4 jobs · 15 apps
Best open source software for manufacturing
For a manufacturer, a self-hosted stack starts with Carbon for production planning, Inventree for parts and stock and Octoprint for machine control. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026.
Manufacturing software from the catalog: manufacturing ERP and MES, parts and inventory, 3D printer and CNC control, IoT and monitoring.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Carbon
crbnos/carbon
Manufacturing ERP, MES and QMS: quoting, MRP, inventory, shop floor and quality tracking on one Postgres schema.
ERP & InventoryTypeScriptDockerCarbon has 2,686 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,990 commits in the last year; it replaces SAP Business One.
- Rank 2:
Odoo
odoo/odoo
Free open source ERP system.
ERP & InventoryPythonDockerOdoo has 54,848 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 10,679 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Square POS.
- Rank 3:
ERPNext
frappe/erpnext
ERP system to help you run your business.
ERP & InventoryPythonDockerERPNext has 39,821 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,664 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Square POS.
1 of 4 · 4 picks
Manufacturing ERP
- 1
Carbon
Manufacturing ERP, MES and QMS: quoting, MRP, inventory, shop floor and quality tracking on one Postgres schema.
ERP & InventoryDockerCarbon has 2,686 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,990 commits in the last year; it replaces SAP Business One.
- 2
Odoo
Free open source ERP system.
ERP & InventoryDockerOdoo has 54,848 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 10,679 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Square POS.
- 3
ERPNext
ERP system to help you run your business.
ERP & InventoryDockerERPNext has 39,821 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,664 commits in the last year; it replaces QuickBooks and Square POS.
- 4
metasfresh
Java ERP for companies in industry and trade, with a React web UI, a REST API and weekly stable releases.
ERP & InventoryDockermetasfresh has 2,442 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 / GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 4,856 commits in the last year; it replaces NetSuite and SAP Business One.
2 of 4 · 3 picks
Parts and inventory
- 1
Inventree
Inventory management system which provides intuitive parts management and stock control.
ERP & InventoryInventree has 7,671 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,172 commits in the last year.
- 2
Part-DB
Inventory management system for your electronic components.
ERP & InventoryDockerPart-DB has 1,787 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 977 commits in the last year.
- 3
Spoolman
Keep track of your inventory of 3D-printer filament spools.
ERP & InventoryDockerSpoolman has 2,883 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 649 commits in the last year.
3 of 4 · 5 picks
3D printing and CNC
- 1
Octoprint
Snappy web interface for controlling consumer 3D printers.
Manufacturing & AgricultureDockerOctoprint has 9,120 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 641 commits in the last year.
- 2
Mainsail
Modern and responsive user interface for the Klipper 3D printer firmware. Control and monitor your printer from everywhere, from any device.
Manufacturing & AgricultureDockerMainsail has 2,220 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 311 commits in the last year.
- 3
Fluidd
Lightweight & responsive user interface for Klipper, the 3D printer firmware.
Manufacturing & AgricultureDockerFluidd has 1,838 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 348 commits in the last year.
- 4
CNCjs
Web interface for CNC milling controllers running Grbl, Smoothieware, or TinyG.
Manufacturing & AgricultureCNCjs has 2,647 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 49 commits in the last year.
- 5
LinuxCNC
Linux based CNC machine controller. It can drive milling machines, lathes, 3D printers, laser cutters, plasma cutters, robot arms, hexapods, and more.
Manufacturing & AgricultureLinuxCNC has 2,480 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 1,428 commits in the last year.
4 of 4 · 3 picks
IoT and monitoring
- 1
Node RED
Browser-based flow editor that helps you wiring hardware devices, APIs and online services to create IoT solutions.
Home Automation & IoTDockerNode RED has 23,716 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 684 commits in the last year; it replaces Zapier and IFTTT.
- 2
Thingsboard
IoT Platform - Device management, data collection, processing and visualization.
Source-availableHome Automation & IoTDockerThingsboard has 22,512 GitHub stars, is source-available under the BSL 1.1 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 3,539 commits in the last year.
- 3
Grafana
Dashboards and visualization for metrics, logs and traces from Prometheus, Loki and dozens of other sources.
Monitoring & Status PagesDockerGrafana has 77,096 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 11,362 commits in the last year; it replaces Datadog and Grafana Cloud.
What is the best open source software for manufacturing?
For a manufacturer, a self-hosted stack starts with Carbon for production planning, Inventree for parts and stock and Octoprint for machine control. Each pick was chosen by hand for its job and is shown with GitHub data from October 2026.
Is there an open source MES?
Carbon describes itself as a manufacturing ERP, MES and QMS covering quoting, MRP, inventory, shop floor and quality tracking. Odoo and ERPNext also cover manufacturing as part of a wider ERP.
Is Carbon free?
Yes. Carbon 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 run this stack with Docker?
12 of the 15 apps here publish Docker images, including Carbon, Odoo and ERPNext, 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.
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