AITable: Open Source Databases

What is AITable?

What it is

AITable is an open-source, API-oriented low-code platform for building collaborative applications and visual databases. The project is described as APITable in its GitHub summary and is positioned as an Airtable alternative within a TypeScript ecosystem that includes NextJS and NestJS, with Java Spring Boot also mentioned as a community-friendly option.

It addresses the need for a spreadsheet-like database that supports realtime collaboration, structured views, forms, permissions, API access, and automation without relying only on a hosted service. The README describes a database-native architecture built around changesets, operations, actions, and snapshots, and it states that the interface can handle more than 100,000 data rows with realtime collaboration.

Key capabilities

Realtime collaboration allows multiple users to edit together, using the Operational Transformation algorithm described in the README.
The README states seven view types, including Grid View (Datasheet), Gallery View, Mindmap View, Kanban View, Full-Feature Gantt View, and Calendar View.
Table relationships support one-direction links, bi-direction links, and infinite cross links across tables.
API access is exposed through a one-click API panel and full-stack access from data to metadata, with automatic form creation mentioned as a feature.
Permission controls include row permission through Mirror views, column permission, folder and file permission, team management, and organization structure.
Extensibility is supported by a Widget System with over 20 official open-source widgets, customizable data column types, customizable formulas, and customizable automation robot actions.
Integration paths include n8n.io, Zapier, and Appsmith, along with shareable and embeddable pages.

Who uses it and how

Teams use it for project management, task and issue management, marketing lead management, CRM, and business intelligence workflows.
Organizations use it as an admin dashboard, internal tool, and central configuration management layer for operational data.
Developers embed the visual database into their own software user interfaces and use its API-oriented design to connect data across applications.
Non-technical users build forms, surveys, BI dashboards, and robot automations from built-in templates and shareable pages.
It is also presented as a low-code and no-code platform for building collaborative internal applications.

Getting started

Users can try the cloud-hosted AI version at aitable.ai, run an online demo through Gitpod, or deploy a self-hosted instance with one-click Dome; local or cloud installation and a developer guide are also provided.

When to use it — and when not to

Choose AITable when an Airtable-like visual database, realtime collaboration, embeddable UI, and API access are central to the workflow, especially in a TypeScript or low-code environment. Avoid it if the project requires a clearly active contributor count and a low open issue backlog, since the provided metadata lists 0 contributors and 307 open issues. Self-hosters should also weigh the AGPL-3.0 license and the deployment options before committing to production use.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

✨ Quick Start

If you just want to try out APITable[^info], use our cloud-hosted AI version at aitable.ai.

If you want to demo this APITable open-source project, click here for ⚡️Gitpod Online Demo.

If you want to try the self-hosted APITable, 🚀 one-click deploy with Dome here

If you want to install APITable in your local or cloud computing environment, see 💾 Installation

If you want to set up your local development environment, read our 🧑‍💻 Developer Guide

Join Discord or Twitter to keep in touch.

🔥 Features

Realtime Collaboration	Automatic Form

API-first Panel	Unlimited cross-table links

Powerful Rows/Columns Permissions	Embed

APITable provides a range of amazing features, from the personal to the enterprise.

Advanced technology stack and open-source
- Realtime collaboration allows multiple users to edit together in real time, or simultaneously with the Operational Transformation (OT) Algorithm.
- Extremely smooth, user-friendly, super-fast database-spreadsheet interface in Rendering Engine.
- Database native architecture: Changeset / Operation / Action / Snapshot and so on.
- 100k+ data rows with real-time collaboration.
- Full-stack API access, from Data to Metadata.
- One-direction / Bi-direction Table Link and Infinite Cross Links
- Community-friendly programming languages and framework, TypeScript (NextJS + NestJS) and Java (Spring Boot).
Beautiful and Rich Database-Spreadsheet UI
- CRUD: Create, Read, Update, Delete the Tables, Columns, and Rows
- Fields Operations: sort, filter, grouping, hide/unhide, height setting.
- Space based: Use separated workspaces in place of App/Base-based structure, make unlimited tables link together possible.
- Dark mode and theme customization available.
- 7 View Types: Grid View (Datasheet) / Gallery View / Mindmap View / Kanban View / Full-Feature Gantt View / Calendar View
- One-click API Panel
Batteries included
- Built-in 10+ official templates.
- Robot Automation and customization available.
- BI dashboard
- One-click auto-generated form
- Shareable and embeddable page.
- Multi-language support.
- Integration with n8n.io / Zapier / Appsmith... and more.
Excellent extensibility
- Extensible Widget System with over 20 officials open-source widgets.
- Customizable Graph & Chart & Dashboard
- Customizable Data Column Types
- Customizable Formulas
- Customizable Automation Robot Actions.
Enterprise-grade permissions
- Mirror, turn a View into a mirror to implement Row Permission.
- Activate Column Permission through a very simple operation.
- Folders / Sub-Folders / Files Permission.
- Tree structure folders and customizable node (file);
- Team Management & Organization Structure.
Enterprise features:
- SAML
- Single-Sign-On (SSO)
- Audit
- Database Auto Backup
- Data Exporter
- Watermark
....

With extensible widgets and plugins, you can add more features.

💥 Use Cases

Why you must know APITable for your next software?

As super management software
- Flexible Project Management & Tasks / Issues Management.
- Marketing Lead Management.
- Most flexible and connectable CRM.
- Flexible Business Intelligence (BI).
- People-Friendly Forms and Surveys
- Flexible ERP.
- Low-code and no-code platform.
- ...and more, APITable puts 1000 softwares in your pocket.
As a visual database infrastructure
- Embed APITable into your own software UIs.
- Visual Database with REST API.
- Admin dashboard.
- Central configuration management.
- All-in-one enterprise database that connect all your software.
- ...and more, APITable connects everything.
Also, it is open source and extensible

💞 API-oriented

API UI Panel

Clicking the API button in the right corner will show the API Panel

SQL-like query

APITable will provides a Datasheet Query Language (DQL) to query your database-spreadsheet contents.

💝 Embed-friendly

Share and Embed

Share your datasheet table or folder. Embed them by copying and pasting HTML scripts.

Enterprise-ready Embedding

AITable.ai provides more Enterprise-ready Embedding features for securities.

Installation

Before you begin:

A host with docker and docker-compose v2 installed.
4 CPUs/8GB RAM or more are recommended.
A bash shell with basic utilities like curl installed.
Native arm64 (apple silicon) container images is

Frequently asked questions

Is AITable free to use?

AITable is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does AITable do?

Visual database for workflow automation across apps

What is AITable written in?

AITable is primarily written in TypeScript. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/apitable/apitable, and it has 15,606 GitHub stars.