Every animal, a clear story
Keep profiles, photos, and adoption details together. Help adopters get to know the animal behind the listing.
OPEN-SOURCE, SELF-HOSTED SOFTWARE
More time for
the animals.
OpenShelter is software for rescue organizations to run their own adoption platform. Your team installs and hosts it on your own server, with your own name and branding.
Free software. Hosting and technical setup are up to you.
A little less admin.A lot more care.
For every kind of second chance.
Open source, always
Hosted on your server
Your data stays yours
Built for rescue communities
FOR RESCUES & THEIR TECHNICAL TEAMS
Rescue is a team effort.
Your software should be, too.
You already have enough to do. Finding a vaccination record, following an adoption application, or helping a new volunteer get started shouldn't add to the list.
Install OpenShelter with your technical team or partner to give your rescue a shared place to work. Once your platform is running, adopters can browse animals and apply there.
See how it worksA HOME FOR THE EVERYDAY WORK
From the first hello
to the ride home.
The tools included in the software you install and run for your rescue community.
Care you can keep track of
Record vaccinations, treatments, and health notes. Give your team the history they need when it's time to help.
A path from interest to adoption
Let adopters search for pets and send applications. Review each application in your organization's workspace.
A team with a shared workspace
Bring volunteers into your organization. Keep each rescue's work separate while sharing the same platform.
Finances in one place
Track income and expenses for your organization, and set up the donation information visitors see.
Your community, your identity
Choose your platform's name, logo, colors, and language in the setup wizard. Run unmodified releases and keep receiving updates.
OPEN BY DESIGN
A platform you can
call your own.
OpenShelter is free software under the MIT license. Run it on infrastructure you choose. Shape it for your community. Keep control of your data.
Read the MIT licenseBuilt with Elixir, Phoenix LiveView, and PostgreSQL.
Your brand comes first
Your name and identity belong on your platform. The public OpenShelter footer credit can be turned off in settings.
No software subscription
There are no license fees. You cover your hosting, database, email, and image storage.
Your team runs it
You or your technical partner handle installation, updates, backups, and maintenance. Branding lives in settings, so you can keep using unmodified releases.
INSTALL IT. MAKE IT YOURS.
Your server.
Your community.
Bring a technical teammate or partner to deploy and maintain your platform, or contribute to the software on GitHub.
FOR RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS & OPERATORS01
Install and self-host
Get the source code, deploy it on your own infrastructure, and configure your name and domain. You'll need someone comfortable managing a server, plus a plan for hosting costs and ongoing maintenance.
Read the installation guideFOR CONTRIBUTORS02
Help build OpenShelter
Write code, improve documentation, help with translations, or report a problem. The work happens in the open on GitHub.
Find a place to contributeOpenShelter is in active development. Review the current code and installation guide before running a production instance.
A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT WONDER
Before you get started.
Can I adopt an animal here?
This is the website for the OpenShelter software project. Animals and adoption applications live on platforms run by individual rescue communities. This website doesn't list animals or process adoptions.
Is OpenShelter free?
Yes. The software is open source under the MIT license, with no license fees. Running an instance has infrastructure costs, including hosting, a database, email, and image storage.
Do you host a platform for me?
OpenShelter is self-hostable software. You or your technical partner install and operate your instance. The project doesn't currently offer a managed hosting service.
Can several shelters use the same platform?
Yes. An instance can host many rescue organizations. Each organization manages its own animals, members, health records, finances, and applications. Adopters search across organizations.
Can I use my own name and language?
Yes. The setup wizard lets you configure your name, logo, colors, language, and region. User-facing platform text is translatable. You can also disable the public OpenShelter footer credit.
How can I help?
Start with the repository and open issues on GitHub. Code, bug reports, documentation, translations, and feedback from people working in rescue are all useful contributions.
Built in the open.
For a kinder everyday.
Install it for your rescue community. Help build it on GitHub.
Join us on GitHub