12 picks · data-backed ranking
Best open source apps written in Ruby
The best self-hosted apps written in Ruby are Mastodon, Discourse and Chatwoot. Mastodon leads with 50,353 GitHub stars. Candidates: the 39 apps whose main GitHub language is Ruby.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Mastodon
mastodon/mastodon
Federated microblogging server.
Social & ForumsRubyDockerMastodon has 50,353 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 2,689 commits in the last year; it replaces Twitter / X.
- Rank 2:
Discourse
discourse/discourse
Advanced forum / community solution based on Ruby and JS.
Social & ForumsRubyDockerDiscourse has 47,933 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 6,794 commits in the last year; it replaces Reddit.
- Rank 3:
Chatwoot
chatwoot/chatwoot
Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk).
Team ChatRubyDockerChatwoot has 37,569 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 1,379 commits in the last year; it replaces Zendesk and Intercom.
Full ranking
All 12 picks, ranked
Ranked by GitHub stars and recent activity. Open any pick for live stats and licence details.
- 1
Mastodon
Federated microblogging server.
Social & ForumsDockerMastodon has 50,353 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 2,689 commits in the last year; it replaces Twitter / X.
- 2
Discourse
Advanced forum / community solution based on Ruby and JS.
Social & ForumsDockerDiscourse has 47,933 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 6,794 commits in the last year; it replaces Reddit.
- 3
Chatwoot
Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk).
Team ChatDockerChatwoot has 37,569 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 1,379 commits in the last year; it replaces Zendesk and Intercom.
- 4
GitLab
DevOps platform with Git hosting, CI/CD, issue tracking and security scanning in one app.
Project ManagementDockerGitLab has 24,555 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 2,397 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub Actions / CircleCI.
- 5
Huginn
Build agents that monitor and act on your behalf.
Automation & WorkflowsHuginn has 50,023 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, is written in Ruby and had 375 commits in the last year; it replaces Zapier and IFTTT.
- 6
Docuseal
Create, fill, and sign digital documents (alternative to DocuSign).
Document ManagementDockerDocuseal has 18,658 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 925 commits in the last year; it replaces DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat.
- 7
OpenProject
Manage your projects, tasks and goals. Collaborate via work packages and link them to your pull requests on Github.
Project ManagementDockerOpenProject has 16,321 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 16,144 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana.
- 8
Dawarich
Visualize your location history, track your movements, and analyze your travel patterns with complete privacy and control (alternative to Google Timeline a.k.a. Google Location History).
Maps & GPSDockerDawarich has 10,597 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 3,004 commits in the last year; it replaces Strava.
- 9
Sure
Personal finance application for everyone (fork of Maybe).
Finance & BudgetingDockerSure has 10,402 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 1,851 commits in the last year.
- 10
Spree Commerce
Spree is a complete, modular & API-driven open source e-commerce solution for Ruby on Rails.
E-commerceSpree Commerce has 15,740 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, is written in Ruby and had 3,489 commits in the last year; it replaces Shopify.
- 11
Solidus
Ecommerce platform that gives you complete control over your store.
E-commerceDockerSolidus has 5,336 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 671 commits in the last year.
- 12
Postal
Complete and fully featured mail server for use by websites & web servers.
Email ServersDockerPostal has 16,854 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 18 commits in the last year; it replaces Twilio SendGrid and Mailgun.
What are the best self-hosted apps written in Ruby?
The best self-hosted apps written in Ruby are Mastodon, Discourse and Chatwoot. Mastodon leads with 50,353 GitHub stars. Candidates: the 39 apps whose main GitHub language is Ruby.
Is Mastodon free?
Yes. Mastodon 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 self-host these apps with Docker?
Yes, 10 of the 12 picks. Mastodon, Discourse and Chatwoot publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.
Are all of these apps open source?
All 12 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.
Which of these apps is the most actively developed?
OpenProject, with 16,144 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v17.9.1, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
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