# KoboldCpp vs TextGen

> KoboldCpp scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against TextGen's 45.1 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Both do local inference. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-text-generation-webui
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-text-generation-webui.md (~2,550 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-text-generation-webui.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-text-generation-webui.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

KoboldCpp scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against TextGen's 45.1 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Both do local inference.

- KoboldCpp: grade C, 60.5/100, rank #462 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/koboldcpp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/koboldcpp.json
- TextGen: grade E, 45.1/100, rank #775 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/text-generation-webui.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/text-generation-webui.json

## Which one, for what

### KoboldCpp (C)

Good for: An owner who wants text, image, speech and music models behind one executable with a writing and roleplay interface, and clients that speak the KoboldAI, OpenAI, Ollama or Anthropic formats.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 51
- Schema & documentation, 68 against 61
- Agent ergonomics, 63 against 50
- Maintenance & community, 82 against 24

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- No incidents deducted, where TextGen loses 4 points for them

Watch for: With no `--host` the server accepts connections on all routable interfaces, and no password is set by default

### TextGen (E)

Good for: A person who wants one app for several backends (llama.cpp, ExLlamaV3, Transformers) with an OpenAI and Anthropic-compatible endpoint, LoRA training and image generation.

Watch for: No release since v4.9 on 20 May 2026 and no code commit on `main` or `dev` since 31 May 2026


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | KoboldCpp | TextGen | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 51 | KoboldCpp +17 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 68 | 61 | KoboldCpp +7 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 50 | KoboldCpp +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 38 | 40 | TextGen +2 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 24 | KoboldCpp +58 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 49 | 49 | even |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **60.5 · C** | **45.1 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | KoboldCpp | TextGen |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | Model platform |
| Vendor | LostRuins (Concedo) | oobabooga |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | None | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 for KoboldCpp and KoboldAI Lite. The bundled GGML, llama.cpp and stable-diffusion.cpp code stays under MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-09-27 | 2026-05-20 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models |  |  |
| Terms restrict automated access |  |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  |  |
| Popularity | 12k stars | 48k stars |

## Verdicts

**KoboldCpp.** One file runs text, image, speech and music models behind a published OpenAPI 3.0.3 document, with eight releases in 90 days. The server listens on every interface with no password by default, and `--password` leaves the image routes open.

**TextGen.** AGPL-3.0 with no telemetry, and a local API on 127.0.0.1:5000 that checks the Host header, limits CORS to localhost and separates an admin key from the caller's key. No release since v4.9 on 20 May 2026, no code commits since 31 May, no test suite, and ten security advisories in the year, all fixed.

## Before you call either

### KoboldCpp

1. Start with `--host 127.0.0.1` and `--password`. The default listens on every interface with no key
2. Send the password as `Authorization: Bearer <password>`. It is not read from the query string
3. Treat 503 as both busy and rate limited. The server never sends 429 or `Retry-After`, and the wait in seconds is in `detail.msg`
4. Pass `max_length` or `max_tokens`. The default is 2,048 tokens unless `--defaultgenamt` changes it
5. Send a `genkey` with each generation so `/api/extra/generate/check` and `/api/extra/abort` act on your request and not another caller's

### TextGen

1. Ask the owner to launch with `--api`. Nothing listens on port 5000 without it, and a model must be loaded first
2. Call `http://127.0.0.1:5000/v1`. Any Host header other than localhost or 127.0.0.1 gets 400 `Invalid host header` unless `--listen` is set
3. Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer` on OpenAI routes and as `x-api-key` on `/v1/messages`. Model loading needs the admin key
4. Read `http://127.0.0.1:5000/docs` or `modules/api/typing.py` for parameters. `max_tokens` defaults to 512 on chat completions
5. Run tool calls yourself. The API returns `finish_reason: "tool_calls"` and executes nothing on the server
6. Use the repository name `oobabooga/textgen`. The old `text-generation-webui` URL redirects

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, KoboldCpp or TextGen?

KoboldCpp scores 60.5 (C) on agent readiness against TextGen's 45.1 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories.

### Can an agent call KoboldCpp and TextGen without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for KoboldCpp. No hosted endpoint is listed for TextGen.

### Are KoboldCpp and TextGen open source?

Yes. KoboldCpp is open source (AGPL-3.0 for KoboldCpp and KoboldAI Lite. The bundled GGML, llama.cpp and stable-diffusion.cpp code stays under MIT). TextGen is open source (AGPL-3.0).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-text-generation-webui.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-text-generation-webui.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "koboldcpp", "b": "text-generation-webui"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare koboldcpp text-generation-webui`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/koboldcpp.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/text-generation-webui.json

## Other comparisons with KoboldCpp or TextGen

- [AnythingLLM vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-koboldcpp.md)
- [AnythingLLM vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-koboldcpp.md)
- [Docker Model Runner vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [Foundry Local vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-koboldcpp.md)
- [Foundry Local vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foundry-local-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [Core vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-koboldcpp.md)
- [Core vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-core-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [GPT4All vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-koboldcpp.md)
- [GPT4All vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt4all-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [Jan vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-koboldcpp.md)
- [Jan vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jan-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [Khoj vs KoboldCpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-koboldcpp.md)
- [Khoj vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/khoj-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs Lemonade](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-lemonade.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs llama.cpp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-llama-cpp.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs LM Studio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-lm-studio.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs LocalAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-localai.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs MLX LM](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-mlx-lm.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs Ollama](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-ollama.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs Open WebUI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-open-webui.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs screenpipe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-screenpipe.md)
- [Lemonade vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lemonade-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [llama.cpp vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/llama-cpp-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [LM Studio vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [LocalAI vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/localai-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [MLX LM vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mlx-lm-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [Ollama vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ollama-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [Open WebUI vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/open-webui-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [screenpipe vs TextGen](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/screenpipe-vs-text-generation-webui.md)
- [KoboldCpp vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/koboldcpp-vs-underdog.md)
- [TextGen vs Underdog](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/text-generation-webui-vs-underdog.md)