At a glance
Sources: Paperless-ngx configuration,
Papra configuration, and
Docspell prerequisites.
Feature snapshot
Legend: ✅ documented as shipped · ◐ partial or different shape · ➖ not documented as shippedIngest and extraction
Sources: Paperless-ngx usage,
Papra features,
Papra folder ingestion, and
Docspell features.
Organization and automation
Paperless and Papra have broader AI surfaces than earlier versions of this
page stated. See the Paperless-ngx FAQ
and Papra auto-tagging guide.
API and access
Sources: Paperless-ngx API,
Papra API reference,
Papra v26.5.0 changelog, and
Docspell API. Docspell explicitly lists
fine-grained permissions as a limitation.
Resource profile
The suchi release benchmark measures a 25.5 MB stripped binary, 31.9 MB median idle RSS, 86 ms cold start to/healthz, and 625 accepted upload requests/s in
the 10-user x 20-document scenario. Upload acceptance is measured separately
from asynchronous extraction. See
hack/bench/
for the harness and machine details.
This project has not run equivalent controlled benchmarks for the alternatives,
so it does not publish comparative RAM, image-size, startup, or throughput
figures. Container size and idle memory are not interchangeable with total
operational cost.
Choosing deliberately
Paperless-ngx
Choose Paperless-ngx when ecosystem maturity, mobile clients, extensive documentation, PDF editing, and a broad workflow surface matter more than minimizing process count. SQLite is available by default; PostgreSQL is recommended for larger or multi-user installations. A Redis-compatible broker is required.Papra
Choose Papra for a focused modern UI, organizations, SQLite-first deployment, folder and email-relay ingestion, configurable extraction backends, built-in LLM auto-tagging, and expiring or password-protected share links. Papra’s feature landing page lagged its v26.5.0 changelog at this snapshot, so the shipped changelog takes precedence here.Docspell
Choose Docspell for multi-file items, strong query capabilities, scalable REST and joex processes, IMAP integration, and optional Solr or PostgreSQL full-text search. Its embedded H2 setup avoids an external database, but fine-grained permissions and document versioning are documented limitations.suchi
Choose suchi when one process, a filesystem CAS, low measured idle memory, Johnny.Decimal presets, multi-party correspondents, approval tasks, an audit feed, and MCP tools fit the problem. Do not choose it for ecosystem maturity or proven compatibility with existing Paperless mobile clients; v0.1 remains a beta.Portability
- Paperless-ngx to suchi:
suchi import --from <dir>consumes a compatible Paperless export bundle. - suchi takeout:
suchi export --out FILE.zip --system S02writes a partial manifest-v2 export of one existing system’s originals, sidecars and taxonomy. Omission targets the original system;--allincludes all owners only there. Reingestion can allocate new IDs and does not restore membership or ACLs. - suchi backup: preserve the whole SQLite/CAS/key set for an exact restore of systems, memberships, IDs and relationships; see Backup and restore.
- suchi to another DMS: there is no destination-specific exporter. The takeout is documented and uses ordinary files plus JSON sidecars, but mapping it into another product remains migration work.
Update history
- 2026-08-22: Re-ran the release benchmark and rechecked the linked feature documentation against the current product surfaces.
- 2026-08-18: Rechecked official documentation; corrected database, full-text search, audit, sharing, permissions, OCR, LLM, and licensing claims. Removed unmeasured performance estimates for other projects.
- 2026-08-05: Initial version.