AlianHub

Website | Documentation | Contributing

The open-source, self-hosted project management platform — a ClickUp / Jira alternative with built-in time tracking (screenshots + timesheets) and AI project planning.

Built for enterprises, startups, and growing teams — no per-seat pricing, no vendor lock-in, your data on your own servers.

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Quick Start

🐳 Option 1 — Docker (recommended for self-hosting)

# Grab the compose file and run
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aliansoftwareteam/AlianHub-Project-Management-System/main/docker-compose.yml
# Set JWT_SECRET (required) — see .env.example for full env-var reference
echo "JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)" > .env
docker compose up -d
# AlianHub running at http://localhost:4000

Update to a newer version later:

docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

Images are published to GHCR: ghcr.io/aliansoftwareteam/alianhub:latest. Multi-arch (amd64 + arm64).

🛠 Option 2 — From source (for developers)

git clone https://github.com/aliansoftwareteam/AlianHub-Project-Management-System.git
cd AlianHub-Project-Management-System
npm run setup

That's it. No technical knowledge required. npm run setup will:

1. Install all dependencies (root, frontend, wizard) in parallel
2. Generate a .env file with secure random secrets
3. Build the installation wizard UI
4. Start the backend and frontend dev server
5. Auto-complete the installation wizard — connects to MongoDB, sets up storage, skips optional services (Firebase / AI / SMTP), initializes the database, and creates an admin account
6. Open http://localhost:8080 in your browser

When it's done, you'll see this in your terminal:

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ✓  AlianHub is ready!
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

  URL:       http://localhost:8080
  Email:     admin@admin.local
  Password:  admin123

  API:       http://localhost:4000
  Stop:      Ctrl+C in this terminal
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Prerequisite: MongoDB running locally on mongodb://localhost:27017. If you don't have it: docker run -d -p 27017:27017 mongo:7 or download from mongodb.com.

Available commands

Command	What it does
npm run setup	Full setup — install, configure, start, auto-complete wizard, open browser
npm run dev	Fast restart — skips install, just starts the services
npm run setup:reset	Wipe node_modules and reinstall everything
npm run setup -- --manual	Skip auto-setup — open the interactive wizard instead
npm run setup -- --no-open	Start without auto-opening a browser

Custom admin credentials

SETUP_ADMIN_EMAIL=you@example.com SETUP_ADMIN_PASSWORD=secret npm run setup

Other env-var overrides: SETUP_ADMIN_FIRST, SETUP_ADMIN_LAST, SETUP_COMPANY, SETUP_PHONE, SETUP_COUNTRY, SETUP_CITY, SETUP_STATE.

Manual setup still works. Everything above is an additive convenience layer. All existing scripts (npm start, npm run nodemon, npm run basic-install, etc.) and the original interactive wizard are unchanged. If npm run setup ever fails it falls back automatically to the wizard UI so you can finish manually.

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What is AlianHub?

AlianHub is a full-stack, open-source project management system designed for teams that require flexibility, transparency, and ownership over their workflows.

Unlike SaaS-only tools, AlianHub is built to be:

• Self-hosted
• Extensible
• Customizable for real-world organizational needs

It supports both web and desktop environments and is suitable for internal tools, enterprise deployments, and long-term team collaboration.

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Architecture

graph TB
    subgraph clients["Clients"]
        Browser["🌐 Web Browser<br/>Vue.js + Pinia"]
        Desktop["💻 Desktop App<br/>Electron"]
    end

    subgraph server["Server (Node.js + Express)"]
        API["⚙️ Express API<br/>/api/v2/*"]
        Socket["⚡ Socket.io<br/>real-time events"]
    end

    DB[("🗄️ MongoDB<br/>company-scoped<br/>multi-tenant")]
    Storage[("📦 Storage<br/>Wasabi S3 or local filesystem")]

    Browser -->|REST + WebSocket| API
    Browser -.->|live updates| Socket
    Desktop -->|REST + WebSocket| API
    Desktop -.->|live updates| Socket
    API --> DB
    API --> Storage
    Socket --> DB

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Key principle: all data is scoped to companyId for multi-tenancy. A single AlianHub instance can host multiple companies, each with isolated data.

Deeper architecture docs: .claude/ARCHITECTURE.md · .claude/DESIGN.md

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Tech Stack

AlianHub is built using a pragmatic and scalable stack:

• Frontend: Vue
• Backend: Node.js
• Database: MongoDB
• Desktop: Electron
• Repository Structure: Single repository

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Key Features

• 📋 Project & task management — Create projects with custom milestones, sprints, statuses, and custom fields. Track tasks across List, Board, Table, Calendar, and Workload views with drag-and-drop, sub-tasks, checklists, attachments, comments, due dates, and reminders.

• 👥 Team collaboration with RBAC — Assign tasks to users, manage role-based permissions per company, and create custom roles with dynamic permission rules. Multi-tenant by design — a single instance can host multiple companies, each with isolated data.

• ⚡ Real-time collaboration via Socket.io — Changes propagate to every connected client instantly. No polling, no stale views, no F5 refreshes.

• 🔍 Advanced search & saved filters — Find tasks by project, status, assignee, creator, due date, or priority. Save frequently used filters for one-click reuse.

• ⏱️ Timesheets & reporting — Project, user, and workload timesheets. Generate milestone and performance reports. Optional productivity tracking (screenshots / keystrokes / mouse events) for time-sensitive teams.

• 🤖 AI assistance — Generate tasks, subtasks, checklists, descriptions, and project templates with AI. Multiple LLM providers supported.

• 💬 Built-in chat & channels — Real-time messaging and dedicated channels per project or team.

• 💻 Web + desktop (Electron) — Identical experience in the browser and as a native desktop app. Multi-language UI via vue-i18n.

• 🏠 Self-hosted, your data — Run on your own servers with MongoDB and Wasabi/S3 (or local filesystem) storage. No vendor lock-in, no per-seat pricing, no data leaving your infrastructure.

Features evolve continuously — see Discussions for what's next and CHANGELOG.md for what just shipped.

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Feature status

Capability	Status
List · Board (Kanban) · Table · Calendar · Workload views	✅ Shipped
Sub-tasks, checklists, attachments, comments, custom fields	✅ Shipped
Time tracking — timesheets + optional screenshots / activity	✅ Shipped
Custom roles & per-company RBAC	✅ Shipped
Sprints, milestones & reports	✅ Shipped
AI task / sub-task / project generation	✅ Shipped
Built-in chat & channels · real-time sync (Socket.io)	✅ Shipped
Gantt / timeline view	🔜 On the roadmap

How AlianHub compares

Capabilities that are free and built-in here — but paid, limited, or absent in other open-source PM tools:

Capability	AlianHub	Plane (open-source)
Time tracking with screenshots	✅ Free	❌ Not available
Custom fields	✅ Free	💲 Paid
Custom roles & permission matrix	✅ Free	❌ 3 fixed roles
Dashboards & widgets	✅ Free	💲 Paid (custom)
Built-in chat	✅ Free	❌ Not available
AI project generation	✅ Free (your API key)	❌ Not available
Milestones	✅ Free	❌ Not available

Comparison reflects each project's open-source edition; both are AGPL-3.0. AlianHub is younger and still closing gaps of its own (e.g. Gantt) — see the table above.

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📸 Screenshots

A quick tour of AlianHub. Try the live demo to explore for yourself.

Dashboard

Customizable home dashboard with drag-to-arrange widgets — Task by Assignee, Workload by Status, and a live Calendar view.

Board View (Kanban)

Drag-and-drop Kanban board grouped by status (or any field). Cards show due date, assignee, priority, and sub-task count. Switch the same project to List, Table, Calendar, Workload, or a custom view at any time.

List View

Dense list view grouped by status with sortable columns — Chat, Assignee, Due Date, Priority, Key, Created Date, Created By. Select one or many tasks to bulk-edit status, priority, assignees, due dates, tags, or delete/archive in a single click.

Calendar View

Monthly calendar with tasks rendered as color-coded bars spanning their start and due dates. Sub-tasks appear inline with their parent. Filter by yourself or any assignee, navigate month-to-month, or jump to today.

Task Detail

Full task editor with Task Details, Comments, Activity Log, and Time Log tabs. Add sub-tasks, define unlimited custom fields (text, number, email, checkbox, currency, etc.), attach files, and track estimated vs. actual hours in the always-visible right sidebar.

Workload Report

Weekly workload + timesheet in a single view — see logged vs. planned hours per user, drill down into projects and individual tasks, navigate any date range, and toggle between automatically tracked time and manual entries. A capacity-planning differentiator that most open-source PMS tools don't ship.

Settings & Customization

Deep, per-company customization — company info, custom task priorities with icons, milestone statuses with past/future calendar visibility, multi-currency support, members & teams, project templates, custom field manager, role-based security & permissions, time-tracking rules, and notification preferences.

AI Assist

AI available everywhere — generate tasks, sub-tasks, checklists, project plans, and task descriptions from natural language. Pre-built prompt templates across Marketing, Sales, Email, SEO, and Services to jump-start your work without staring at a blank field.

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Documentation

📘 Full user guide & API reference: help.alianhub.com

For development:

• 🤝 CONTRIBUTING.md — how to contribute
• 🌿 BRANCHING.md — branching strategy and PR workflow
• 🛡️ CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md — community standards
• 🔒 SECURITY.md — responsible disclosure for security issues
• 🆘 SUPPORT.md — where to ask questions, report bugs, request features

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Demo

You can explore a live demo here:

👉 https://demo.alianhub.com

Demo data may reset periodically.

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Roadmap

What we're working on, what's planned, and what we're considering — follow along in GitHub Discussions.

Want to suggest something? Open a feature request or start a discussion.

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome — bug reports, feature ideas, documentation fixes, and pull requests of all sizes.

📖 Start here:

• 🤝 CONTRIBUTING.md — how to submit issues and PRs
• 🌿 BRANCHING.md — branch model and PR workflow
• 🛡️ CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md — community standards
• 🔒 SECURITY.md — responsible disclosure for security issues

Looking for something to work on? Browse good first issues or help wanted.

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Support & Community

What	Where
📘 Read the docs	help.alianhub.com
💬 Ask a question	GitHub Discussions
🐛 Report a bug	Bug Report issue
🚀 Request a feature	Feature Request issue
🏢 Commercial support	support@aliansoftware.net

Full guide: SUPPORT.md.

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Deploy & customize with Aliansoftware

AlianHub is built and maintained by Aliansoftware. Want it run for you? We also deploy, customize, and support AlianHub for teams:

• 🚀 Managed hosting & deployment — on your infrastructure or ours
• 🛠️ Custom features & integrations — tailored to your workflow
• 🤝 Priority support & response-time targets — support@aliansoftware.net

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Governance

AlianHub is currently maintained by core maintainers (company-backed).

The long-term goal is to transition toward a community-driven project with dedicated maintainers.

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Security

If you discover a security vulnerability, do not open a public issue.

Please report it responsibly using GitHub Security Advisories as described in
SECURITY.md.

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Contributors ♥️ Thanks

We extend our gratitude to all our numerous contributors who create plugins, assist with issues and pull requests, and respond to questions on GitHub Discussions.

AlianHub Project-Management-System is a community-driven project, and your contributions continually improve it.

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Repo Activity

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License

Licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0).

See the LICENSE file for the full license text and COPYRIGHT for the copyright notice.

What AGPL-3.0 means for you:

• ✅ You can use, modify, self-host, and distribute AlianHub freely.
• ✅ You can run a private modified version internally without publishing changes.
• ⚠️ If you run a modified version as a public network service (SaaS), you must publish your modifications under the same license.
• 📩 Need a different license for commercial / closed-source use? Contact us at support@aliansoftware.net.