Open source backend projects

Every project in the registry tagged backend, ranked by real GitHub adoption.

projects 16 combined stars ★ 209K refresh nightly
01 PocketBase ★ 61K

Open-source backend in a single file

last push36 hours ago languageGo licenseMIT
02 Appwrite ★ 57K

Open-source backend platform for rapid app development

last push7 hours ago languagePHP licenseBSD-3-Clause
03 Dokploy ★ 37K

Effortless deployment and management for any VPS

last push3 days ago languageTypeScript license
04 Convex ★ 13K

Build full-stack apps with TypeScript and real-time sync

last push5 hours ago languageTypeScript license
05 Encore ★ 12K

Accelerate backend development with effortless scalability

last push14 hours ago languageGo licenseMPL-2.0
06 NHost ★ 9.3K

Serverless backend platform for modern app development

last push6 hours ago languageGo licenseMIT
07 Rowy ★ 6.8K

Build powerful backends without leaving your browser

last push1.8 years ago languageTypeScript license
08 undb ★ 3.0K

Local-first, offline-first no-code database platform

last push14 months ago languageTypeScript licenseAGPL-3.0
09 guiadobackend ★ 2.4K

Guia de Back-end: trilhas, cursos, livros, canais, ferramentas e comunidades para você entrar e evoluir na área.

last push15 days ago language licenseMIT
10 Nitric ★ 2.0K

Cloud-native framework for infrastructure from code

last push8 months ago languageGo licenseApache-2.0
11 sonicjs ★ 1.7K

SonicJS - The edge-native headless CMS for Cloudflare Workers. Sub-100ms response times, zero cold starts, TypeScript-first. Built on D1, R2, and Hono.

last push5 days ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT
12 Vvveb CMS ★ 1.2K

Open source CMS with powerful drag-and-drop builder

last push1 months ago languageHTML licenseAGPL-3.0
13 Structr ★ 830

Build complete web apps with integrated graph database

last push8 days ago languageJava license
14 fastschema ★ 573

All-in-One Backend as a Service with Headless CMS Power

last push2 months ago languageGo licenseMIT
15 vaahcms ★ 573

VaahCMS is a laravel based open-source web application development platform shipped with a headless content management system (CMS).

last push5 months ago languagePHP licenseMIT
16 Formizee ★ 185

Create and manage forms with ease

last push15 months ago languageMDX licenseApache-2.0

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Frequently asked questions

How many open source backend projects are there?

This registry tracks 16 projects tagged backend, with 209,399 GitHub stars between them. The most-adopted is PocketBase at 61,070 stars.

Are these backend projects free to use?

Yes — 12 of the 16 carry an explicit open-source licence across 5 distinct licences, so there is no licence fee. Where a project also sells a hosted or enterprise version, the self-hosted path remains free.

Which backend project should I choose?

The list above is ranked by GitHub stars, but stars measure attention rather than fit. Check three things on each card: the licence (permissive versus copyleft), the language it is written in, and the last-push date — a high-star project that has not been pushed in a year is a liability.

Are these backend projects still maintained?

11 of the 16 were pushed in the last 90 days, and every card shows its exact last-push date so you can see the rest. Sort your shortlist by that date before committing to a migration.