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Tools

The tools we work with

Open-source tools from our practice. What they do, what we use them for, where they fit our clients — and what they cost.

Why this page

Every client setup we run leans on tools that are transparent, durable and free of cloud lock-in — mostly open source, always , always GDPR-fit. This collection documents the tools we use, with a concrete client example per tool. If you're considering whether a tool fits your situation, you'll find an honest take here instead of a product pitch.

Tools by cluster

We group the tools into three layers: infrastructure carries everything, & brings the intelligence, apps are what staff open every day. Each cluster has its own overview page.

Open-weight models we deploy with customers: Llama, Mixtral, Qwen, , DeepSeek, Phi, GPT-oss. Compared by size, license, VRAM, and — plus cloud-vs-local routing.

Llama 3.3Mistral / MixtralQwen 2.5Gemma 3DeepSeek R1Phi 4GPT-oss
In use

Docker

Container engine for isolated services on your own server

Licence cost

Free

Apache-2.0 licensed container engine: containers, Compose, volumes, networks. Example: how a construction company with 25 staff runs eight services (Caddy, Nextcloud, Mailcow, BookStack, Vaultwarden, , , ) isolated on a single mini PC — no SaaS, no cloud lock-in.

ContainerComposeIsolationApache-2.0
→ See the client case
In use

Portainer

Container management in the browser for Docker and Swarm

Licence cost

Free (CE)

Zlib licensed web UI for , Compose and Swarm: stack editor, log stream, volume browser, multi-endpoint, container console. Example: how a marketing studio with its own UGREEN NAS manages twelve containers in the browser — without SSH, without vocabulary.

Docker-UIMulti-EndpointStack-EditorZlib
→ See the client case
In use

Caddy

Web server and reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS

Licence cost

Free

Apache-2.0 licensed web server with automatic certificates, HTTP/3, declarative Caddyfile syntax and hot reload. Example: how a web agency runs 30 client domains in a single Caddyfile — no Certbot jobs, no SSL outage tickets.

Reverse-ProxyAuto-SSLHTTP/3Apache-2.0
→ See the client case
In use

docker-mailserver

Self-hosted Postfix/Dovecot stack with Rspamd

Licence cost

Free

MIT licensed mail-server container: Postfix + Dovecot + Rspamd + ClamAV + , DKIM/SPF/DMARC ready, setup.sh for every admin task. Example: how a German structural engineering office migrated from Strato to its own mail server — unlimited project aliases, Bayes-trained spam filter, 100 % mail sovereignty.

MailPostfix+DovecotRspamdMIT
→ See the client case
In use

Uptime Kuma

Self-hosted monitoring

Licence cost

Free

Open-source monitoring for websites, APIs, mail servers, databases and containers. Status pages for customers, notifications into your own inbox, all data on your own server. Example: how a tax office monitors its client portal, DATEV login, mail server and backup jobs with it.

MonitoringSelf-HostedGDPR-readyOpen Source
→ See the client case
In use

Grafana

Open-source dashboards with 200+ data sources

Licence cost

Free

AGPL-3.0 licensed platform for dashboards, alerting and multi-data-source visualisation. Example: how a German private brewery with 18 staff monitors 12 fermentation tanks with IoT sensors — real-time fermentation curves, Slack alerts on drift, automatic brew protocols.

DashboardsAlertingMulti-DatenquellenAGPL-3.0
→ See the client case
In use

Ollama

Local LLM server with OpenAI API

Licence cost

Free

MIT licensed server for 100+ open-weight models (Llama, Mistral, Qwen, ): OpenAI-compatible , acceleration (NVIDIA/AMD/Apple), quantisation for RAM/VRAM efficiency. Example: how a German machine-building company with 80 staff replaced shadow IT (clandestine ChatGPT use) with a local server — IP protection instead of data leakage.

LLM-ServerLocalOpenAI-APIMIT
→ See the client case
In use

Open WebUI

Self-hosted chat interface for your own AI models

Licence cost

Free

Browser interface for local models (Llama, Mixtral, Qwen) via : multi-user with , , over your own documents, OpenAI-compatible . Example: how a German law firm with 8 staff runs § 203-compliant brief drafting, contract analysis and case-law research — without client data ever leaving the firm.

AI-UIRBACRAGSelf-Hosted
→ See the client case
In use

n8n

Workflow automation, self-hosted

Licence cost

Free

Fair-code tool for email triggers, , DATEV export, Slack bridges and CRM integrations. 400+ pre-built nodes, visual editor, runs on your own server. Example: how a tax firm with 60 clients automates its document intake, monthly P&L dispatch and deadline watchdog.

WorkflowSelf-HostedGDPR-readyFair-Code
→ See the client case
In use

Camunda 7

BPMN workflow and DMN decision engine

Licence cost

Free

Apache-2.0 licensed engine + DMN decision engine in Java with user task inbox and cockpit. Example: how a German special machine builder with 60 staff turns engineering approval workflows from email threads into processes with user tasks, parallel paths and audit trail.

BPMNDMNProcess-EngineApache-2.0
→ See the client case
In use

Vaultwarden

Self-hosted password manager (Bitwarden compatible)

Licence cost

Free

AGPL-3.0 licensed Rust reimplementation of the Bitwarden server: one container, ~50 MB RAM, fully compatible with every official Bitwarden app (iOS, Android, browser extension). Example: how a German architecture firm with 12 staff and 80 building projects manages 1,800+ logins without a SaaS vault.

PasswordsTOTPBitwarden-compatibleAGPL-3.0
→ See the client case
In use

Paperless-ngx

Self-hosted document archive with OCR and full-text search

Licence cost

Free

GPL-3.0 licensed DMS for trade businesses and SMBs: Tesseract local, full-text search, ML auto-tagging, REST , GoBD-compliant retention. Example: how a German HVAC business archived 7,400+ delivery notes, maintenance contracts and subsidy applications in 18 months — search in under a second.

DMSOCRGoBDGPL-3.0
→ See the client case
In use

BookStack

Self-hosted wiki with books-chapters-pages structure

Licence cost

Free

MIT licensed wiki with WYSIWYG + Markdown, full-text search, REST , multi-user. Example from our own practice: we have used BookStack for 18 months for 400+ pages of internal knowledge — this entire tools section was developed from BookStack storyboards.

WikiKnowledge-BaseWYSIWYGMIT
→ See the client case
In use

Cal.com

Self-hosted scheduling tool (Calendly alternative)

Licence cost

Free

MIT licensed scheduling tool: self-service slots, availability management, recurring appointments, reminder emails. Example: how a German psychotherapy group practice with 4 therapists and 240 patients runs its scheduling Art. 9 GDPR compliant — saving €5,000–9,000 per year compared to Doctolib.

SchedulingGDPR-readyCalendly-AlternativeMIT
→ See the client case
In use

WordPress

The CMS behind 43 % of all websites — radically rethought with AI

Licence cost

Free

Vanilla WordPress + Block Editor + (ChatGPT, Claude, , ) replaces the expensive plugin stack. Example: how a neighbourhood restaurant maintains its site daily — from €700/year plugin stack down to €190/year, daily updates in 15 minutes via smartphone.

CMSKI-PflegePlugin-freiGPL-2.0+
→ See the client case
In use

TinaCMS

Git-based headless CMS for Next.js and Astro

Licence cost

Free

Apache-2.0 licensed headless CMS with content as Markdown/MDX in a Git repository and a visual editor in the browser. Schema definition in TypeScript, automatic type generation. Fits Next.js, Astro or Hugo sites with editorial maintenance.

Headless-CMSGit-basedNext.jsApache-2.0
→ See the client case

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