Migrate from AnythingLLM to open source Kortix
AnythingLLM is a local-first app for chatting with your documents, and Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System for company work. This guide shows what moves from an AnythingLLM setup, what you rebuild as files, and the commands that ship the move.
The commands the move runs on
Every command below is from the Kortix CLI docs.
curl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bashkortix initkortix projects link <project-id>kortix shipkortix cr lskortix cr diff <cr>kortix cr merge <cr>What moves across, as files
# kortix.yamlagents: support-triage: file: agents/support-triage.md connectors: alltriggers: - slug: daily-digest type: cron cron: '0 0 9 * * 1-5' prompt: Summarize yesterday's support tickets and open a change request with the digest.Agents are markdown files and schedules are lines in kortix.yaml, so the parts of AnythingLLM you rebuild arrive as text you can diff (Kortix on GitHub).
What moves from AnythingLLM, and what gets rebuilt
AnythingLLM is a local-first app for chatting with your documents. It runs as a desktop app on macOS, Windows, and Linux, or as a self-hosted multi-user server, and it keeps a document's content in a workspace backed by a vector database (AnythingLLM, AnythingLLM on GitHub). Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, company memory, and connectors live in one git repo you own, and each session runs on its own cloud computer (Read the docs).
Moving from AnythingLLM to Kortix changes the shape of the system. Your documents, your model provider, and your reason for running the system yourself all carry over. The workspace, the in-app agents, and the scheduled tasks are rebuilt as files in a repository.
What transfers from AnythingLLM
Your document files transfer. AnythingLLM ingests files into a workspace and embeds them in a vector database. In Kortix the same source files live in the project repo, where agent skills and company memory can read them and you can version every change. Adding them again is a copy into the repo, not an export out of an app store.
Your model choice transfers. AnythingLLM connects to local and cloud models with your own credentials. Kortix matches it: "Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for." You set the model per agent, per session, or per message.
Your self-hosting habit transfers. AnythingLLM ships a self-hosted multi-user server, and Kortix keeps the same option at company scope: "Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free."
What you rebuild in Kortix
Three parts of an AnythingLLM setup become files you own.
Workspaces become one project repo. Where AnythingLLM scopes documents to a workspace, Kortix scopes everything to a git repo that is the project. Agents, skills, memory, and connectors all live in it.
In-app agents become agents/*.md. "An agent is agents/<name>.md (behavior) plus an agents.<name> block in kortix.yaml (governance)," so an in-app agent becomes two files you own (Kortix on GitHub).
Scheduled tasks become triggers. AnythingLLM runs recurring tasks on a cron schedule. Kortix starts sessions from a trigger, and a trigger has exactly two types: cron and webhook. A schedule moves from an in-app field to a line you can review.
A review gate has no AnythingLLM equivalent. "Session work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents." AnythingLLM runs its agents inside the app; Kortix lands a session's work as a diff a person approves first.
The migration, step by step
- Install the CLI. Run
curl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bashto download a prebuilt binary for macOS or Linux. Windows is not supported.
- Scaffold a project.
kortix initwrites akortix.yamlplus starter agents and runtime configuration. If you already have a repo,kortix projects link <project-id>binds it to a project instead.
- Ship it.
kortix shiplintskortix.yaml, commits your files, pushes the branch, and asks for any missing secret or connection.
- Add your documents. Copy the source files from your AnythingLLM workspaces into the repo so agents and company memory can read them.
- Start a session.
kortix sessions new --prompt "Summarize this week's commits and open a change request"boots a sandbox on its own branch. Each session gets its own isolated machine.
- Review the change request.
kortix cr lslists what sessions propose,kortix cr diff <cr>shows the patch, andkortix cr merge <cr>lands it on the default branch.
Running both while you compare
You do not have to delete AnythingLLM to try Kortix. Self-host is free, so you can run a Kortix project beside your current setup and move one workflow at a time. Your documents stay put in AnythingLLM while you copy what you need into the repo, and the old app can stay as the fallback until a workflow is proven. The full comparison of the two products is on the Kortix blog.
Frequently asked questions
Your documents, your model choice, and your self-hosting habit. Document files carry over as files in the project repo, so you re-add them rather than importing an AnythingLLM store. Model credentials carry over: "Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for." Self-hosting carries over too, since self-host is free.
No. Your files stay yours. AnythingLLM keeps them in a workspace backed by a vector database; Kortix reads them as files in the git repo you own, so you add the source documents again and version every change. Moving does not delete anything from AnythingLLM, and the two can run side by side while you compare.
Not necessarily. The Kortix line is "Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for." A key you already hold usually works, you set the model per agent, per session, or per message, and the platform is not tied to one provider.
The platform move is a few commands: install the CLI, scaffold a project, ship it, then start a session. The slow part is re-adding your documents, which depends on how many you have. There is no fixed export window, because a Kortix project is a git repo, so the move is copy-and-commit.
AnythingLLM runs recurring tasks on a cron schedule. Kortix starts sessions from a trigger, and a trigger has exactly two types: cron and webhook. You write the schedule in kortix.yaml, so the task moves from an in-app setting to a line in the repo you can diff and review.
Move your AnythingLLM setup to a repo you own
Open source. Read it, fork it, audit it.
Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem