Scira

Open source alternative to Perplexity AI, Algolia and Google Cloud Vertex AI Search

11.9K stars
AGPL-3.0
Active recently
Last commit 70 days ago

Last verified Oct 17, 2026

Search the web with cited AI answers from a self-hosted AGPL engine. Best for builders who want a Perplexity-style workflow they can inspect.

Visit website GitHub11.9K Deploy on Hostinger

Read the full breakdownWho it is for, how it works, trade-offs and the FAQ

who it's for

Who Scira is for#

Developers studying AI search UX

Scira fits builders who want to inspect an answer engine with source presentation and search-first interaction.

Skip if:

Skip it if you need a polished managed research product for nontechnical staff.

Teams prototyping internal answer search

Teams can adapt Scira concepts for internal knowledge or public-source search experiments.

Skip if:

Use a managed enterprise search product if governance, permissions, and support are required now.

the problem

The problem it solves#

AI answer engines are useful, but closed systems hide retrieval choices, ranking behavior, prompt construction, and model routing. That makes them hard to trust or adapt when search answers become part of a product workflow.

Builders need to see how sources are collected and presented, especially when citations, freshness, and failure modes matter.

how Scira solves it

How it solves it#

AI search interface

Scira presents a search-first answer experience rather than a blank chatbot, helping users start from source-backed queries.

Source-focused answers

The product emphasizes answers with sources, which is important when readers need to verify what the model produced.

Self-hostable AGPL codebase

Public AGPL-3.0 code gives developers a path to inspect and adapt the retrieval and answer workflow.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

Inspectable answer pipelineScira is useful for builders who want to understand the moving parts behind AI search instead of relying only on a hosted answer engine.
Good learning base for AI search productsThe repository gives product developers a concrete AI search implementation to study before building their own experience.

Trade-offs

-Search quality depends on providersAI search depends on retrieval sources, model choices, latency, and rate limits. Self-hosting code does not guarantee Perplexity-level results.
-Hosted-service license reviewTeams modifying and offering Scira over a network should review AGPL source-sharing requirements.

tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages: TypeScript
Frameworks: Next.jsReact
Databases: PostgreSQL
Infrastructure: AWS
Cache: Redis

frequently asked

FAQ#

Is Scira open source?

Yes. Scira is AGPL-3.0 licensed.

Is Scira a Perplexity alternative?

Scira can serve as an open-source AI search alternative for builders, but managed products may still offer stronger hosted polish and reliability.

Can Scira be self-hosted?

The public repository gives developers the code needed to inspect and run the project, subject to its documented setup.

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by category

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Self-host Scira on a Hostinger VPS.

Deploy on Hostinger

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Who Scira is for#