# Best open source apps written in Ruby

> The best self-hosted apps written in Ruby are Mastodon, Discourse and Chatwoot. Mastodon leads with 50,353 GitHub stars. Candidates: the 39 apps whose main GitHub language is Ruby.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Question | What are the best self-hosted apps written in Ruby? |
| Picks | 12 |
| Top pick | Mastodon (50,353 stars) |
| Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-apps-in-ruby |

## Ranked picks

- [Mastodon](https://appsgit.com/apps/mastodon) (50,353 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby, Docker): Mastodon has 50,353 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 2,689 commits in the last year; it replaces Twitter / X.
- [Discourse](https://appsgit.com/apps/discourse) (47,933 stars, GPL-2.0, Ruby, Docker): Discourse has 47,933 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 6,794 commits in the last year; it replaces Reddit.
- [Chatwoot](https://appsgit.com/apps/chatwoot) (37,569 stars, MIT, Ruby, Docker): Chatwoot has 37,569 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 1,379 commits in the last year; it replaces Zendesk and Intercom.
- [GitLab](https://appsgit.com/apps/gitlab) (24,555 stars, MIT, Ruby, Docker): GitLab has 24,555 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 2,397 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub Actions / CircleCI.
- [Huginn](https://appsgit.com/apps/huginn) (50,023 stars, MIT, Ruby): Huginn has 50,023 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, is written in Ruby and had 375 commits in the last year; it replaces Zapier and IFTTT.
- [Docuseal](https://appsgit.com/apps/docuseal) (18,658 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby, Docker): Docuseal has 18,658 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 925 commits in the last year; it replaces DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat.
- [OpenProject](https://appsgit.com/apps/openproject) (16,321 stars, GPL-3.0, Ruby, Docker): OpenProject has 16,321 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 16,144 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana.
- [Dawarich](https://appsgit.com/apps/dawarich) (10,597 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby, Docker): Dawarich has 10,597 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 3,004 commits in the last year; it replaces Strava.
- [Sure](https://appsgit.com/apps/sure) (10,402 stars, AGPL-3.0, Ruby, Docker): Sure has 10,402 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 1,851 commits in the last year.
- [Spree Commerce](https://appsgit.com/apps/spree-commerce) (15,740 stars, BSD-3-Clause, Ruby): Spree Commerce has 15,740 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, is written in Ruby and had 3,489 commits in the last year; it replaces Shopify.
- [Solidus](https://appsgit.com/apps/solidus) (5,336 stars, BSD-3-Clause, Ruby, Docker): Solidus has 5,336 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 671 commits in the last year.
- [Postal](https://appsgit.com/apps/postal) (16,854 stars, MIT, Ruby, Docker): Postal has 16,854 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 18 commits in the last year; it replaces Twilio SendGrid and Mailgun.

## How this list was made

- Candidates: the 39 apps whose main GitHub language is Ruby.
- Base score: GitHub stars on a log scale plus commits in the last 12 months (log scale, capped at 1,000).
- Bonus points for a published Docker image, an OSI-approved open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.
- The language is GitHub's detection for the repository; many projects also use other languages.

## FAQ

### Is Mastodon free?

Yes. Mastodon is open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

### Can I self-host these apps with Docker?

Yes, 10 of the 12 picks. Mastodon, Discourse and Chatwoot publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

### Are all of these apps open source?

All 12 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

### Which of these apps is the most actively developed?

OpenProject, with 16,144 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v17.9.1, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

## Related questions

- [What are the best MIT-licensed self-hosted apps?](https://appsgit.com/best/mit-licensed-self-hosted-apps)
- [What are the best AGPL-licensed self-hosted apps?](https://appsgit.com/best/agpl-self-hosted-apps)
- [What are the best self-hosted apps for beginners?](https://appsgit.com/best/docker-self-hosted-apps-for-beginners)
- [What are the best source-available self-hosted apps?](https://appsgit.com/best/source-available-apps)
- [What are the trending GitHub projects right now?](https://appsgit.com/best/trending-github-projects)
- [What is the best open source PDF editor you can self-host?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-pdf-tools)
- [What is the best open source YouTube downloader?](https://appsgit.com/best/youtube-downloaders)
- [What is the best free, open source invoice generator?](https://appsgit.com/best/invoice-generators)

## See also

- [Open-source alternatives to Twitter / X](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/twitter)
- [Open-source alternatives to Reddit](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/reddit)
- [Open-source alternatives to Zendesk](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/zendesk)
- [Open-source alternatives to Intercom](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/intercom)
- [Open-source alternatives to Freshdesk](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/freshdesk)
- [Open-source alternatives to GitHub Actions / CircleCI](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/github-actions)
- [Chatwoot vs Zammad](https://appsgit.com/compare/chatwoot-vs-zammad)
- [Gitea vs GitLab](https://appsgit.com/compare/gitea-vs-gitlab)
- [n8n vs Huginn](https://appsgit.com/compare/n8n-vs-huginn)
- [How to self-host GitLab with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/gitlab)

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Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-apps-in-ruby
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