +107 | 2026-08-26 |
| langchain-chat-nextjs | 1.0k | +-0 | 2023-01-27 |
| Chatbot UI | 33.4k | +34 | 2024-06-22 |
| Chat UI | 11.0k | +56 | 2026-09-30 |
| LibreChat | 45.2k | +1,629 | 2026-09-30 |
| Robby-chatbot | 814 | +0 | 2026-02-21 |
| knowledge_gpt | 1.6k | +-4 | 2023-09-18 |
| ChatFiles | 3.3k | +-3 | 2024-12-17 |
| GPT-Code | 3.5k | +-6 | 2023-07-29 |
1. langchain-chat-nextjs
Next.js frontend for LangChain Chat.
What sets it apart: vs other LangChain UIs: minimal Next.js reference implementation by LangChain community — the simplest way to connect LangChain's chat backend to a web UI
Best for: JavaScript developers wanting a simple LangChain + Next.js chat reference; Quick prototyping of LangChain chat interfaces; Learning how to connect LangChain backend to a web frontend
2. Chatbot UI
AI chat for any model.
What sets it apart: vs ChatGPT web app: open-source, self-hosted with Supabase backend for full data ownership — the most popular open-source ChatGPT UI clone with 28k+ stars
Best for: Developers wanting a self-hosted ChatGPT-like UI with data persistence; Teams needing an open-source chat interface they can customize; Organizations wanting full control over their AI chat data
3. Chat UI
The open source codebase powering HuggingChat
What sets it apart: Powers HuggingChat (huggingface.co/chat) — the most production-proven open-source chat UI with unique LLM Router for automatic model selection and native MCP tool support, unlike simpler UIs it handles multi-user, multi-model deployments
Best for: Self-hosting a ChatGPT-like interface for open-source models; Organizations wanting HuggingChat-quality UI for their own LLMs
4. LibreChat
Enhanced ChatGPT Clone: Features Agents, MCP, DeepSeek, Anthropic, AWS, OpenAI, Responses API, Azure, Groq, o1, GPT-5, Mistral, OpenRouter, Vertex AI, Gemini, Artifacts, AI model switching, message se
What sets it apart: Most feature-complete self-hosted ChatGPT alternative — uniquely combines agents, MCP, code interpreter, image gen, and multi-user auth in one package, unlike single-provider UIs
Best for: Organizations wanting a private, self-hosted ChatGPT replacement; Teams needing multi-user AI platform with access control and audit
5. Robby-chatbot
AI chatbot 🤖 for chat with CSV, PDF, TXT files 📄 and YTB videos 🎥 | using Langchain🦜 | OpenAI | Streamlit ⚡
What sets it apart: Unlike single-modality RAG demos, Robby combines document Q&A, tabular data analysis, and YouTube summarization in one Streamlit interface with conversational memory — a uniquely multi-modal learning project
Best for: Individuals wanting a simple all-in-one tool to chat with documents, spreadsheets, and YouTube videos; Python learners studying how to build RAG applications with LangChain and Streamlit
6. knowledge_gpt
Accurate answers and instant citations for your documents.
What sets it apart: vs ChatPDF/Unstructured: simple Streamlit-based document Q&A with citation extraction — optimized for quick single-document analysis with verifiable source references
Best for: Extracting cited answers from research papers and reports; Quick document Q&A with source verification; Prototyping RAG-based document analysis tools
7. ChatFiles
Document Chatbot — multiple files. Powered by GPT / Embedding.
What sets it apart: vs ChatPDF/similar tools: open-source Next.js implementation combining LangchainJS with Supabase vector embeddings — fully customizable document chat with Vercel deployment
Best for: Quick document Q&A prototyping with file uploads; Developers learning LangchainJS + Supabase vector search; Building conversational file analysis interfaces
8. GPT-Code
An open source implementation of OpenAI's ChatGPT Code interpreter
What sets it apart: vs ChatGPT Code Interpreter / Open Interpreter: self-hosted open-source web UI for AI code generation and execution — own your data and conversations without ChatGPT Plus subscription
Best for: Self-hosted Code Interpreter alternative; Data analysis and visualization with AI assistance; Document processing and automation scripting