steedos-platform: Open Source ERP & Operations

What is steedos-platform?

What it is

Steedos Platform is an open-source TypeScript project for building enterprise applications and business software. It lives in the low-code, ERP, and operations ecosystem, and it is described as an implementation of the ObjectStack architecture. The project centers on metadata: ObjectQL defines data, logic, and UI, ObjectOS supplies runtime APIs, authentication, permissions, and workflow automation, and Object UI renders schema-driven React and Tailwind interfaces.

It solves the problem of building and changing enterprise software through boilerplate code or manual UI assembly. Instead, teams describe business logic, generate object.yml and page.yml metadata files, and let the platform expose GraphQL and REST APIs, render pages, and run flows and triggers.

Key capabilities

Defines data, logic, and UI through ObjectQL metadata, including object.yml and page.yml files.
Provides a headless ObjectOS runtime with GraphQL and REST APIs generated automatically for each model.
Supports database-agnostic deployment against MongoDB, PostgreSQL, or JSON files.
Renders responsive interfaces through Object UI, using React, Tailwind, and Shadcn, with custom React components injectable through metadata.
Automates business processes through Flow and Triggers configured in YAML or TypeScript functions.
Enforces enterprise security with role-based access control down to the field level.
Is structured for microservices and modular packages such as @objectql/spec, objectql, @object-ui/react, and @objectapp/*.

Who uses it and how

Teams in ERP, operations, and business-process management use it to model objects, pages, and workflows from metadata rather than hand-written application code.
Builders use text-to-schema workflows to describe a system such as project management and generate ObjectQL files for data, logic, and UI.
Self-hosted deployments run the platform as a server or Docker service and connect the same metadata to MongoDB, PostgreSQL, or JSON storage.
Developers integrate generated GraphQL and REST APIs into existing React, Tailwind, or microservice environments.

Getting started

Typical install paths use the @steedos/server package on npm or the steedos/steedos-community Docker image, with documentation and examples at objectstack.ai.

When to use it — and when not to

Steedos Platform fits teams that want an open-source metadata-driven alternative to Airtable, Appsmith, Budibase, Mendix, Clickpaas, or Salesforce-style enterprise app platforms, especially when they can operate MongoDB or PostgreSQL and maintain ObjectQL metadata. It may not fit teams that need a stable single architecture, because the README says the project is migrating to ObjectStack and future development focuses there while Steedos Platform v2.x remains supported. The 580 open issues and missing contributor count in the provided facts also indicate that production users should evaluate maintenance capacity before adoption.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Steedos Platform

Evolving into ObjectStack: The AI-Native Infrastructure.

Metadata is the new Code.
The open-source standard for AI-generated enterprise software.

中文 (Chinese) • New Website • Documentation • Examples • Community

[!IMPORTANT] 🚀 We are migrating to ObjectStack!

Steedos Platform is undergoing a major architectural evolution. We are refactoring our core into ObjectStack — a modular, headless, and AI-native stack consisting of ObjectQL (Protocol), ObjectOS (Engine), and Object UI (Renderer).

While Steedos Platform v2.x remains supported, future development is focused on the ObjectStack ecosystem.

📖 Introduction

Steedos Platform is the enterprise-grade implementation of the ObjectStack architecture. It combines the reliability of a Metadata Driven Architecture (similar to Salesforce) with the disruptive speed of Generative AI.

We are redefining how software is built. Instead of writing boilerplate code or manually dragging components, we provide a Universal Metadata Standard (ObjectQL) that allows AI to generate complex applications instantly.

The ObjectStack Trinity

Steedos is built upon three independent yet synergistic pillars:

ObjectQL (The Protocol): A unified language to define Data, Logic, and UI. It serves as the standard interface between AI and your software.
ObjectOS (The Engine): A headless runtime kernel providing standardized APIs, Authentication, Permissions, and Workflow automation.
Object UI (The View): A schema-driven rendering engine (based on React & Tailwind) that instantly transforms metadata into modern, responsive interfaces.

ObjectStack Architecture

⚡ Why ObjectStack?

Feature	ObjectStack (New Architecture)	Legacy Low-Code	Salesforce
Philosophy	🤖 AI-Native (Text-to-App)	🖱️ Drag & Drop	🖱️ Click / Code
Data Layer	🧬 ObjectQL (Headless)	📄 Proprietary Schemas	🔒 Closed Metadata
UI Framework	🎨 Object UI (React + Tailwind)	🐢 Vendor Specific	⚠️ Aura / LWC
Extensibility	🧩 Modular Packages (@objectapp)	❌ Monolithic	❌ Hard to extend
Deployment	☁️ Anywhere (Edge/Server)	☁️ Hybrid	🔒 Cloud Only

🌟 Core Capabilities

1. 🤖 AI Data Modeling (Powered by ObjectQL)

Stop manually defining database schemas. Just describe your business logic.

Text-to-Schema: Tell the AI "I need a Project Management system," and it generates standard *.object.yml files.
Database Agnostic: Deploy the same metadata to MongoDB, PostgreSQL, or simple JSON files.
Instant APIs: ObjectOS automatically exposes GraphQL and REST APIs for every model.

2. 🎨 Generative UI (Powered by Object UI)

Decoupled UI rendering for the modern web.

Schema-Driven Rendering: No more hard-coded HTML. The UI is generated dynamically from *.page.yml metadata.
Tailwind & Shadcn: Built with the latest frontend tech stack. Fully customizable via metadata attributes.
React Components: Seamlessly inject custom React components into the standard page layout.

3. ⚡ Logic & Automation (Powered by ObjectOS)

Business logic shouldn't be a black box.

Flow & Triggers: Define automated workflows using simple YAML configurations or TypeScript functions.
Enterprise Security: Built-in RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) down to the field level.
Microservices Ready: Architecture designed to run as independent services communicating via standard protocols.

🏗️ Architecture Transition

We are moving from a monolithic structure to a monorepo workspace containing:

@objectql/spec: The core type definitions and JSON schemas.
objectql: The server-side ORM and runtime engine.
@object-ui/react: The frontend rendering engine.
@objectapp/*: Modular business application packages (CRM, ERP, etc.).

🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Docker (Fastest)

Run the latest stable version of Steedos (pre-ObjectStack transition complete):

docker run -d -p 80:80 steedos/steedos-community:3.0

Option 2: Create New App

Initialize a project using our scaffolding tool:

npx create-steedos-app my-app
cd my-app
yarn install && yarn start

Visit http://localhost:5100 and start building with AI.

🤝 Community & Contributing

Steedos and ObjectStack are open-source projects. We are actively exploring the frontiers of AI x Metadata.

🐛 Report Issues: GitHub Issues
💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions
🌍 Website: objectstack.ai

Contact Us

Frequently asked questions

Is steedos-platform free to use?

steedos-platform 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 steedos-platform do?

The AI-Native Infrastructure for Enterprise Apps. Powered by ObjectStack (ObjectQL, ObjectOS, Object UI). Turn Prompts into Enterprise Software.

What is steedos-platform written in?

steedos-platform is primarily written in TypeScript. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/steedos/steedos-platform, and it has 1,579 GitHub stars.