Guides and reviews

Step-by-step guide to giving an AI agent browser control via MCP servers like Playwright MCP, plus the risks to check before you run it.

Compare open-source game engines Godot, Bevy, Babylon.js, Luanti and Traktor by platform, language and game type to pick the right one for your project.

Compare open-source JavaScript animation, motion and 3D libraries: Three.js, Babylon.js, PixiJS, Anime.js, Motion, Motion Canvas and more, by what each does best.

Compare open-source editor libraries like Tiptap, Lexical, Editor.js, and Monaco by criteria, trade-offs, and best-fit use cases for web apps.

Compare open-source creative software for Linux: Krita, Kdenlive, Shotcut, Audacity, OBS Studio and more, with licenses and how to choose.

A roundup of essential free, open-source Windows programs: PowerToys, OBS Studio, ShareX, Notepad++, KeePassXC, calibre and more, with guidance on choosing.

A roundup of free, open-source macOS apps for window management, menu bar control, video, reading and notes, with a guide to choosing the right one.

A roundup of open-source Android apps without ads or trackers for messaging, maps, media, passwords and notes, with licenses and how to choose.

Team chat history stored on a vendor's servers limits control. Learn how self-hosted open-source chat tools like Rocket.Chat, Mattermost and Synapse keep messages on your own infrastructure.

Compare open-source learning management systems: Moodle, Canvas LMS and Open edX. Licenses, stars and what each suits, plus how to choose.

Compare open-source headless e-commerce platforms like Saleor, Vendure, Medusa and InnoShop as Shopify alternatives, with criteria, trade-offs and recommendations.

Compare open-source headless CMS and publishing platforms like Ghost, Strapi and Directus. Criteria, trade-offs and who should pick each one.

Scattered files across Google Drive and Dropbox leave you with no control over data. Learn how self-hosted file sync and storage tools fix this, and how to start.

Compare open-source self-hosted alternatives to Plex and Google Photos: Jellyfin, Navidrome and Immich, with licenses, categories and how to choose.

A step-by-step guide to monitoring uptime and server health with open-source tools, from one VPS to a small fleet, using Uptime Kuma, Beszel, Glances and more.

Compare open-source Firebase alternatives for databases, auth, storage and realtime: Appwrite, Supabase, PocketBase and SurrealDB, with trade-offs and who should pick each.

Compare Coolify, CapRover and Dokku, open-source self-hosted PaaS tools for deploying apps with Git push or Docker on your own server. Criteria and trade-offs.

A roundup of open-source PDF tools for developers: libraries for parsing and rendering, OCR, conversion APIs, editors, signing apps and how to choose.

Compare open-source wikis, knowledge bases and collaborative docs that you can self-host as alternatives to Notion and Confluence, with licenses and star counts.

Proprietary design and whiteboard tools can lock your files in the cloud. Here are open-source alternatives for sketches, diagrams and design, and how to start.

What retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is, why it matters, and how to choose open-source RAG engines, document parsers and tools to build one.

Compare open-source AI coding assistants and agents for the editor, terminal and autonomous work, with licenses, categories and trade-offs for each option.

Compare open-source Zapier alternatives like n8n, Activepieces, Windmill, Kestra and Dify on integrations, self-hosting, code and AI agent support.

Teams that want a ChatGPT-style interface without sending data to one vendor can self-host open-source chat UIs that work with local and cloud models.