Capture the item
Photograph the tool and its nameplate. Any generated title, tags, or description remain a draft until someone reviews them.
All use cases
Open Inventory for Makerspace
Find tools, record checkouts, and get complete kits back.
Open Inventory combines a tool catalogue, stock records, and checkout workflows in one self-hosted system. A new item can start with a photo; members can later resolve its location, status, and available quantity by search or code.
MIT licenseSelf-hostedNative iOS app
Capture path
Take a photo · review the draft · save the record
Operational problem
Less reconstruction, more traceable state.
Machines, individual tools, and bulk material move between benches and members every day. A spreadsheet rarely identifies which serialised unit was issued, which accessories belong to it, or whether consumables have reached their reorder point.
- Resolve a tool through search, QR code, barcode, or inventory identifier
- Track bulk consumables and serialised machines with different stock models
- Record checkout, return, reservation, and location changes without replacing history
Real web app capture · demo data
A workflow at the point of use
From a physical object to a usable record.
Capture starts with a camera or an existing code. Structured fields and deeper workflows are added without hiding the transaction being made.
Choose the stock model
Use quantity tracking for interchangeable material and serialised units for machines or tools that need an individual state.
Attach a code
Print a QR or Code 128 label that resolves to the item through the documented short-link route.
Record each movement
Confirm checkout, return, transfer, or consumption at the shelf so the current state and its history stay connected.
Relevant capabilities
The data model behind this use case.
These capabilities are part of the same MIT-licensed application. Open Inventory does not split them into closed industry editions.
Quantity and serial tracking
Keep screws and cable ties as quantities while machines receive their own serial number, code, state, and assignment history.
QR and barcode labels
Build physical labels in millimetres and link them to inventory records or configured scan actions.
Checkout history
Reservations, issues, returns, and transfers are dated events rather than a single overwritten status field.
Shelves and work areas
Model storage locations and map positions so a search result describes where an item should actually be found.
Reordering and assemblies
Combine stock thresholds, purchase orders, and bills of materials for workshop kits and repeatable builds.
Task-specific permissions
Separate browsing, editing, stock operations, and administration for members, maintainers, and workshop staff.
Native iOS app
SwiftUI · included in the repository
Run a checkout at the shelf, not at a desk.
The native SwiftUI app is part of the same MIT-licensed repository. It scans codes, captures photos, and sends authenticated requests to your own Open Inventory server.
- Open a record from a QR code, barcode, SKU, or serial number
- Review stock changes before submitting them
- Resume persisted capture jobs after an interrupted upload
Camera and scanner operations run on a physical iPhone
Read the iOS implementation notesOpen source is part of the operating model
Workshop knowledge stays with the workshop.
The web application, PostgreSQL migrations, OpenAPI contract, and iOS source are published under the MIT license. Self-hosting also means the operator remains responsible for backups, updates, TLS, and any optional external AI or storage provider.
MIT-licensed source
Docker setup with PostgreSQL
Checked-in OpenAPI 3.1 contract
Native iOS source included
Run it on your infrastructure
Start with one reviewed record.
Start the Docker stack, photograph one real object, and inspect the resulting fields and media before choosing a wider rollout.