# Best open source software for law firms > For a law firm, a self-hosted stack starts with docassemble for document assembly, Docuseal for e-signatures and Paperless-ngx for document management. 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 software for law firms? | | Picks | 16 | | Top pick | docassemble (989 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-law-firms | Legal work runs on documents. This stack covers guided document assembly, e-signatures, document management, secure file sharing, client intake forms and time billing. ## Document assembly - [docassemble](https://appsgit.com/apps/docassemble) (989 stars, MIT, JavaScript, Docker): docassemble has 989 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 253 commits in the last year. ## 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. - [OpenSign](https://appsgit.com/apps/opensign) (7,058 stars, AGPL-3.0, JavaScript, Docker): OpenSign has 7,058 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 77 commits in the last year; it replaces DocuSign. ## Document management - [Paperless-ngx](https://appsgit.com/apps/paperless-ngx) (46,308 stars, GPL-3.0, Python, Docker, AI features): Paperless-ngx has 46,308 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,625 commits in the last year. - [Papra](https://appsgit.com/apps/papra) (5,539 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Papra has 5,539 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 685 commits in the last year. - [Papermerge](https://appsgit.com/apps/papermerge) (542 stars, Apache-2.0, Python, Docker): Papermerge has 542 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 193 commits in the last year. - [Docspell](https://appsgit.com/apps/docspell) (2,333 stars, AGPL-3.0, Elm, Docker): Docspell has 2,333 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 77 commits in the last year. ## Secure file sharing - [Nextcloud](https://appsgit.com/apps/nextcloud) (37,003 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP): Nextcloud has 37,003 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 7,289 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Drive and Dropbox. - [Seafile](https://appsgit.com/apps/seafile) (15,307 stars, GPL-2.0, C): Seafile has 15,307 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 39 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Drive and Dropbox. - [CryptPad](https://appsgit.com/apps/cryptpad) (7,989 stars, AGPL-3.0, JavaScript, Docker): CryptPad has 7,989 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 477 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Docs and Google Workspace. ## Client intake - [Formbricks](https://appsgit.com/apps/formbricks) (13,065 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Formbricks has 13,065 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,403 commits in the last year; it replaces Typeform and Google Forms. - [OpnForm](https://appsgit.com/apps/opnform) (3,783 stars, AGPL-3.0, PHP, Docker): OpnForm has 3,783 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 292 commits in the last year; it replaces Typeform and Google Forms. ## Time and billing - [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. - [Invoice Ninja](https://appsgit.com/apps/invoice-ninja) (10,223 stars, Elastic-2.0, source-available, PHP, Docker): Invoice Ninja has 10,223 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 2,002 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Xero. ## 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. - Source-available apps are labelled; they are not open source, so read their licenses before commercial use. ## FAQ ### What is docassemble? Docassemble is a system for guided interviews and document assembly based on Python, YAML and Markdown. It is commonly used to build interviews that produce documents from a client's answers. ### Is self-hosting good for client confidentiality? It keeps client files on servers the firm controls rather than a vendor's cloud. Confidentiality still depends on access control, encryption, backups and your professional rules; this is not legal advice. ### Is docassemble free? Yes. docassemble is open-source software released under the MIT 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 16 apps here publish Docker images, including docassemble, Docuseal and Documenso, 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 lawyers?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-law-firms) - [What is the best open source HR and recruiting software?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-hr) - [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) ## See also - [All polls, surveys & events apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/polls-events) - [All document management apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/document-management) - [All file sync & storage apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/file-sync-storage) - [All office suites apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/office-suites) - [Open-source alternatives to DocuSign](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/docusign) - [Open-source alternatives to Adobe Acrobat](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/adobe-acrobat) - [Open-source alternatives to Google Drive](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/google-drive) - [Open-source alternatives to Dropbox](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/dropbox) - [Open-source alternatives to Google Docs](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/google-docs) - [Open-source alternatives to Google Workspace](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/google-workspace) - [Paperless-ngx vs Docspell](https://appsgit.com/compare/paperless-ngx-vs-docspell) - [Nextcloud vs Seafile](https://appsgit.com/compare/nextcloud-vs-seafile) - [Nextcloud vs ownCloud](https://appsgit.com/compare/nextcloud-vs-owncloud) - [Nextcloud vs Syncthing](https://appsgit.com/compare/nextcloud-vs-syncthing) - [Akaunting vs Invoice Ninja](https://appsgit.com/compare/akaunting-vs-invoice-ninja) - [How to self-host Paperless-ngx with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/paperless-ngx) - [How to self-host Nextcloud with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/nextcloud) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-law-firms 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.