r/opensourcealternative

Open Source Spellbook Alternative - MS Word Legal Plugin, (think MikeOSS for Word)
▲ 19 r/opensourcealternative+1 crossposts

Open Source Spellbook Alternative - MS Word Legal Plugin, (think MikeOSS for Word)

I know the rules say not to promote open source projects, but then MikeOSS happens to be a big launch and well appreciated OSS project and r/legaltech was welcoming to it.

We open sourced our word plugin for the community here - https://github.com/Vaquill-AI/vaquill-word-addin

No strings attached, this is what we use internally as well. There is no monetary angle here.

Harvey, Legora and other Legal AI providers charge hundreds of $$$ to use them, I thought why not level the playing field and give others the same tech.

Either host it in your server or use our hosted version with your own API key.

The future of legal is Open Source and this its not a wrapper, or a simple plugin, took months in development to match the quality of our funded competitors.

Self host it or BYOK, Apache 2 so feel free to play with the code.

Disclaimer - I work there.

u/zzriyansh — 5 hours ago
▲ 2.6k r/opensourcealternative+7 crossposts

I used Claude to fix my biggest frustration with PDFs

My bank asked for 17 PDF documents regarding my mortgage application.

I got tired of opening and closing files and keeping track of things. So I decided to send a single PDF with many pages, to avoid going back and forth, but that caused even more confusion.

So I came up with an idea: what if I could scroll horizontally to see the pages of a single file and then scroll vertically to see more files? That’d be a great way to navigate multiple PDFs all at once, in a simple, 2D canvas, like Figma (which by the way doesn’t support pdf imports natively).

I decided to extend the pdf standard by adding metadata to indicate where files end and where new files start. This allowed me to store multiple PDFs into a single, backwards compatible PDF. I called this new format .pdfx but it can also be stored as a regular pdf with metadata.

I was lucky, because I managed to task Claude just 3 hours before the most advanced model was shut down and I was surprised at its capabilities, it did 80% of the project in 2 hours.

It’s open-source, uses Electron with native Liquid Glass overrides with attention to UI/UX, but there are some rough edges:

https://github.com/AlexandrosGounis/pdfx

Your feedback would be highly appreciated

u/Jenna_AI — 3 days ago

Decided to start contributing to open source. Looking for guidance on where to begin.

Hi everyone,

I've decided to start contributing to open source, mainly to improve my development skills, learn how large production codebases are structured, and become a better software engineer.

I already have a good understanding of Git and GitHub, but I'm a complete beginner when it comes to open source contributions.

My main interests are:

\- Full-stack development (Node.js, React, Express)

\- Backend development

\- AI/ML projects

My goals are:

\- Learn how real-world projects are built and maintained.

\- Understand how experienced developers write and organize code.

\- Make meaningful contributions instead of just fixing typos.

\- Build experience that will help me land a good software engineering job.

I'm a bit confused about where to start.

\- How do you find beginner-friendly repositories that are actually active?

\- Should I focus on one project or contribute to multiple projects?

\- Is it better to start with documentation/bug fixes, or should I try implementing features if I can understand the codebase?

\- Are there any AI/ML or Node.js + React repositories that you'd recommend for beginners?

I'd really appreciate any advice, resources, or repository suggestions from people who have been through this journey.

Thanks!

reddit.com
u/Separate_Listen3329 — 2 days ago

Looking for a web-based, DB-agnostic alternative to desktop DB GUIs?

I wanted a DB GUI that runs in the browser and isn't locked to one engine Postgres today, Redis or Mongo tomorrow, same UI, self-hosted on my own box.

Most options I knew fell into one of these:

- Desktop multi-DB (DBeaver / DataGrip) solid, but install + desktop-only

- Web but single-engine (phpMyAdmin / pgAdmin)

- Web multi-engine, with the interesting bits behind Pro/Enterprise

So I built LibreDB Studio (been at it ~a year): MIT, web-native, SQL + NoSQL in one app (Postgres, MySQL, SQLite, Oracle, MSSQL, Mongo, Redis).

Optional AI/NL2SQL is built-in and model-agnostic (local or cloud) not a separate SKU.

Short walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJPWPe1mJes

Repo: https://github.com/libredb/libredb-studio

Not claiming it replaces tools people already love different access model (browser + own network). If you use a web DB GUI day-to-day, what's the gap that still bothers you?

u/cevheribozoglan — 2 days ago
▲ 182 r/opensourcealternative+5 crossposts

Mt Sync - (Auto)Mount and Sync your data from anywhere

It seems like I'm the only one how want to just go to a network share an an application after I login and the files are just there. No having to go mount anything first, what a wasteful step that is. :) So after making a gnome extension for gvfs mounts/shares, I thought it would be great if I could mount other types of storage the same way and even sync data between them. I got close to buying rcloneview for its paywalled features when I decided to go do my own thing, introducing Mt Sync: https://codeberg.org/gavindi/MtSync

Sharing since maybe just maybe there's someone else who misses the Windows "reconnect drive at login" feature..... 🤷‍♂️️

u/gavindi — 4 days ago
▲ 40 r/opensourcealternative+9 crossposts

Looking for feedback on Motionly, an open-source AI-native motion graphics editor

I've been building Motionly, an open-source, AI-native motion graphics editor that generates fully customizable animation projects instead of just rendered videos.

Everything in the demo—including the animations, SVGs, and motion graphics—was generated using Motionly.

The goal is to make motion graphics editable, versionable, and easy to iterate on with both AI and a visual editor.

I'm looking for feedback from:

  • Developers
  • Motion designers
  • Founders building creative tools

Some questions I'd love your thoughts on:

  • What would make you switch from your current workflow?
  • What features are missing from today's motion graphics tools?
  • If AI generated an animation project instead of a final video, would that be more useful?
  • What integrations would you want to see?

Getting started

npx u/coppsary/motionly my-project

From there, you can prompt Codex, Claude Code, or any other agentic AI to create, edit, and iterate on your Motionly animation projects.

GitHub:
https://github.com/COPPSARY/Motionly

I'm looking for honest feedback to help shape the future of Motionly.

u/StylePristine4057 — 5 days ago

An Open-source project with paid aesthetic improvements, is that a bad thing?

Hi, I'm completely new to the open-source world, and I've been working on an application for a long time. It's a tool for developers that helps them coordinate their agents. I want the core application to be free, but I need money, so I thought about adding a nice aesthetic layer and making that upgrade a paid feature. I also want to keep the base of the app transparent, for trust and maybe to get some extra help. But yeah, I don’t know if it’s a bad thing to do it that way. I don’t want to look greedy, I just… also need money to eat, hehe

reddit.com
u/Ninquiet — 4 days ago

What local-first open source apps are worth trying in 2026?

Lately I’m getting more interested in local-first apps than fully self-hosted tools.

I like having my data on my own device, but still having sync when I need it. Mostly thinking about notes, tasks, docs, bookmarks, personal knowledge bases, and dev tools.

Obsidian is the one that has actually stuck for me so far. I’ve also been looking at Anytype and Logseq, but haven’t used them enough to know if they’re worth switching to.

What local-first open source apps are worth trying in 2026? Mostly looking for apps that feel good to use every day.

reddit.com
u/Sea_Housing2717 — 5 days ago
▲ 7 r/opensourcealternative+5 crossposts

Looking for feedback on FolderBase – an open-source AI-powered file manager for local documents

Hi everyone,
I’ve been building FolderBase, an open-source application for macOS that tries to bridge the gap between traditional file managers and personal knowledge management tools.
Most existing tools either require importing everything into a database or completely replace the filesystem. My goal is different: work directly on your existing folders while adding richer organization and AI capabilities.

Current and planned features include:
📁 Works directly on existing folders (no proprietary database)
🔍 AI-powered semantic search
🏷️ Tags and custom metadata
📝 Notes attached to files and folders
✅ Activity/status tracking
🤖 AI-assisted document organization
💻 Local-first approach with your files remaining under your control

The project is still under active development, and I’m looking for honest feedback before adding more features.

I’d especially appreciate your thoughts on:
Does this solve a real problem?
Which existing open-source projects should I learn from or integrate with?

What features would you consider essential?
Would you prefer a plugin-based architecture or a focused standalone application?
The repository is available here:
GitHub: https://github.com/PaoloSturbini/FolderBase
Bug reports, feature requests, architectural suggestions and pull requests are all welcome.
Thanks for taking a look—I appreciate any feedback, whether positive or critical.

u/paolost — 6 days ago
▲ 20 r/opensourcealternative+10 crossposts

HIRING] Looking for Open Source Contributors – AI Infrastructure Platform (EXTRA)

Hi everyone!
We’re building EXTRA, an open-source AI infrastructure platform that helps developers build production-ready AI systems.
The core idea is simple:
Describe your AI system. EXTRA builds and manages the infrastructure for you.
Instead of spending time writing orchestration code and infrastructure, EXTRA focuses on handling things like:
Multi-agent orchestration
Human-in-the-loop approvals
MCP integrations
State & checkpointing
Routing
Tool management
Configuration
We’re looking for developers who enjoy building open source and want to contribute to a project from an early stage.
We’re especially interested in people with experience in:
Java
Python
TypeScript
AI Agents / LLMs
MCP
Cloud infrastructure
This is an open-source collaboration (not a paid position), and we’re building it in public.
GitHub:
https://github.com/extra-org/extra
If you’re interested, feel free to comment or open an issue on GitHub. We’d love to collaborate! 🚀

u/LopsidedAd4492 — 8 days ago

Open source alternative to Airtable with forms, tables, and automations?

Looking for an open source Airtable alternative that can handle more than just basic tables.

Main things I need are forms, database-style tables, views, simple automations, and maybe webhooks or integrations.

I’ve seen Baserow, NocoDB, and Teable mentioned, but I’m not sure which one is best if you actually want forms and automations in the same tool.

Has anyone replaced Airtable with an open source option?

Which one worked best for you, and what were the biggest tradeoffs?

reddit.com
u/Downtown_Sugar_4073 — 7 days ago
▲ 46 r/opensourcealternative+4 crossposts

paint.software - a free & open-source alternative to Paint.NET for Linux (C++/Qt6, native)

I switched to Linux and really missed Paint.NET, so I built a native open-source clone with C++/Qt6 — no Wine, no .NET runtime, no VM.

🎨 What it does

  • Layers — opacity, blend modes, smart merge, live thumbnails
  • 20+ tools — brush, pencil, eraser, bucket, gradient, shapes, line, text, clone stamp, color picker, magic wand, lasso…
  • 13 adjustments + 30+ effects, all with live preview (drag the sliders, see the result)
  • Selections with feather / grow / shrink, non-destructive history, autosave & crash recovery
  • Native .psw layered format (keeps your layers) — or export to PNG/JPEG/…
  • FR/EN UI, light & dark themes matching Paint.NET

⚙️ Under the hood

  • MIT licensed, builds from source: cmake -B build && cmake --build build
  • CI runs a 196-test suite on every push

🔗 Repo: https://github.com/Univers4craft/paint.software

It's an early v1.0 — I'd love feedback on what's missing, and contributions (fork → PR) are very welcome!


🇫🇷 En bref : un clone open-source de Paint.NET pour Linux (C++/Qt6, natif, sans Wine/.NET). Calques, 30+ effets avec aperçu en direct, format natif .psw, interface FR/EN, licence MIT. Dépôt ci-dessus — retours bienvenus !

u/Connect_Sherbert_298 — 9 days ago
▲ 31 r/opensourcealternative+10 crossposts

The animation you just watched was written by AI. Meet Motionly, an open-source editor for editable motion graphics.

The video above was written by AI.

Not a generated by AI video, but as an editable Motionly project.

I'm building Motionly, an open-source motion graphics editor where animations are created from a structured .motion file.

Similar to how websites can be written with HTML/CSS, Motionly lets animations be described in a format that is readable, editable, and controllable.

With agentic AI tools like Codex, Claude Code, or Antigravity, you can create an entire animation project from an idea.

Then open it in Motionly and refine it visually via our interface.

Change the timing, fonts, colors, assets, camera movement, animations, and layout without needing to rewrite everything from scratch.

The AI creates the first version.

You stay in control of the final result.

Motionly combines:

  • AI-assisted creation
  • Editable motion files
  • Visual editing
  • Deterministic rendering

Built for creating:

  • Product videos
  • UI demos
  • Logo animations
  • Launch videos
  • Creative coding experiments

Motionly is free and open source.

GitHub: https://github.com/COPPSARY/Motionly

p.s the sfxs i added are in post (we currently can't add medias in the editor yet sadly)

u/StylePristine4057 — 10 days ago

What are the best open source AI tools you’re using locally?

I’ve been using more AI tools locally instead of relying on browser apps for everything.

The main ones I keep coming back to are Ollama for running models, Open WebUI for chat, and Whisper cpp for transcription. They’re useful enough that I actually use them instead of just testing them once.

I’m looking for more local AI tools that are worth keeping installed.

What open source AI tools are you using locally right now?

Could be for chat, coding, transcription, image generation, RAG, search, agents, or anything else that runs on your own machine.

reddit.com
u/Dramatic-Flamingo-27 — 10 days ago

What open source form builder would you use for a SaaS?

I need a form builder for a SaaS project and I’d rather use something open source if it’s reliable enough.

It would mainly be for contact forms, waitlists, feedback forms, onboarding questions, and maybe a few internal forms.

The basics matter more than advanced features for me. Easy embed, decent UI, webhooks, spam protection, email notifications, and a clean way to view submissions.

Has anyone used an open source form builder in a real SaaS product? Which one would you pick today, and did it hold up well once people actually started submitting forms?

reddit.com
u/No_Gift_694 — 9 days ago
▲ 7 r/opensourcealternative+2 crossposts

CMScan - Open Source alternative to WPScan for multiple CMS / No API key, no limitaion

Hi everyone,

I've been developing CMScan, an open-source CMS security scanner.

Unlike WPScan, it supports multiple CMS including WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Magento, Shopify, TYPO3 and OpenCart.

Features include:

  • CMS fingerprinting
  • User enumeration
  • Plugin/theme detection
  • Vulnerability lookup (OSV, NVD, FriendsOfPHP...)
  • Security headers audit
  • CSV export

I'm looking for feedback and feature suggestions.

GitHub: https://github.com/moloch54/CMScan

u/JackfruitFun6602 — 9 days ago

Cant find a good open source project to work on :(

I really want to get into open source but the issue I’m facing is that whatever project i choose / am interested in happens to be already flooded with people in the issues section fighting to work on the issue and most of the issues are already assigned to people.

Is this how it is? Do i also need to fight for getting to work on an issue or am i doing something wrong?

Any advice is appreciated as I am a beginner with open source.

Thanks in advance!!

reddit.com
u/Intelligent_River593 — 13 days ago