Onyx
Ranked 2 of 9 chat interfaces by recommenders
Open-source AI chat platform praised for enterprise security, SSO, many connectors and a polished UX. Critics say it uses a lot of resources and install size.
Open-source AI chat platform praised for enterprise security, SSO, many connectors and a polished UX. Critics say it uses a lot of resources and install size.
49 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 32
- criticize it
- 17
- approval share
- 65%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 32 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Open-source MIT version used widely
“MIT == OpenSource. Pricing == Sustainable. That's a horse worth backing IMO.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “the chat product should be completely open-source and free (forever)”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “Most deployments of Onyx are using the pure FOSS version of Onyx.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” - Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI”
Connectors and RAG drive adoption
“Larger connector suite. As soon as one key source isn't connected, the trustworthiness of the system is dramatically decreased.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “RAG + connectors is a huge reason why people deploy Onyx”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “This has both APIs as well as connectors.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” Enterprise security with polished UX
“It’s rare to see an open-source AI platform nail both enterprise-grade security (RBAC, SSO, 40+ connectors) and a truly polished UX.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “rare to see an open-source AI platform nail both enterprise-grade security (RBAC, SSO, 40+ connectors) and a truly polished UX”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” Flexible, no model lock-in
“Outside of pure security, we've seen many choose Onyx for flexibility + connectedness.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “No model lock-in / ability to use the ideal model for each use case.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Heavy resource and install footprint
“All of those services take up a lot of resources, especially compared to the alternatives.”
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “I understand that a Vector database requires significant resources to run, but I wish there was a version without it.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “what's with the trend of open source projects providing such bloated installs?”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” Crowded field of alternatives
“Something like this has a very limited shelf life as a product”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “there's a million other project just like this one, many that are much more advanced and mature”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” Name clashes with ONNX
“although spelled differently onyx vs onnx, that's already used and known in the ML/AI community?”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “That the pronunciation is identical makes it untenable, you really need to reconsider the name”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” Questioned licensing and open-source claims
“If you tack on these faux-pen source VC licenses and complicate things, you're signaling dishonesty and dark patterns.”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI” “What is it with these Chat apps having strange and not-real open source licenses?”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Launch HN: Onyx (YC W24) – Open-source chat UI”
Other chat interfaces people recommend
The four most recommended other chat interfaces, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open WebUI | 71 | 37 | 66% | 12 | 3 mo3 owners | — |
| OnyxThis page | 32 | 17 | 65% | 9 | — | — |
| Mozilla Thunderbolt | 21 | 51 | 29% | 6 | — | — |
| LibreChat | 12 | 2 | 86% | 7 | — | Approved |
| SillyTavern | 8 | 4 | 67% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 67 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“via Onyx AI, which I also have running with everything else on local box running microK8s”
“if you hook up a local model to GPT Researcher or Onyx frontend, you will see reasonable performance”
“All of those services take up a lot of resources, especially compared to the alternatives.”
“I have been using onyx for years and quite happy with it.”
“i don't think lock-in is relevant at all unless the activity performed with the tool is highly strategic to the company”
“what's with the trend of open source projects providing such bloated installs?”
“in our internal benchmarks they compare pretty favorable to the native versions”
“No model lock-in / ability to use the ideal model for each use case.”
“I understand that a Vector database requires significant resources to run, but I wish there was a version without it.”
“rare to see an open-source AI platform nail both enterprise-grade security (RBAC, SSO, 40+ connectors) and a truly polished UX”
“It’s rare to see an open-source AI platform nail both enterprise-grade security (RBAC, SSO, 40+ connectors) and a truly polished UX.”
“so something like "find me all the open source chat options" will work well with Onyx, but not so well with other options”
“We have a number of users who do something like that”
“It's never too late to refine a common idea and take it to the next level.”
“For an AI-powered research assistant, Onyx might just work out of the box.”
“Not wanting to use Vercel is honestly a good enough reason”
“the chat product should be completely open-source and free (forever)”
“Look neat. FYI clicking "See All Connectors" is a 404.”
“"Agents" is a particular area where we feel like we're better than the alternatives”
“Your _See All Connectors_ button on the homepage is 404ing.”
“Larger connector suite. As soon as one key source isn't connected, the trustworthiness of the system is dramatically decreased.”
“This has both APIs as well as connectors.”
“Something like this has a very limited shelf life as a product”
“That the pronunciation is identical makes it untenable, you really need to reconsider the name”
“If you tack on these faux-pen source VC licenses and complicate things, you're signaling dishonesty and dark patterns.”
“There's no license restriction on white-labeling, so we've seen lots of companies do that.”
“Outside of pure security, we've seen many choose Onyx for flexibility + connectedness.”
“I've never heard anyone say that hooking up 3rd party llms to anything was any way secure.”
“many large (>1k+) teams using just the open-source version”
“MIT == OpenSource. Pricing == Sustainable. That's a horse worth backing IMO.”
“What is it with these Chat apps having strange and not-real open source licenses?”
“will work well with Onyx, but not so well with other options”
“although spelled differently onyx vs onnx, that's already used and known in the ML/AI community?”
“It's nice to see a competitor in the field following similar "OSS Friends" principles”
“Our goal is to make sure Onyx is the most advanced and mature option out there.”
“I hear good things about Onyx and I have heard that some enterprises are already using it”
“there's a million other project just like this one, many that are much more advanced and mature”
“RAG + connectors is a huge reason why people deploy Onyx”
“it was clearly full of features ticked off a list that nobody has actually tried to use”
“Most deployments of Onyx are using the pure FOSS version of Onyx.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.