Project management tools like Jira are essential in software development but often not well-loved. These tools can hinder developers by enforcing rigid processes. Despite being cluttered, Jira's high level of customization keeps it popular across industries.
While customization is a key strength, it can be implemented more effectively through open-source solutions.
With this in mind, I’ve compiled a list of open-source project management and issue-tracking tools to help you find the best fit for your needs.
- Tegon - The dev-first open-source alternative to Linear, Jira
- Taiga - The open source project management tool
- OpenProject - Open source project management for teams
- Huly - All-in-One Project Management Platform
- Plane - Open-source project management that unlocks customer value
Feel free to star and contribute to the repositories.
1. Tegon: The dev-first open-source alternative to Linear, Jira
I've used countless project management tools but was never fully satisfied with either the user experience or the features they offered.
That’s not the case with Tegon. It's simple, lightweight, and built to handle complex workflows with its powerful Tegon Actions framework, which automates repetitive tasks in issue tracking. Here are a few examples:
- Automatically assigning labels when issues are created
- Generating sub-issues for PR reviews as soon as a PR is opened
- Creating issues directly from Slack using the 👀 emoji
- Sending weekly summaries and changelogs of completed issues to Slack
Tegon also uses AI to suggest issue titles from descriptions and identify duplicate issues in the backlog.
Additionally, Tegon acts as an omni-channel bug reporting tool, allowing users to automatically create bugs from multiple sources, such as Slack, Email, Discord, Zendesk, and even WhatsApp.
Getting started with Tegon:
Step 1 - Install Docker on your workstation (see instructions). Make sure you’re on the latest version of docker-compose.
Step 2 - Run the following commands in your terminal:
git clone https://github.com/tegonhq/docker.git
cd docker
Step 3 - Create a .env file
cp .env.example .env
Step 4 - Run the start script and follow the prompts, They handle 2 major steps in start script setting up trigger.dev and setting up tegon for you.
./start.sh
Step 5 - You can now check tegon at http://localhost:8000
For more information, visit the official docs, and their website.
2. Taiga - The open source project management tool
Taiga on-premise hosting option is ideal for larger teams or multiple small teams that need to have all data on their own servers and/or want to customize Taiga:
- Easy to update
- Your choice of community contributions
- Translated to >20 languages
- Customize your installation
- Unparalleled security and control
The issue model of Taiga has 3 main characterstics:
Highly Flexible: The Issues Module can be used independently or alongside Scrum and KANBAN, making it a popular choice for teams due to its versatility.
Customizable and Efficient: Offers powerful filtering, ordering, and customization options (e.g., issue types, severity, and priority) to streamline workflows and improve task management.
Integration with Other Modules: Issues can be promoted to user stories or KANBAN cards, and can be linked to sprints for a more focused project management experience.
Getting started with Taiga:
Step 1: Clone the repo
$ cd taiga-docker/
$ git checkout stable
Step 2 - Start the application
$ ./launch-all.sh
Step 3 - After some instants, when the application is started you can proceed to create the superuser with the following script:
$ ./taiga-manage.sh createsuperuser
Step 4 - The taiga-manage.sh script lets launch manage.py commands on the back instance:
$ ./taiga-manage.sh [COMMAND]
If you’re testing it in your own machine, you can access the application in http://localhost:9000
You can check their docs for more details
3. OpenProject - Open source project management for teams
OpenProject is a web-based project management software. Its key features are:
- Project planning and scheduling
- Product roadmap and release planning
- Task management and team collaboration
- Agile and Scrum
- Time tracking, cost reporting, and budgeting
- Bug tracking
- Wikis
- Forums
- Meeting agendas and meeting minutes
OpenProject design and features are similar to Jira, key thing i noticed different in this it has multiple task types [Phase, Milestone, Task]
vs [EPIC, STORY, TASK, BUG] in Jira
Check out their docsfor detailed guide on hosting
Star the OpenProject repository ⭐
4. Huly - All-in-One Project Management Platform
Huly is an open-source platform that serves as an all-in-one replacement for Linear, Jira, Slack, and Notion.
It tackles the ambitious challenge of creating a super app by combining project management, knowledge base, and communication tools into a single platform.
Documents in Huly can be used for sharing reference materials among team members, collaborating on plans and roadmaps, storing meeting notes and assigning action items.Documents in Huly can be used for sharing reference materials among team members, collaborating on plans and roadmaps, storing meeting notes and assigning action item
Getting started with Huly
Step 1 - Installing nginx and docker
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install nginx
$ sudo snap install docker
Step 2 - Clone the huly-selfhost repository and configure nginx
Next, let's clone the huly-selfhost repository and configure the server address. Please replace x.y.z.w with your server's IP address.
$ git clone https://github.com/hcengineering/huly-selfhost.git
$ cd huly-selfhost
$ ./setup.sh x.y.z.w # Replace x.y.z.w with your server's IP address
$ sudo ln -s $(pwd)/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
Now we're ready to run Huly
Finally, let's restart nginx and run Huly with docker compose.
$ sudo systemctl restart nginx
$ sudo docker compose up
Now, launch your web browser and enjoy Huly!
5. Plane - Open-source project management that unlocks customer value
Plane is an open-source project management tool designed to track issues, run sprint cycles, and manage product roadmaps—without the complexity of managing the tool itself.
It follows a similar approach to ClickUp, aiming to be a single solution for everything from documentation to issue tracking, all in one app.
Getting started with Plane:
Step 1 - Setting up Docker Environment
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh -
Step 2 - Downloading Latest Stable Release
mkdir plane-selfhost
cd plane-selfhost
curl -fsSL -o setup.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/makeplane/plane/master/deploy/selfhost/install.sh
chmod +x setup.sh
Top comments (9)
A Good compilation of open-source Jira alternatives! For those exploring additional options, here's a comprehensive list of the 10 Best Jira Alternatives to consider in 2025: . This resource offers insights into various tools that might align with your team's needs.
Great compilation of open-source Jira alternatives! For those looking to explore more options, I’d recommend checking out this comprehensive list of the 10 Best Jira Alternatives to Consider in 2025. It provides detailed insights into various tools, each tailored to different team needs, from simple task management to more complex project workflows.
You might find some interesting alternatives in this list that offer a balance between customization, ease of use, and scalability. Would love to hear which ones have worked best for your team or if there are any features you’re looking for that you haven’t found yet!
Thanks for the suggestion! It’s always helpful to have more resources when exploring alternatives to Jira. I’ll definitely take a look at the list of 10 Best Jira Alternatives to Consider in 2025 to see what might better align with our team’s evolving needs. Customization, scalability, and user-friendliness are definitely top priorities for us. Looking forward to diving into the details of these options!
Great list of open-source alternatives! If you're exploring project management tools beyond Jira, Linear, and Asana, you might also want to check out Teamcamp. It offers a clean, user-friendly interface with powerful collaboration features, making project tracking effortless. Would love to hear your thoughts on how it compares!
Thanks for the suggestion! It's always interesting to explore different tools, and I agree that a clean, user-friendly interface can make a big difference in how effectively a team manages projects. I'll definitely check out Teamcamp to see how it compares with the other options listed here. It's all about finding the right fit for the team’s needs and workflow. Appreciate the recommendation!
Thank you for the suggestion! I've been using Teamcamp for a while now, and I can confirm that it offers a great balance of simplicity and powerful features. The user-friendly interface makes it easy for our team to collaborate, and the ability to customize workflows without the complexity of tools like Jira has really streamlined our project management process. It’s been a great fit for our team’s needs, and I appreciate how it keeps things organized without being overwhelming.
I’d be interested to hear how others have used it in comparison to other tools. What specific features are you looking for in a project management solution?
Great post! It’s always valuable to see open-source alternatives to popular tools like Jira, Linear, and Asana. Each of these solutions brings something unique to the table, whether it’s the flexibility of OpenProject or the simplicity of WeKan. The best choice really depends on the team’s needs, project scale, and preferred workflows.
In my experience, a key challenge when switching from something like Jira or Asana is maintaining the balance between simplicity and essential features. For example, while open-source tools can be very customizable, they often require more manual configuration, which can take time to set up.
If you’re looking for a more user-friendly option with a good balance of flexibility and out-of-the-box functionality, Teamcamp might be worth exploring. It offers great collaboration features without the complexity of enterprise tools like Jira.
What do you think is the most important factor when evaluating project management tools—ease of use, customizability, or something else?
Great post! I completely agree that each tool brings something unique, and choosing the right one really depends on the team's specific needs. Open-source alternatives like OpenProject and WeKan are fantastic for teams that value customization, but as you mentioned, they often come with the challenge of manual setup and configuration.
In my experience, the key is finding a balance between simplicity and the essential features needed for the project. Tools that are easy to adopt but still offer flexibility tend to work best for teams with varying levels of expertise.
For me, ease of use definitely comes first, but after that, I’d say flexibility and the ability to scale are also crucial factors. How do you typically approach the decision-making process when evaluating these tools?
Nice compilation. If you're looking for more unbiased collection, check out our list of the best open source Linear alternatives.