OSI-licensed open source
Client management software lets IT teams keep track of the laptops, desktops and servers they support: hardware and software inventory, patch and package deployment, remote access and compliance reporting. Commercial suites such as Microsoft Configuration Manager dominate this space, but open-source tools now cover most of the same tasks.
This guide covers client (endpoint) management for IT and security teams, not customer relationship management. It mixes inventory tools such as GLPI, OCS Inventory and Snipe-IT with device and agent platforms like Fleet, osquery, MeshCentral and Munki. Each project's license was checked on its repository.
Tools, licences and pricing checked against vendor and repository pages on November 7, 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | Cross-platform device management and visibility | Free, open source (self-hosted); paid Premium - see vendor pricing | MIT |
| GLPI | Asset management with a service desk | Free, open source (self-hosted) | GPL-3.0 |
| OCS Inventory NG | Hardware and software inventory with deployment | Free, open source (self-hosted) | GPL-2.0 |
| Snipe-IT | Tracking asset check-in and check-out | Free, open source (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 |
| MeshCentral | Remote access and management | Free, open source (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 |
| Munki | Mac software deployment | Free, open source (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 |
| osquery | Querying fleet state with SQL | Free, open source (self-hosted) | Apache-2.0 |
Best for: Cross-platform device management and visibility · Free, open source (self-hosted); paid Premium - see vendor pricing
Fleet is an open device management platform for IT and security teams, built around osquery. The repository states the free version is MIT licensed and paid features use a separate commercial license.
Best for: Asset management with a service desk · Free, open source (self-hosted)
GLPI tracks IT assets, manages data centers, runs an ITIL-style service desk and monitors licenses and software compliance.
Best for: Hardware and software inventory with deployment · Free, open source (self-hosted)
OCS Inventory is an asset management and deployment solution; the repository holds its web console and is GPLv2 licensed.
Best for: Tracking asset check-in and check-out · Free, open source (self-hosted)
Snipe-IT is a free open-source IT asset and license management system.
Best for: Remote access and management · Free, open source (self-hosted)
MeshCentral is a self-hosted web app for remotely managing and controlling computers on a local network or over the internet.
Best for: Mac software deployment · Free, open source (self-hosted)
Munki is a macOS toolset that lets administrators install and remove software on client Macs from a web-hosted package repository.
Best for: Querying fleet state with SQL · Free, open source (self-hosted)
osquery exposes operating system state as SQL tables for instrumentation, monitoring and analytics. Its repository contains Apache-2.0 and GPL-2.0 licenses.
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| If you need… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Cross-platform visibility and queries | Fleet, osquery |
| IT asset database with service desk | GLPI |
| Agent-based inventory and deployment | OCS Inventory NG |
| Asset check-out tracking | Snipe-IT |
| Remote support | MeshCentral |
| Mac software distribution | Munki |
Quick answers to common questions
Software for inventorying, configuring, patching and supporting end-user devices from a central console.
No. This page covers IT endpoint management. For customer records see the open-source contact management category.
No single project replaces every SCCM feature, but combining Fleet or OCS Inventory with deployment tools covers many needs.
Munki is macOS focused, while Fleet, osquery and MeshCentral run across platforms.
List it on TechLogHub and we'll review it for this guide.
