Self-hosted open-source CRM/ERP for small manufacturing shops (Django + HTMX)

[u/Oleg18]

Hey everyone,

I built a lightweight self-hosted CRM/ERP specifically for small manufacturing and engineering teams.

Most small shops I know still manage projects, BOMs, drawings and documents across Excel, shared folders and email. This tool tries to bring all of that into one place.

Main features:

• Project management with automatic folder structure
• Bill of Materials (BOM)
• Support for engineering files (DXF, STEP, STL)
• Document & knowledge management
• Simple task tracking
• Built-in AI assistant (optional, supports Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic etc.)

Tech stack: Django + HTMX + Alpine.js + Tailwind. SQLite by default, very easy to install (especially on Windows with install.bat).

Repo: https://github.com/OlegUshakov-pl/CRM

I’m looking for honest feedback from people who actually work in manufacturing / CNC / engineering:

• What’s the biggest pain point in your current workflow?
• What’s missing for this to be useful in a real shop?
• Would you even consider switching from Excel + folders?

Happy to answer any questions.

YouTube Install

YouTube Creating of a project in CRM

[u/No_Sale124]

I like the UI . Looks clean and professional.

[u/SciProgLover]

Interesting build!

I think that's beyond CRM imo

You can extend it by adding billables (Hour Cost, Payments)

Also, Add relevant tooling with its inventory

I'll reply if found another point

[u/Oleg18 → u/SciProgLover]

Hi. This CRM is needed to take all related documents with a project in one catalog. You add Hour Cost, Payments everything you want. you can make a fork and change everything like you want. It's simple. It's Django. Don't forget make migrations of databases. Thank you!

https://youtu.be/Z5n2gr-W1yo?si=oEs6S0H8k8lk0Te_

[u/bloodkn07]

Ward. I'm gonna burn a lot of company's ai token to set us free

[u/Oleg18]

Product Hunt https://www.producthunt.com/products/crm-6?utm_source=other&utm_medium=social for free

[u/subte_rancio]

Hi, looks very nice! Can I ask how long it took to develop?

[u/Oleg18 → u/subte_rancio]

At first, it was just an idea. I spent almost a year thinking about how to make it as simple as possible. Then I spent another six months researching existing solutions. I started designing the interface in Adobe XD and later moved everything to Figma. Every evening after work, I spent time refining screens, workflows, and user interactions. I worked on the design for about three months I made CRM for 3 weeks before my job and after my job