Dify

Dify is an open-source platform for building and operating LLM applications, combining a visual workflow builder, RAG pipeline manager, agent builder, and model management into a single self-hostable platform. It positions itself as a complete 'LLMOps' platform — covering the full lifecycle from development to deployment to monitoring.

Dify's workflow builder uses a node-based interface similar to n8n but designed specifically for AI applications. Workflows can include LLM calls, knowledge retrieval, conditional branches, HTTP requests, code execution (Python/JavaScript), template rendering, and variable management. This makes it flexible enough for both simple chatbots and complex multi-step AI processes.

The RAG pipeline is one of Dify's strongest features. The knowledge management system handles document upload (PDF, DOCX, TXT, web scraping), chunking (automatic or custom), embedding generation, and vector storage with built-in support for multiple vector databases. The ETL pipeline includes text cleaning, segmentation configuration, and metadata management — production features that other visual builders often lack.

Dify supports an impressive range of models: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Azure, local models via Ollama, and many more through its model provider system. The model management interface lets you configure, test, and switch between providers without modifying applications.

The platform includes a built-in annotation and evaluation system for monitoring application quality. You can mark model outputs as good or bad, which feeds into quality metrics and can be used for future optimization.

Dify is available as a cloud service (dify.ai) and as a self-hosted Docker deployment. The open-source version includes all core features.

Honest assessment: Dify is the most complete open-source LLMOps platform available. It covers territory that typically requires combining 3-4 separate tools: workflow building (Flowise), RAG management (custom code), model management (custom config), and monitoring (LangSmith). For teams that want a single self-hosted platform for the full LLM application lifecycle, Dify offers exceptional value. The tradeoff is that being a platform (not a framework) means less flexibility for deeply custom architectures.