Ask HN: FOSS low-code/no-code platforms?

10 pointssandwichbop4y ago14 comments

I know visual scripting is an old idea, but I've noticed an uptick in people adopting low-code/no-code solutions, allowing them to build entire websites, apps, and startups like never before. Quick Examples: Bubble.io[1], OutSystems[2], Microsoft Power Apps[3] that targets this sort of niche, but there's plenty of more. They're far from perfect, but they don't feel like a fad this time.

Most of these low-code/no-code platforms are proprietary and often expensive; I want to contribute to alternatives. What FOSS low-code/no-code platforms exist, and which have the most potential?

[1] https://bubble.io [2] https://www.outsystems.com/p/modern-development/ [3] https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/

10 pointssandwichbop4y ago14 comments

Most of these low-code/no-code platforms are proprietary and often expensive; I want to contribute to alternatives. What FOSS low-code/no-code platforms exist, and which have the most potential?

[1] https://bubble.io [2] https://www.outsystems.com/p/modern-development/ [3] https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/

14 comments

13 comments · 7 top-level

Irongirl14y ago· 2 in thread

https://www.budibase.com

budibase4y ago

Thank you for the mention. For anyone interested, here's our GitHub repo: https://github.com/Budibase/budibase

foxbee4y ago

Co-founder of Budibase here.

You've hit the nail on the head.

As developers, we were burnt out building the same internal tools time and time again. So, we went looking for a low code platform and what we found, were closed source, expensive, low code platforms that were clunky and not very extensible.

We thought we could build a better low code platform that was enjoyable to use. And our first and easiest decision was making it open source.

It's written in nodejs and Svelte, and uses CouchDB. Happy to provide more technical info.

1 more reply

solmag4y ago· 2 in thread

ray-traced code /when/, the world demands 4 dimensional code

sandwichbopOP4y ago

Why the snark? I see value in no-code/low-code platforms for many people—integrating with "traditional" code to fill in the lack of domain-specific features and building a strong FOSS alternative early on is critical. I just started reading and found these two projects that seem to be trying to accomplish just that [1][2] though they seem very early. I'd love to see what other project HN might know, since I personally don't know better.

[1] https://github.com/saltcorn/saltcorn [2] https://github.com/Rintagi/Low-Code-Development-Platform

solmag4y ago

I was absolutely not snarking. I think it was Terry Davis that had in his code editor for TempleOS 2d rendering.

kinj284y ago· 1 in thread

You may want to look at appsmith - they are FOSS - will enable building frontend apps

Incase you happen to explore low code SaaS platforms then check out DronaHQ - front end app dev platform - built in DB - automation - BPM

Disclaimer- I am a part of DronaHQ

sandwichbopOP4y ago

Appsmith looks really cool, going to read up on it. I looked up DronaHQ but they don't seem to be very FOSS like at all, doesn't seem to have the majority of code available, no self hosting and the cheapest tier is $100 a month after your trial ends.

satvikpendem4y ago· 1 in thread

There's this one I read about a little while ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27421408

sandwichbopOP4y ago

Amazing! I never heard of it before, but it looks robust already and seems to have momentum. Thank you, going to read up more on it!

rnavi4y ago

NocoDB is a free & open source Airtable alternative & has received 2 Million+ times within 15 weeks.

Github: https://github.com/nocodb/nocodb

It simply works by transforming any existing databases into smart spreadsheet.

We support Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server & SQLite.

You can create business workflows by connecting to Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Twilio, Whatsapp, Email & any 3rd party APIs too. Plus NocoDB provides programmatic access via REST/GQL APIs so that you can build integrations with Zapier / Integromat and custom applications too.

Full disclaimer : Founder here

tobinharris4y ago

I've been curating a list of open source no-code tools. I'm sure I've missed a few but here they are.

It includes the ones mentioned here - AppSmith, ToolJet, BudiBase and SaltCorn. I'll add NodeRed even though it's a bit more hardware/IoT oriented.

https://pocketworks.co.uk/blog/open-source-no-code-tools

quickthrower24y ago

https://nodered.org/

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14 comments

13 comments · 7 top-level

Irongirl14y ago· 2 in thread

https://www.budibase.com

budibase4y ago

Thank you for the mention. For anyone interested, here's our GitHub repo: https://github.com/Budibase/budibase

foxbee4y ago

Co-founder of Budibase here.

You've hit the nail on the head.

We thought we could build a better low code platform that was enjoyable to use. And our first and easiest decision was making it open source.

It's written in nodejs and Svelte, and uses CouchDB. Happy to provide more technical info.

1 more reply

solmag4y ago· 2 in thread

ray-traced code /when/, the world demands 4 dimensional code

sandwichbopOP4y ago

[1] https://github.com/saltcorn/saltcorn [2] https://github.com/Rintagi/Low-Code-Development-Platform

solmag4y ago

I was absolutely not snarking. I think it was Terry Davis that had in his code editor for TempleOS 2d rendering.

kinj284y ago· 1 in thread

You may want to look at appsmith - they are FOSS - will enable building frontend apps

Incase you happen to explore low code SaaS platforms then check out DronaHQ - front end app dev platform - built in DB - automation - BPM

Disclaimer- I am a part of DronaHQ

sandwichbopOP4y ago

satvikpendem4y ago· 1 in thread

There's this one I read about a little while ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27421408

sandwichbopOP4y ago

Amazing! I never heard of it before, but it looks robust already and seems to have momentum. Thank you, going to read up more on it!

rnavi4y ago

NocoDB is a free & open source Airtable alternative & has received 2 Million+ times within 15 weeks.

Github: https://github.com/nocodb/nocodb

It simply works by transforming any existing databases into smart spreadsheet.

We support Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server & SQLite.

Full disclaimer : Founder here

tobinharris4y ago

I've been curating a list of open source no-code tools. I'm sure I've missed a few but here they are.

It includes the ones mentioned here - AppSmith, ToolJet, BudiBase and SaltCorn. I'll add NodeRed even though it's a bit more hardware/IoT oriented.

https://pocketworks.co.uk/blog/open-source-no-code-tools

quickthrower24y ago

https://nodered.org/

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