The AltStack — Data HQ

The open dataset behind thealtstack.com

148 open-source tools · 32 categories · 143 Docker deploy configs · 20 blog posts · 5 curated stacks

Note: Website v2 is currently in progress. The data layer is fully active and accepting contributions.

What is this repo?

This is the data layer for The AltStack — a curated directory of open-source alternatives to popular SaaS products. Everything the website displays comes from the files in this repo:

The full tool database (tools.json)
Docker Compose deployment configs for 143 tools
Blog content and editorial copy (20 articles)
Category descriptions and SEO metadata
Curated "Stack" bundles (5 pre-built tool combos)
Full documentation site (Nextra)

If you want to add a tool, fix a description, or contribute a Docker config — this is where you do it.

Repository Structure

├── data/
│   ├── tools.json                    # Master database — 148 tools, every field
│   ├── tools-min.json                # Minified version (client-side, faster loads)
│   ├── tools_expanded.json           # Expanded version with enriched metadata
│   ├── tools_expanded-min.json       # Minified expanded version
│   ├── blog-posts.ts                 # Blog post content (20 articles)
│   ├── stacks.ts                     # Curated stack definitions (5 bundles)
│   ├── category_editorial.json       # Category descriptions, SEO copy, editorial
│   ├── seo.ts                        # VS pair generation (proprietary vs open-source)
│   ├── memory.json                   # Sentinel pipeline state & run history
│   ├── memory-min.json               # Minified pipeline state
│   ├── cortex-memory.json            # Sentinel memory & context
│   ├── bundled-docker-templates.json # Pre-built Docker templates
│   └── bundled-docker-templates-min.json
├── docker-deploy/                    # 143 Docker Compose configs + install scripts
│   ├── supabase/
│   │   ├── docker-compose.yml
│   │   └── install.sh
│   ├── n8n/
│   ├── plausible/
│   ├── mattermost/
│   └── ... (143 tools total)
├── deployments/                      # Deployment metadata & generated configs (68 entries)
├── docs/                             # Documentation site source (Nextra)
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── concepts/                 # Self-hosting concepts
│   │   │   ├── backups/
│   │   │   ├── docker-basics/
│   │   │   ├── env-secrets/
│   │   │   ├── hardware/
│   │   │   ├── monitoring/
│   │   │   ├── networking/
│   │   │   ├── reverse-proxies/
│   │   │   ├── ssl-tls/
│   │   │   └── updates/
│   │   ├── deploy/                   # 68 tool-specific deployment guides
│   │   ├── quick-start/              # Getting started guides
│   │   │   ├── choosing-a-server/
│   │   │   ├── first-deployment/
│   │   │   ├── reverse-proxy/
│   │   │   ├── starter-kit/
│   │   │   └── what-is-self-hosting/
│   │   ├── stacks/                   # Stack pages
│   │   │   ├── ai-first/
│   │   │   ├── bootstrapper/
│   │   │   ├── designer/
│   │   │   ├── devops/
│   │   │   └── privacy/
│   │   ├── why/                      # Why self-host
│   │   └── contact/                  # Contact page
│   ├── components/                   # Shared components
│   │   ├── AIChatLinks.tsx
│   │   └── ContactForm.tsx
│   └── public/                       # Static files
│       ├── llms.txt
│       ├── llms-full.txt
│       ├── robots.txt
│       └── _pagefind/
├── scraper/                          # Python scraper for data enrichment
│   ├── scraper.py
│   └── requirements.txt
├── scripts/
│   └── fetch-github-metadata.js      # GitHub stars/activity enrichment
├── assets/                           # Logos and static assets
│   ├── logo.png
│   └── logos/
├── .github/
│   ├── CODEOWNERS                    # Code ownership
│   ├── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/               # Issue templates
│   │   ├── add-guide.yml
│   │   ├── add-tool.yml
│   │   ├── fix-data.yml
│   │   └── tool-submission.yml
│   ├── pull_request_template.md      # PR template with checklist
│   └── workflows/                    # CI/CD automation
│       ├── validate-data.yml         # JSON validation on push/PR
│       ├── scrape-data.yml           # Nightly GitHub data enrichment
│       ├── sync-to-main-app.yml      # Sync to thealtstack repo
│       ├── check-docs.yml            # Docs build check
│       └── redeploy-site.yml         # Vercel deploy trigger
├── CONTRIBUTING.md                   # How to contribute
├── CRITERIA.md                       # Tool vetting standards
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md                # Community guidelines
├── SECURITY.md                       # Security policy
└── LICENSE                           # CC BY 4.0

The Data: `tools.json`

The core of this repo. Each tool entry looks like this:

{
  "slug": "plausible",
  "name": "Plausible Analytics",
  "category": "Analytics",
  "is_open_source": true,
  "pricing_model": "Free Self-Hosted / Paid Cloud",
  "website": "https://plausible.io",
  "description": "Lightweight and privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative.",
  "alternatives": ["Google Analytics", "Mixpanel"],
  "tags": ["analytics", "privacy", "self-hosted"],
  "logo_url": "https://...",
  "avg_monthly_cost": 0,
  "pros": ["Privacy-first", "Lightweight script", "Easy to self-host"],
  "cons": ["Fewer advanced features than GA4"],
  "stars": 29314,
  "language": "Elixir",
  "license": "AGPL-3.0",
  "last_commit": "2026-10-04T18:42:06Z"
}

Categories (32)

Category	Tools	Category	Tools
Productivity	16	Security	9
DevOps	9	Marketing	9
AI Models	9	Analytics	8
Uncategorized	8	Monitoring	7
Communication	5	Design	5
Automation	5	Cloud Infrastructure	5
Backend as a Service	4	CRM	4
Project Management	4	Support	4
AI Runners	4	ERP	3
CAD	3	AI Image Generation	3
AI Coding	3	HR	2
E-commerce	2	Legal	2
Financial	2	Creative	2
AI Video Generation	2	AI Interfaces	2
AI Tools	2	API Development	2
Email	2	Photos	1

Docker Deploy Configs

Every config in docker-deploy/ is a ready-to-use docker-compose.yml with an accompanying install.sh script. Just clone and run:

cd docker-deploy/plausible
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

Or copy the docker-compose.yml directly:

cd docker-deploy/n8n
docker compose up -d

Currently covering 143 tools including: Supabase, Mattermost, Plausible, PostHog, Keycloak, N8N, Immich, Authentik, Metabase, Plane, Coolify, Dokku, and many more.

Each tool also has a dedicated deployment guide in docs/app/deploy/<tool-slug>/.

Want to add a config? See CONTRIBUTING.md. We test every config before merging.

Curated Stacks

Pre-built tool bundles for common use cases, defined in data/stacks.ts:

Stack	Tagline	What it's for	Monthly Savings
🚀 The Bootstrapper	Launch for $0/mo	Full SaaS toolkit for solo founders	~$310/mo
🎨 The Designer	Ditch Creative Cloud	Adobe Creative Cloud replacement	~$110/mo
🤖 The AI-First	Own your AI	Self-hosted LLMs, image gen, code completion	~$69/mo
⚙️ The DevOps	Self-host everything	Full infrastructure on your own terms	~$375/mo
🔒 The Privacy	Zero data leaks	100% self-hostable, no third-party servers	~$185/mo

Documentation Site

The full documentation site is built with Nextra and lives in docs/. It includes:

Concepts — Self-hosting fundamentals: backups, Docker basics, env secrets, hardware, monitoring, networking, reverse proxies, SSL/TLS, updates
Deploy Guides — 68 tool-specific deployment walkthroughs
Quick Start — Choosing a server, first deployment, reverse proxy setup, starter kit, what is self-hosting
Stacks — Detailed pages for each curated stack
Why — Why self-host
Contact — Contact form

Automation: The Sentinel Engine

This repo is kept up-to-date by an automated pipeline called the Sentinel Engine, running via GitHub Actions:

Workflow	What it does	Trigger
`validate-data.yml`	Validates all JSON in `data/`	Push/PR to `data/**`
`scrape-data.yml`	Nightly GitHub metadata enrichment (stars, commits, language, license)	Cron: daily at midnight UTC
`sync-to-main-app.yml`	Syncs `data/` and `docker-deploy/` to the main thealtstack repo	Push to `main`
`check-docs.yml`	Builds the Nextra docs site	PR to `docs/**`
`redeploy-site.yml`	Triggers Vercel deploy hook	Push to `main`

The pipeline opens PRs automatically so everything gets reviewed before merging.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! The most impactful ways to help:

Add a new tool

Fork this repo
Add a new entry to data/tools.json following the schema above
Make sure it meets our vetting criteria
Open a PR

Add a Docker config

Create a new folder in docker-deploy/ named after the tool's slug
Add a docker-compose.yml and an install.sh
Test it locally — it should produce a working deployment
Open a PR

Add a deployment guide

Create a new folder in docs/app/deploy/<tool-slug>/
Write an .mdx guide
Add it to docs/app/deploy/_meta.ts
Open a PR

Fix data

Found a broken link, wrong pricing, or outdated description? Edit data/tools.json and open a PR. Small, targeted fixes are the fastest to merge.

Write a blog post

Add a new entry to data/blog-posts.ts
Follow the existing format
Open a PR

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide.

Using the Data

The data in this repo is licensed under CC BY 4.0. You're free to use it in your own projects — just give attribution.

Fetch the raw JSON

# Full database
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altstackHQ/altstack-data/main/data/tools.json

# Minified (smaller, for client-side use)
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altstackHQ/altstack-data/main/data/tools-min.json

# Expanded (with enriched metadata)
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altstackHQ/altstack-data/main/data/tools_expanded.json

Use in JavaScript/TypeScript

const response = await fetch(
  'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/altstackHQ/altstack-data/main/data/tools.json'
);
const tools = await response.json();

// Filter by category
const analytics = tools.filter(t => t.category === 'Analytics');

// Find alternatives to a specific SaaS
const slackAlts = tools.filter(t =>
  t.alternatives?.includes('Slack')
);

Contributors

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this project:

Contributor	Commits	Contributor	Commits
@aa-humaaan	44	@nadyyym	2
@benjiwagner	2	@arsalann	1
@aagarwal1012	1	@BlueSkyID666	1
@sosidudku1	1	@JesusPaz	1
@cevheri	1	@mikececco	1
@1146345502	1	@unjica	1
@sridharkalaibala	1	@alichherawalla	1
@imshashank	1

altstack-data

The AltStack — Data HQ

The open dataset behind thealtstack.com

What is this repo?

Repository Structure

The Data: `tools.json`

Categories (32)

Docker Deploy Configs

Curated Stacks

Documentation Site

Automation: The Sentinel Engine

Contributing

Add a new tool

Add a Docker config

Add a deployment guide

Fix data

Write a blog post

Using the Data

Fetch the raw JSON

Use in JavaScript/TypeScript

Contributors

Links

Projets similaires

awesome-selfhosted

awesome-sysadmin

open-source-alternatives

The AltStack — Data HQ

The open dataset behind thealtstack.com

What is this repo?

Repository Structure

The Data: tools.json

Categories (32)

Docker Deploy Configs

Curated Stacks

Documentation Site

Automation: The Sentinel Engine

Contributing

Add a new tool

Add a Docker config

Add a deployment guide

Fix data

Write a blog post

Using the Data

Fetch the raw JSON

Use in JavaScript/TypeScript

Contributors

Links

Projets similaires

awesome-selfhosted

awesome-sysadmin

open-source-alternatives

The Data: `tools.json`