# Best open source HR and recruiting software > For an HR team, a self-hosted stack starts with Frappe HR for employee records, Kimai for time tracking and BookStack for the employee handbook. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source HR and recruiting software? | | Picks | 15 | | Top pick | Frappe HR (8,879 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-hr | HR software from the catalog: HR management systems (OrangeHRM and Horilla list recruitment among their features), time tracking, onboarding docs, e-signatures and accounts. ## HR management (HRMS) - [Frappe HR](https://appsgit.com/apps/frappe-hr) (8,879 stars, GPL-3.0, Python, Docker): Frappe HR has 8,879 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,742 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday. - [OrangeHRM](https://appsgit.com/apps/orangehrm) (1,148 stars, GPL-3.0, PHP, Docker): OrangeHRM has 1,148 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 38 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday. - [Horilla](https://appsgit.com/apps/horilla) (1,451 stars, LGPL-2.1, HTML, Docker): Horilla has 1,451 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-2.1 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,014 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday. - [Ever Gauzy](https://appsgit.com/apps/ever-gauzy) (8,194 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Ever Gauzy has 8,194 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,967 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday. - [MintHCM](https://appsgit.com/apps/minthcm) (438 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP): MintHCM has 438 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 43 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday. ## Time tracking - [Kimai](https://appsgit.com/apps/kimai) (5,057 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP): Kimai has 5,057 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 223 commits in the last year. - [solidtime](https://appsgit.com/apps/solidtime) (8,965 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP, Docker): solidtime has 8,965 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 402 commits in the last year. ## Onboarding and handbook - [BookStack](https://appsgit.com/apps/bookstack) (19,075 stars, MIT, PHP, Docker): BookStack has 19,075 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 435 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. - [docmost Community Edition](https://appsgit.com/apps/docmost-community-edition) (21,876 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): docmost Community Edition has 21,876 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 431 commits in the last year; it replaces Notion and Confluence. - [Wiki.js](https://appsgit.com/apps/wiki-js) (29,010 stars, AGPL-3.0, Vue, Docker): Wiki.js has 29,010 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 202 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence. ## Contracts and e-signatures - [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 and had 925 commits in the last year; it replaces DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat. - [Documenso](https://appsgit.com/apps/documenso) (15,336 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Documenso has 15,336 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 695 commits in the last year; it replaces DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat. ## Accounts - [Keycloak](https://appsgit.com/apps/keycloak) (37,156 stars, Apache-2.0, Java, Docker): Keycloak has 37,156 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,157 commits in the last year; it replaces Auth0 and Okta. - [authentik](https://appsgit.com/apps/authentik) (25,859 stars, MIT, Python, Docker): authentik has 25,859 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 5,375 commits in the last year; it replaces Auth0 and Okta. - [LLDAP](https://appsgit.com/apps/lldap) (6,546 stars, GPL-3.0, Rust, Docker): LLDAP has 6,546 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 87 commits in the last year. ## How this list was made - Apps were picked by hand from the appsgit catalog for each job, then checked against the snapshot: unknown or archived projects and projects with no commit in two years are dropped automatically. - Inside each section the curated order is kept, most broadly useful first; an app appears only once on the page. - Stars, license, Docker and activity facts come from the GitHub API as of October 2026. ## FAQ ### Is there an open source applicant tracking system? The catalog has no standalone ATS. OrangeHRM and Horilla list recruitment in their own descriptions, alongside employee records, leave and other HR modules. ### Is Frappe HR free? Yes. Frappe HR is open-source software released under the GPL-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 run this stack with Docker? 13 of the 15 apps here publish Docker images, including Frappe HR, OrangeHRM and Horilla, so most of the stack can run side by side with Docker Compose on one server. Size the server for the heaviest app and add off-site backups. ## Related questions - [What are the best open source AI tools for HR?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-hr) - [What is the best open source software for nonprofits?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-nonprofits) - [What is the best open source software for content creators?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-creators) - [What are the best open source AI tools for content creators?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-creators) - [What is the best open source software for a gaming community?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-gaming-communities) - [What is the best open source software for a smart home?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-smart-home) - [What are the best open source AI tools for a smart home?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-smart-home) - [What are the best open source apps for planning and tracking travel?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-apps-for-travel) ## See also - [All HR & time tracking apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/time-tracking) - [All wikis & knowledge bases apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/wikis-knowledge) - [All document management apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/document-management) - [All identity & SSO apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/identity-sso) - [Open-source alternatives to BambooHR](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/bamboohr) - [Open-source alternatives to Workday](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/workday) - [Open-source alternatives to Confluence](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/confluence) - [Open-source alternatives to Notion](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/notion) - [Open-source alternatives to DocuSign](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/docusign) - [Open-source alternatives to Adobe Acrobat](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/adobe-acrobat) - [Frappe HR vs OrangeHRM](https://appsgit.com/compare/frappe-hr-vs-orangehrm) - [BookStack vs Wiki.js](https://appsgit.com/compare/bookstack-vs-wiki-js) - [Keycloak vs authentik](https://appsgit.com/compare/keycloak-vs-authentik) - [Docmost vs Outline](https://appsgit.com/compare/docmost-community-edition-vs-outline) - [Outline vs Wiki.js](https://appsgit.com/compare/outline-vs-wiki-js) - [authentik vs Authelia](https://appsgit.com/compare/authentik-vs-authelia) - [How to self-host Authentik with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/authentik) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-hr Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly. Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.