Plane (55,564 Stars) 2026: The Open-Source Jira Alternative for Project Management - Self-Host Guide

Plane (55,564 stars) is the open-source project management tool that replaces Jira - with issues, cycles, modules and views. Here is how to self-host it for your team.

📜 Table of Contents

• The short answer
• What you get
• Self-host with Docker
• Getting your team started
• Practical tips
• FAQ

The short answer

makeplane/plane (55,564 stars, TypeScript) is an open-source project management tool designed as a Jira/Linear alternative. It covers issues, cycles (sprints), modules, pages, and multiple views (list, board, calendar, Gantt) - and you can self-host it, keeping your project data on your own servers.

What you get

• Issues: full lifecycle with states, priorities, and labels
• Cycles: sprint planning and tracking
• Modules: group issues into deliverables
• Views: list, kanban, calendar, and Gantt
• Pages: built-in docs/wiki for the project

Self-host with Docker

git clone https://github.com/makeplane/plane.git
cd plane/deploy
# Edit .env (set your domain, secrets) then:
sudo ./setup.sh

Or quickly with docker-compose:

docker compose up -d
# Frontend on http://localhost:3000

Getting your team started

1. Create a workspace and invite members.
2. Set up project cycles (e.g. 2-week sprints).
3. Define issue states to match your workflow (Todo, In Progress, Done).
4. Use views to slice work: board for kanban, Gantt for planning.

Practical tips

• Enable notifications (email/Slack) so the team stays in sync.
• Use Modules for milestone-based delivery tracking.
• Backup the Postgres database regularly - it holds all project data.

FAQ

Is it really free? The self-hosted community edition is free and open source (AGPL).

Can I migrate from Jira? Yes - Plane provides importers for Jira and other tools.

Is it production-ready? Many teams run it in production; keep it updated for security fixes.

❓ FAQ

Is it really free?

The self-hosted community edition is free and open source (AGPL).

Can I migrate from Jira?

Yes - Plane provides importers for Jira and other tools.

Is it production-ready?

Many teams run it in production; keep it updated for security fixes.