8 Best OpenMetadata Alternatives in 2026 (Open Source)
OpenMetadata — Open-source metadata platform for trusted data context, lineage, semantics, and organizational memory. Positions itself specifically as the open context layer for AI, providing the governed metadata and organizational memory that AI agents need beyond raw data access.
Short answer
- Closest match to OpenMetadata: Semantica.
- Most actively developed: Cognee (2,427 commits in the last 90 days).
- Fastest growing: Cognee (+2,637 GitHub stars in the last 30 days).
- No commit in 6+ months: Memary.
These 8 open-source tools do the same job. They are ordered by how closely they match OpenMetadata, with live GitHub data so you can see which projects are actively maintained.
| Tool | GitHub stars | Stars / 30d | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenMetadata(original) | 15.4k | +90 | 2026-10-02 |
| Semantica | 13.6k | +600 | 2026-10-02 |
| Memary | 2.7k | +12 | 2024-10-18 |
| MemOS | 11.7k | +225 | 2026-09-22 |
| Graphiti | 31.4k | +780 | 2026-09-30 |
| Cognee | 31.3k | +2,637 | 2026-10-01 |
| OpenViking | 39.1k | +1,095 | 2026-10-02 |
| GraphRAG | 36.2k | +195 | 2026-09-23 |
| Casibase | 5.7k | +190 | 2026-10-01 |
1. Semantica
Graph-Native Infrastructure for Context and Accountable AI Systems
What sets it apart: Graph-native infrastructure with baked-in decision provenance for explainable, traceable AI systems in regulated domains.
Best for: developers building context-aware AI systems; enterprises needing explainable AI; regulated domains requiring traceability
2. Memary
The Open Source Memory Layer For Autonomous Agents
What sets it apart: vs LangChain Memory / Mem0: graph-database-backed memory system emulating human memory (breadth + depth tracking) — agents automatically build and query knowledge graphs rather than flat conversation history
Best for: Building persistent, context-aware AI agents with evolving memory; User preference tracking and personalization across sessions; Multi-user agent management with separate knowledge contexts
3. MemOS
Memory OS for LLMs and AI agents with graph-structured, multimodal storage and retrieval
What sets it apart: Provides a unified memory operating system with graph-structured memory that's inspectable and editable, not just a black-box embedding store.
Best for: AI agents needing long-term memory; multi-agent collaboration systems; developers building context-aware agents
4. Graphiti
Build Real-Time Knowledge Graphs for AI Agents
What sets it apart: Builds temporal graphs that track what's true now and what was true before, unlike static knowledge graphs.
Best for: Agents needing evolving, real-world context; Applications requiring structured context over flat chunks; Tracking provenance and relationships over time
5. Cognee
Knowledge Engine for AI Agent Memory in 6 lines of code
What sets it apart: Unlike Mem0 (conversation memory) or Chroma (pure vector search), Cognee builds an evolving knowledge graph from documents, combining vector + graph search with cognitive science approaches, ontology grounding, and cross-agent knowledge sharing — making it AI memory infrastructure rather than just a vector database.
Best for: AI agent developers who need persistent, learning memory that combines vector search with knowledge graph relationships; Enterprise use cases requiring tenant isolation, audit trails, and cross-agent knowledge sharing
6. OpenViking
Self-evolving Context Database for AI Agents. Unify Agent Memory, Knowledge RAG and Skills.
What sets it apart: Organizes agent context as an inspectable virtual filesystem with URI addresses instead of a black-box embedding store.
Best for: Developers needing structured agent memory; Projects requiring inspectable and editable agent knowledge; Teams wanting a unified filesystem for agent context
7. GraphRAG
A modular graph-based Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system
What sets it apart: Uses knowledge graph memory structures rather than traditional vector search for enhanced LLM context retrieval.
Best for: enhancing LLM reasoning with private data; creating structured knowledge graphs from documents; research projects exploring graph-based RAG
8. Casibase
Open-source AI knowledge base and MCP/A2A management platform with admin UI, user management, and SSO
What sets it apart: vs other knowledge base platforms: Enterprise-grade open-source AI Cloud OS with built-in SSO (Casdoor), admin UI, MCP/A2A agent management, and support for 10+ LLM providers out of the box
Best for: Enterprise teams needing a self-hosted AI knowledge base with admin UI; Organizations requiring SSO and user management for AI chatbots; Multi-model AI platform deployment with MCP/A2A support
FAQ
- What are the best alternatives to OpenMetadata?
- The closest open-source alternatives to OpenMetadata are Semantica, Memary and MemOS, followed by Graphiti, Cognee and OpenViking. They are ranked by how closely they match what OpenMetadata does.
- Which OpenMetadata alternative is the most popular?
- OpenViking has the most GitHub stars among OpenMetadata alternatives, with 39,127 stars.
- Which OpenMetadata alternative is the most actively maintained?
- By recent activity, Cognee (2,427 commits in the last 90 days) is the most actively developed alternative.