Dify

Dify is an open-source LLM application platform that provides a complete visual studio for building, deploying, and managing AI applications. It combines prompt orchestration, RAG, agent capabilities, and workflow automation in a single platform.

Key use cases include:

• Building production chatbots with built-in conversation management and user interfaces
• Visual workflow orchestration — design complex LLM pipelines with a drag-and-drop canvas
• RAG applications — upload documents and build knowledge-based Q&A without code
• Prompt management — version, test, and deploy prompts with built-in IDE
• Agent creation — build tool-using agents with web search, code execution, and API calls
• API-first deployment — every app gets an API endpoint plus an optional embeddable chat widget

Dify is used by teams who want a complete platform for AI application development without stitching together multiple tools. It is particularly popular among teams building internal AI tools quickly.

Available as Dify Cloud (hosted) or self-hosted via Docker with full control over data.

1. Self-host (recommended for data control):

   git clone https://github.com/langgenius/dify.git
   cd dify/docker
   docker compose up -d

2. Or sign up at cloud.dify.ai for the hosted version.
3. Open the dashboard, navigate to Settings > Model Providers and add your LLM API keys (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.).
4. Create a new application:
   • Choose app type: Chatbot, Text Generator, Agent, or Workflow
   • Configure the prompt, knowledge base, and tools
   • Click Publish to get an API endpoint and chat interface

Pricing: Self-hosting is free and open source. Dify Cloud offers a free sandbox tier, with paid plans starting at $59/month. See dify.ai/pricing.