Free, open-source IT Service Management — self-hosted, AI-included, no per-seat fees. Ever.
🌍 freeitsm.co.uk · 📖 Documentation Wiki · 💬 Discussions · 🐛 Issues
FreeITSM is a complete web-based ITSM platform: 21 integrated modules covering tickets, assets, knowledge, changes, problems, tasks, a CMDB, workflows, an LMS and more — plus a self-service portal for your end users. It runs on a plain PHP + MySQL stack (WAMP, XAMPP, LAMP, or Docker), so your data stays on your server.
Why teams pick it:
- 🆓 Genuinely free — MIT licence, no per-seat/per-agent fees, no "Enterprise tier". Everything ships to everyone.
- 🏠 Self-hosted — your tickets, your customers' conversations and your knowledge base live in your database, under your backups and your privacy policy.
- 🤖 AI included, not upsold — reply cleanup, knowledge Q&A, form generation, course authoring, RCA drafting and more, all bring-your-own-key (Anthropic, OpenAI, or OpenRouter).
- 📥 Every channel becomes a ticket — email (Microsoft 365, Gmail, IMAP), WhatsApp, an embeddable web chat widget, and a portal that even staff without a company email address can use.
| Watchtower |
Tickets |
Assets |
| Knowledge |
Changes |
Calendar |
The fastest route is Docker — no PHP, MySQL or web server setup required:
git clone https://github.com/edmozley/freeitsm.git
cd freeitsm
docker compose up -dThen open http://localhost:8080/setup/ to verify the installation and create your admin account.
- Manual install (WAMP / XAMPP / LAMP): follow the Installation guide — prerequisites, database setup, encryption key, and configuration files.
- First login:
admin/freeitsm— change it immediately via the account menu. - Demo data: System → Demo Data populates every module with realistic sample data, so you can evaluate with the system feeling alive.
| Module | What it does |
|---|---|
| Watchtower | Unified attention dashboard — one glance shows what needs you across every module |
| Tickets | Outlook-style inbox with email, WhatsApp and web chat channels, SLAs, CSAT, canned responses, multi-select bulk actions, AI reply cleanup |
| Self-Service Portal | End-user portal — request catalogue, knowledge, replies, screen recording; works even with no email address |
| Tasks | Kanban board, list, calendar and timeline views for internal work |
| Assets | Asset register with custody tracking, locations, warranties, vCenter and Intune sync |
| Knowledge | Rich-text articles with AI chat, vector search, review workflow and per-audience visibility |
| Change Management | ITIL changes with CAB voting, risk matrix and post-implementation review |
| Problem Management | Root causes behind recurring incidents, known errors, AI-assisted RCA |
| Workflows | Cross-module automation — visual canvas, 138+ triggers, outbound webhooks, AI co-author |
| CMDB | Typed configuration items with relationships, impact analysis and AI summaries |
| Network Mapper | Architecture diagrams where every node is bound to a real CMDB object |
| Calendar | Team calendar with categories, and an iCal feed for your phone |
| Morning Checks | Daily infrastructure health checks with trend charts and PDF export |
| Reporting | System logs, audit trails, and an Intune device dashboard with drill-down |
| Software | Software inventory from an agent script, plus licence management |
| Forms | Dynamic form builder with AI assist, versioning and submissions reporting |
| Contracts | Supplier and contract lifecycle, plus an AI-powered RFP Builder |
| Service Status | Service health dashboard driven by incident tracking |
| LMS | Author courses in-app (with AI) or upload SCORM; assign, take and track them |
| Process Mapper | Flowchart builder with swimlanes, custom step types and Mermaid export |
| System | Administration — analysts, teams, roles, encryption, database verify, demo data |
A System Wiki module also auto-documents the codebase from within the app, and a browser extension puts the Watchtower badge count in your Chrome/Edge toolbar.
- REST API — 200+ key-authenticated endpoints with granular per-key permissions, a live OpenAPI spec, and interactive in-app docs with code samples in seven languages.
- Single Sign-On & LDAP / Active Directory — OIDC providers side by side (Keycloak, Entra, Okta, …), or bind straight to your on-prem directory with group-gated just-in-time provisioning. Local login always remains as break-glass.
- Security — AES-256-GCM encryption at rest for secrets, TOTP MFA, brute-force protection, role-based permissions down to individual settings tabs, and audit trails throughout.
- Multi-tenancy — host multiple client companies in one install (built for MSPs), each walled off from the others. Invisible until you add a second company.
- Webhooks — push any event to Slack, Teams, Discord or any endpoint, with HMAC signing, retries and a delivery dashboard.
- Internationalisation — 21 languages with per-analyst locale, plus per-analyst timezones, theming and dark mode, and a mobile-friendly core flow.
Everything lives in the Documentation Wiki:
| Guide | Covers |
|---|---|
| Installation | Docker and manual setup, prerequisites, configuration files |
| Architecture | Technology stack, directory layout, shared components, database conventions |
| Security | Authentication, authorisation layers, encryption, going-live checklist |
| REST API | How the public API works, plus per-module endpoint guides |
| API Reference | The internal session-based endpoints behind the UI |
There are also long-form deep-dive articles on the website covering individual features, and a release history.
Technology stack: PHP 7.4–8.4 · MySQL 8.0+ · vanilla JavaScript (no frameworks) · TinyMCE · Apache or any PHP-capable server.
FreeITSM is a one-developer project — your engagement is what keeps it moving:
- ⭐ If you use FreeITSM, please star the repo — it's the single biggest signal that the work is landing.
- 📬 Feedback, ideas, bugs? Email me directly at ed@freeitsm.co.uk — I read every message — or use Discussions and Issues.
- 🌍 Mentioning freeitsm.co.uk on Reddit, Hacker News, Spiceworks or LinkedIn genuinely helps and means a lot.
Contributions are welcome — the first external pull request was merged in 2026 and more are encouraged.
MIT — free for commercial and personal use.