The Alt Stack
The open-source directory of alternatives to every popular SaaS tool.
π Website Β· π Docs Β· β Submit a Tool
---
## What is The Alt Stack?
**The Alt Stack** is a curated, community-driven directory that helps developers and teams discover open-source and self-hosted alternatives to popular SaaS products β across **28 categories** including Project Management, Analytics, CRM, AI, DevOps, Communication, and more.
This repository is the heart of the project. It contains:
- ποΈ **The Dataset** β 459+ tools with metadata, pricing, pros/cons, deployment info, and links.
- π **66+ Deployment Guides** β Step-by-step self-hosting guides for tools like Plausible, Gitea, Rocket.Chat, and more.
- π **Concepts & Docs** β Guides on topics like server setup, monitoring, backups, and secrets management.
---
## π Repository Structure
```
altstack-data/
βββ data/
β βββ tools.json # The core dataset (459+ tools)
β βββ tools-min.json # Minified version
β βββ category_editorial.json # Category descriptions & metadata
β βββ stacks.ts # Curated stack combinations
β βββ seo.ts # SEO metadata
β βββ schema/
β βββ types.ts # TypeScript schema for the data
β
βββ docs/ # Full documentation site (Nextra)
β βββ app/
β βββ deploy/ # 66+ deployment guides
β βββ concepts/ # Self-hosting concepts
β βββ quick-start/ # Getting started guides
β βββ stacks/ # Curated stack guides
β
βββ assets/
β βββ logos/ # Tool logos
β
βββ .github/
βββ ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ # Templates for submissions
βββ workflows/ # CI: JSON validation, docs build
```
---
## π Using the Data
The dataset is just JSON. Use it however you want.
**Fetch it directly:**
```bash
curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altstackHQ/altstack-data/main/data/tools.json | jq '.[0]'
```
**Use it in JavaScript/TypeScript:**
```typescript
import tools from './data/tools.json';
import type { Tool } from './data/schema/types';
const analytics = tools.filter(t => t.category === 'Analytics');
console.log(`Found ${analytics.length} analytics tools`);
```
**Use it in Python:**
```python
import json
with open('data/tools.json') as f:
tools = json.load(f)
open_source = [t for t in tools if t.get('is_open_source')]
print(f"{len(open_source)} open source tools available")
```
---
## π€ Contributing
We love contributions! Whether it's adding a tool you discovered, fixing a broken link, or writing a deployment guide β every contribution makes the ecosystem better.
**Quick links:**
- [β Add a new tool](https://github.com/altstackHQ/altstack-data/issues/new?template=add-tool.yml)
- [π Report a data error](https://github.com/altstackHQ/altstack-data/issues/new?template=fix-data.yml)
- [π Propose a new guide](https://github.com/altstackHQ/altstack-data/issues/new?template=add-guide.yml)
Read the full **[Contributing Guidelines](CONTRIBUTING.md)** before submitting a PR.
---
## π Categories
| Category | Category | Category | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| π¬ Communication | π Analytics | π Project Management | π€ AI Interfaces |
| π§ AI Models | π» AI Coding | π¨ Creative | π CMS |
| π§ Email | βοΈ Cloud Hosting | ποΈ Databases | π Security |
| π File Storage | π° CRM | π E-commerce | π« Support |
| βοΈ Legal | ποΈ ERP | π DevOps | πΊ Media |
*β¦and more. Explore the full list at [thealtstack.com](https://thealtstack.com).*
---
## π License
| What | License |
|---|---|
| Code & Scripts | [Apache License 2.0](LICENSE) |
| Data (`/data`) | [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
| Documentation (`/docs`) | [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
All tool logos in `assets/logos/` are the property of their respective trademark holders and are used for identification purposes only.
---
Built with β€οΈ by the Alt Stack team
## π³ Self-Hosted Deployments
The `deployments/` directory contains **65+ production-ready Docker Compose configurations** for the tools in our directory.
These are the exact configurations used in the [Self-Hosted Guides](https://thealtstack.com/self-hosted) on our main site.
Instead of writing infrastructure code from scratch, you can:
1. Clone this repository
2. Navigate to a tool's folder: `cd deployments/supabase`
3. Run `docker compose up -d`
4. You're live!
**Contribute to Deployments:** If you have an optimized `docker-compose.yml` for a tool we haven't covered, or an improvement to an existing one, please open a PR! All configs must follow best practices, use official images where possible, and avoid hardcoding sensitive secrets.