I'm building an open-source Amazon
A couple of years ago, I had an interesting idea. What if there was a marketplace where all the underlying tech was open-source? The order management system, the storefront, customer support, etc. The marketplace would simply connect to the seller’s infra instead of locking them in. If, for some reason, the seller is removed from the marketplace, their software stays with them and they can continue accepting orders directly. This model can be used to disrupt any marketplace from AirBNB to UberEats: building tech for home renters and restaurants and later, leveraging that to build a competing…
In plain words
Openship is an open-source order management system that allows sellers to source and fulfill orders from multiple locations without vendor lock-in. Designed for developers and marketplace sellers, it functions as the first component of a broader open-source marketplace infrastructure. The software stays with sellers even if they leave a marketplace, enabling them to continue operations independently. It serves as a foundation for building decentralized marketplace alternatives to existing platforms.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
A couple of years ago, I had an interesting idea. What if there was a marketplace where all the underlying tech was open-source? The order management system, the storefront, customer support, etc. The marketplace would simply connect to the seller’s infra instead of locking them in. If, for some reason, the seller is removed from the marketplace, their software stays with them and they can continue accepting orders directly. This model can be used to disrupt any marketplace from AirBNB to UberEats: building tech for home renters and restaurants and later, leveraging that to build a competing marketplace. In 2019, I started building the first piece, Openship, an order management system that lets you source orders and fulfill them from anywhere. Now that that’s in stable release, next up is Openfront (an e-commerce platform for storefronts) and Opensupport (ticketing software for customer support). Together, they provide the staples for any modern business: sales, fulfillment, support. Let me know what you guys think of the idea and if you see any potential pitfalls.
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