Repository first
Architecture objects and relationships form the authoritative model. Views, diagrams, dashboards, findings, and analytics are derived from it.
OpenEA enterprise architecture platform
Understand the architecture.
Explain the impact.
OpenEA is enterprise architecture software built to turn architecture data into decision support. Connect business capabilities, applications, technology, data, initiatives, and decisions—then understand dependencies, business impact, lifecycle risk, and change.
Business impact is visible.
Trace dependencies from technology to the business outcomes they enable.
Trace dependencies from technology to the business outcomes they enable.
One architecture modelRepository as the source of truth
Business-aware analysisContext beyond technical inventory
Deterministic insightScores and findings you can explain
Your infrastructureDeploy and operate it yourself
Why OpenEA
Enterprise architecture should help you make decisions.
OpenEA is built around the architecture repository—not around slides, isolated diagrams, or disconnected inventories. The model becomes the foundation for analysis, governance, and change.
Business context matters
Connect technology to applications, capabilities, processes, products, data, ownership, initiatives, and decisions so technical change has business meaning.
Explainable by design
Risk, confidence, findings, and impact should be deterministic. OpenEA is designed to show why an analytical result exists—not just display a score.
Architecture intelligence
Ask better questions of your architecture.
A repository is useful when it helps architects and technology leaders understand consequences, dependencies, and priorities.
Explore OpenEA capabilities01
What business capabilities does this application support?
02
What happens if this application or technology is retired?
03
Which applications depend on technology approaching end of support?
04
Where is architecture risk concentrated across the enterprise?
05
Which initiatives are changing the same architecture at the same time?
Capabilities
From architecture inventory to architecture insight.
Architecture Repository
Model applications, technologies, capabilities, processes, products, data, organizations, initiatives, and other architecture objects in a governed repository.
Relationship Modeling
Connect the architecture and traverse dependencies rather than treating objects as isolated inventory records.
Findings & Rules
Surface deterministic architecture findings using governed, declarative rules that can be reviewed and explained.
Confidence & Evidence
Track the evidence behind architecture assertions and assess confidence rather than treating every repository value as equally trustworthy.
Blast Radius
Analyze downstream architectural and business exposure with materiality, path depth, criticality, and strategic importance reflected in the result.
Governance & History
Support architecture review, accountability, auditability, and history so decisions and changes retain their context over time.
The product
See architecture as a connected system.
Navigate architecture objects, their relationships, lifecycle, findings, Blast Radius, governance context and more from OpenEA.
OpenEA
Blast Radius
Findings
A different model
An open-source, self-hosted alternative for enterprise architecture teams.
If your organization is evaluating alternatives to SAP LeanIX, Alfabet, Ardoq, or Essential, OpenEA offers a different operating model: repository-first, open source, and designed to run on infrastructure you control.
Own the platform
Run OpenEA on infrastructure you control.
Own the architecture data
No external SaaS service is required for the core platform.
Understand the logic
Analytical results are designed to be deterministic and inspectable.
Extend deliberately
Strong defaults provide structure while the platform evolves toward governed extensibility.
Product and company names are trademarks of their respective owners. OpenEA is not affiliated with or endorsed by those vendors.
Purpose built
Enterprise architecture—not another adjacent tool.
Not a CMDB
Operational configuration inventory is not the primary model.
Not a diagramming app
Diagrams should be views of architecture, not the authoritative architecture.
Not project management
Initiatives provide architecture context; they do not replace delivery tooling.
Not a SaaS dependency
The core product is designed for straightforward self-hosting.
terminal
$ git clone https://github.com/openeadev/openea-community.git
$ cd openea-community
$ docker compose up -d
# OpenEA
# PostgreSQL
# self-hosted architecture managementStraightforward self-hosting
Self-hosted enterprise architecture without an infrastructure department of its own.
OpenEA uses a conventional Python and PostgreSQL stack with Docker Compose as the official deployment path. The architecture intentionally avoids requiring a JavaScript SPA, graph database, search cluster, message broker, or external SaaS service for the core experience.
PythonFastAPIPostgreSQLSQLAlchemyJinja2HTMXDocker
Compose
Open source
Architecture tooling should be inspectable, adaptable, and yours to run.
OpenEA Community is free and open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPLv3). It is intended to make serious enterprise architecture management accessible without requiring a proprietary EA platform or an externally hosted SaaS service.
Explore the project on GitHubEnterprise architecture FAQ
Questions about OpenEA and open-source enterprise architecture.
OpenEA is designed for architects and technology leaders who want enterprise architecture management that is repository-first, explainable, self-hosted, and open to inspection.
What is OpenEA?
OpenEA is an open-source, self-hosted enterprise architecture platform that connects business capabilities, applications, technology, data, initiatives, ownership, and architecture decisions in a governed repository.
Is OpenEA free enterprise architecture software?
OpenEA Community is free and open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPLv3). You can evaluate the Community edition through the demo and source repository.
Can OpenEA be self-hosted?
Yes. OpenEA is designed for self-hosting. The Community deployment uses a conventional Python and PostgreSQL stack with Docker Compose as the official deployment path.
Is OpenEA an alternative to LeanIX, Alfabet, Ardoq, or Essential?
OpenEA can be evaluated by organizations looking for an open-source or self-hosted enterprise architecture platform. Its repository-first operating model is different from commercial and open-source alternatives, so organizations should evaluate each product against their own requirements.
What can enterprise architects model in OpenEA?
OpenEA can model business capabilities, processes, products, organizations, applications, application services, data objects, technologies, initiatives, architecture principles, architecture decisions, and governed relationships between them.
Does OpenEA require a SaaS service?
No external SaaS service is required for the core OpenEA Community platform. Organizations can run the platform and keep architecture data on infrastructure they control.
Start exploring
Bring your architecture into focus.
Try OpenEA, inspect the source, and follow the project as the platform continues to evolve.