At a Glance:
erxes is a self-hosted, source-available experience operating system that unifies marketing, sales, operations, and support functions through a plugin-based architecture, serving as an open-source alternative to platforms like HubSpot and Zendesk.
Overview:
erxes is a self-hosted experience operating system (XOS) designed to unify core business functions—including marketing, sales, operations, and support—within a single platform. Built as an Nx-powered monorepo with a plugin-based architecture, it uses GraphQL Federation and Module Federation to deliver a modular, extensible system. The platform is aimed at SaaS providers, digital marketing agencies, and developers who need to create customized business experiences. It integrates key modules like contacts, automation, and documents with specialized plugins for frontline customer engagement, project operations, content management, and accounting.
Key Decision Points:
Self-hosted deployment: The project is explicitly self-hosted, giving operators full control over their infrastructure and data residency.
Plugin-driven extensibility: Core business capabilities—such as sales, operations, and finance—are delivered as independently selectable plugins, not a monolithic suite, allowing teams to compose only the tools they need.
Modular frontend and backend architecture: Uses GraphQL Federation for microservices and Module Federation for micro-frontends, which matters for teams planning to extend or integrate specific modules independently.
Target users are builders, not just end-users: The tool is positioned for SaaS providers, agencies, and developers creating tailored experiences, rather than a simple out-of-the-box SaaS for general business users.
Specific, niche plugins available: Includes domain-specific plugins for tourism, property management, and banking operations alongside standard business functions, indicating a broad but specialized scope.
Core Features:
Core Modules: A built-in set of modules covering universal business objects: My Inbox, Contacts, Products, Segments, Automation, and Documents.
Omnichannel Frontline Engagement: The Frontline plugin consolidates customer conversations, tickets, and tasks across channels into a single workspace.
Headless Content Management: The Content plugin provides headless website, corporate site, e-commerce, knowledge base, and help center publishing tools.
Lead Capture and Sales: The Sales plugin converts visitors into leads using customizable landing pages, forms, pop-ups, and embed placements.
Nx Monorepo with Microservices: The codebase is structured as an Nx monorepo, with backend services communicating through GraphQL Federation and tRPC, and frontends composed via Module Federation.
Custom Plugin Creation: Developers can create custom plugins, each bundling its own GraphQL schema, tRPC endpoints, business logic, and React components.
Use Cases:
Developers and agencies building custom, multi-tenant business operating platforms for clients across diverse industries.
Self-hosters seeking a unified system to manage sales pipelines, customer support tickets, and project operations without relying on separate SaaS subscriptions.
Organizations in specialized sectors like real estate, tourism, or banking that require a customizable operational backbone with domain-specific modules.
Open-Source Alternative Value:
As a self-hosted and source-available platform, erxes provides a direct alternative to commercial suites like HubSpot, Zendesk, and Linear. Its value lies in its modular, plugin-based architecture that allows developers and agencies to assemble a tailored business OS without the recurring costs or feature constraints of separate SaaS products. The combination of GraphQL Federation and Module Federation provides a technical foundation for building and integrating custom plugins at scale, while self-hosted deployment keeps infrastructure and data under the user's control.
