What is a low-code development platform?

A low-code development platform is an application development platform which uses graphical wizards to create and build software. Unlike, the traditional approach which uses computer programming languages to build apps.

Hence, the name low-code or no-code, a close to none code is written in many cases, as a visual development tools to aid designers with drag-and-drop, components browser and logic-builders.

The main concept of low-code and no-code is not new, rather it goes back for over a decade with programming without a code (PWCT) and similar systems. However, there were not that usable or supported among developer communities.

Nowadays, dozens of these platforms and services are swarming the internet, as the concept proven to be more than for prototyping quick projects.

So, in this article we are introducing a list of the best open-source low-code and no-code platform for personal and enterprise use.

The Best RAD low- and no-code platforms for enterprise

1- Saltcorn

Saltcorn UI builder


Saltcorn is a no-code database manager web application. It comes with an eye-candy dashboard, rich ecosystem and view builder and theme-able interface.

Users with almost no-coding experience can build a rich and interactive database apps within minutes. It can be used also by companies to create their daily used tools and re-shape them on-fly.

Saltcorn has an impressive list of example apps which include: Blog, address book, project management system, issue tracker, wiki, team management and more.

It is released as a free open-source project under MIT license. You can run a demo and test everything yourself through this link.

2- Joget DX

Joget DX in action

Joget DX is a low-code application building platform to ease digital transformation for companies. It combines business process automation management, workflow customization with a low-code application development tools.

Joget DX can run on-cloud and on-premise. It has a rich documentation, easy-to-use dashboard with visual builder that supports drag-and-drop and operating system & database independent.

3- Digdag

Digdag is an open-source enterprise solution, aims for easy deployment, multi-cloud setup and modular structure to build and scale business app.

Digdag is packed with set of enterprise features which include rich admin panel, multi-lingual support, error handling, configuration tool and version control tools.

The solution is built on top of Java and Node.js. It supports AWS, private cloud, IBM cloud and Digital Ocean.

4- Stackstorm

Stackstorm is unlike anyone other system in this list, it is designed as an umbrella to connect, manage and monitor enterprise apps within one platform.

Stackstorm focuses on event-driven approach, custom workflow design and user roles and permissions.

The approach is simple: Event-driven automation that offers sensors, triggers, per-defined actions, rules, workflow and audits with a rich logging system.

5- CUBA Platform

CUBA platform is an open-source (Apache 2.0) rapid application development system for enterprise.

It comes with dozens of tools as an IDE, app building studio, CLI command-line interface and solid extensible infrastructure.

CUBA platform has a rich add-on system which features a BPM (Business Process Management) add-on which takes moments to build and install.

6- Skyve

Skyve is an open-source software building platform for business. It supports both no-code and low-code for rapid application development.

Skyve supports different database engines: MySQL, SQL server and H2 database engines. Its developers are currently working to support PostgreSQL and Oracle. It comes with a rich API set for low-level development and application building wizard for low- and no-code development.

The platform is formed of a rich ecosystem that include:

  1. Enterprise platform,
  2. Builder app to build mobile apps with React Native,
  3. Skyve Bus module which integrates with other third-party services,
  4. Skyve Confidence: provides a testing functionality for test-driven development
  5. Skyve Cortex:
  6. Skyve Portal: which extends enterprise apps with web portal functionalities
  7. Skyve CRM: Custom-build Skyve CRM app
  8. Skyve Replica: offers a seamless synchronization among distributed Skyve instances

7- Rintagi

Rentagi is a mobile-focuses low-code enterprise-grade app building platform. It is also completely free and open-source solution, which makes it a perfect solution for small and medium-sized companies.

Rentagi comes with rich sophisticated tools for building apps quickly for high productivity, It also offers a rich developer-friendly API for mobile developers.

8- Opexava

OpenXava an open-source cross-platform low-code web framework  for enterprise

OpenXava is a low-code app building platform with a primary focus on productivity, simplicity and usability.

As a cross-platform system built with Java technologies, It runs on Linux and Windows servers. It may look as a legacy system (stated 2005), but it is still the primary choice for many enterprises.

OpenXava ensures a high productivity, a short functional learning curve, a large set of functionalities for enterprise and complete responsive layout for mobile and tablets.

OpenXava is a free open-source as a community edition, but  enterprise can purchase  different extra features editions.

9- Convertigo

ConvertiGo: RAD web and mobile development with low- and no-code support

Convertigo is a mix between no-code and low-code platform. It aims for citizen developers and serious developers to help them create enterprise-ready apps and tools in short time.

Convertigo offers an on-premise install, a cloud version and MBaaS edition for developers.

It features a mobile builder tool, visual drag and drop UI, Low-code backend, REST/ XML convertor, REST/JSON convertor, admin console and more.

Convertigo offers a full PWA (Progressive Web App), iOS and Android mobile development support.

10- Tymly

Tymly: an open-source low-code platform with re-usable components

Tymly is a business-first low-code platform for creating a scalable server applications. It is released as an open-source project under MIT license.

Tymly introduced a blueprint concept that encapsulate business processes, functions and workflows into a blueprint. It has an ecosystem and  store for blueprints which safe a huge deal of  development resources.

Blueprint are saved in JSON schemas, while data is stored in PostgreSQL database.

Developers can write their blueprints by defining their requirements, business functions and workflow in JSON schemas.

11 -  JUDO

JUDO.codes is yet another low-code platform aiming for enterprise use.  In terms of data modeling, UI design and development, JUDO offers more flexibility for developers than other low-code platforms on this list.

JUDO is available for Windows, macOS and Linux in both an installable package and a binary application package. (* macOS installer is coming soon).

JUDO.code portal offers a rich documentation and a set of tutorials for newcomers. It also provides an extensive user guide as well as an installation instruction to app platforms.

12- OpenCatapult

OpenCatapult is an open-source low-code DevOps automation platform. It helps DevOps and server masters to take a better control on their servers by managing automated routine tasks on-fly.

Unfortunately, OpenCatapult is only available for Windows x64 platform, but the developers are planning for Linux and macOS releases in the near future.

13- BudiBase

BudiBase builder*

BudiBase is not just another low-code platform, it comes with different goal than other platforms here, as it focuses on providing tools for developers to speed-up development, deployment and integration processes within one platform.

Here in Medevel.com, we tried BudiBase for over a week, and we are quite impressed with its productivity, usability and fast deployment. We will publish a review about it soon, so stay tuned.

14- GENERATIVE OBJECTS (Go) Platform

Go Platform is a low-code platform brought to life business by a French company. It focuses on better control of application life-cycle, collaboration among developers, software integration with other platforms and desktop, mobile and web development.

Go Platform features a model-based approach for application development which saves time, money and effort as it focuses on the solution not the tools.

15- Baserow

Baserow: Create and manage databases with this no-code free app

Baserow is a fascinating tool for creating, managing databases and building database apps on the fly. It is packed with features which ensure high productivity and usability.

Because Baserow is a modular system that offers a complete REST-API headless system, It gains the attention of mobile developers to use it as a backed end for their apps.

Baserow is in active-development, so stay tuned for more features.

16- OS.bee

OS.bee is a free open-source platform for enterprise which combines both low- and no-code with a model-driven application development strategy.

The platform is created by a company that specialized in creating enterprise ERP system for more than 30 years.

OS.bee offers a visual model and diagram builder for creating application data models. The system is created with Java and offers an Eclipse installation and integration.

17- nuBuilder

nuBuilder is a free open-source RAD (Rapid Application Development) for building enterprise database application in minutes.

It is self-hosted, low-code with a highly customizable backend system. It uses  PHP, HTML and JavaScript with MySQL database.

18- Metabase

Metabase database connection

Metabase is an open-source data-oriented customizable dashboard which supports a wide-range of database backends like MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle and more.

It provides a layer for managing database records, manipulating data, visual approach to manipulated records, supports joins, multiple aggregations, advanced filtering and full-text search.

It is the ultimate solution for creating a productive database-ready dashboard within minutes with a high productivity and availability for enterprise.

Metabase is packed with amazing visual widgets which include: charts, maps, SVG vector maps, analytics, and a rich detailed documentation for users, developers, and DevOps.

See the whole features list here.

19- Teleport

is a free low code development platform. It enables developers, designers and content creators to easily create responsive static websites visually, without writing any code – all while collaborating in real time.


Their visual website builder comes with an easy to use drag & drop interface for quickly adding and customizing content blocks. Users can also define reusable components with custom properties, store templates & sections.
The editor is able to automatically generate code and responsive CSS layouts for the most popular JS frameworks like React, Vue, Angular, Next.js or CMSs like Gatsby.


The SDK for the code generators is open source (available on GitHub). This way, developers can easily extend the platform to support new programming languages or frameworks.


In addition to code generation, the platform supports instant publishing to platforms like Vercel, Code-Sandbox or GitHub.
Many other integrations are added constantly. Developers can write or extend the existing open source generators for adding support for additional languages or frameworks.

Conclusion

Low and No-code Platforms are trending because of their main value: productivity. As we listed the most used and popular open-source platforms, we are giving the choice for our readers to choose the best for their work.

If you know of an open-source low- or no-code platform that we missed, please mention it in the comments section.

Resoures

20 Open-source Low-code platforms for 2021/ 2022
Low-code is a software development trending topic, in summary, it is an approach that speeds up the software products cycle with minimal hand-coding as it automates the r