ProjeQtOr

ProjeQtOr is a self‑hosted, open‑source project management platform that consolidates planning, resource allocation, issue tracking, and reporting into a single web application. From a developer’s standpoint it functions as both an end‑to‑end solution and a flexible API layer, allowing teams to embed its workflow engine into existing infrastructures or expose custom data models through REST endpoints. The application is designed to replace the ubiquitous Excel‑based project templates that many managers still rely on, providing a structured data store and automated calculations while remaining lightweight enough to run on modest hardware.

Architecture & Technical Stack

ProjeQtOr is written in PHP 7+ and follows a classic MVC pattern. The front‑end uses Bootstrap 4/5, jQuery, and a handful of custom JavaScript widgets for Gantt charts and Kanban boards. All data is persisted in a MySQL or MariaDB database; the schema is deliberately normalized yet extensible, with a set of “custom fields” tables that let developers add arbitrary attributes to almost any entity. The application is bundled with an internal REST API (JSON‑based) that mirrors the core data models, making it straightforward to integrate with external services such as CI/CD pipelines or chatbots. ProjeQtOr can be deployed behind any standard LAMP stack, and its codebase is compatible with PHP‑based container runtimes (Docker) thanks to a lightweight docker-compose.yml template.

Core Capabilities & Extensibility

At its heart ProjeQtOr offers a configurable workflow engine: developers can define state machines for tasks, defects, or change requests and attach custom transition rules. The API exposes CRUD operations on all entities (Project, Task, Resource, Issue, Document) and supports bulk imports via CSV or XML. For extensibility, the platform ships a plugin architecture where new PHP modules can hook into lifecycle events (onTaskCreate, onProjectUpdate) and register additional UI panels or REST endpoints. Webhooks are available out of the box, allowing real‑time notifications to Slack, Teams, or custom endpoints. The plugin system also supports OAuth2 authentication, enabling single‑sign‑on with corporate identity providers.

Deployment & Infrastructure

ProjeQtOr is intentionally lightweight: a single PHP file set and a database are sufficient for small teams, while larger deployments can be scaled horizontally by replicating the web tier behind a load balancer and synchronizing the database via read replicas. The Docker image is built on top of php:7-fpm and exposes port 80, making it trivial to orchestrate with Kubernetes or Docker‑Compose. For environments that require high availability, the application can be paired with a reverse proxy (NGINX/Traefik) and an external MySQL cluster. Since the codebase is open source, developers can audit the security posture and apply custom patches or integrations without vendor lock‑in.

Developer Experience & Community

Documentation is organized around the REST API, plugin development guide, and migration scripts. The community maintains a public GitHub repository with issue tracking, pull requests, and a dedicated Discord channel for real‑time support. Licensing is GPLv3, meaning developers can modify and redistribute the software freely, which is a decisive advantage over proprietary PM tools that impose per‑user fees or restrictive terms. The code is modular, with clear separation between core logic and UI rendering, facilitating unit testing and continuous integration.

Use Cases

• Enterprise PMO: Centralized dashboard for multi‑project tracking, with custom reports and export to BI tools.
• Agile Teams: Kanban boards, sprint planning, and backlog grooming powered by the workflow engine.
• DevOps Pipelines: Trigger ProjeQtOr tasks from CI jobs via REST API, linking build artifacts to project milestones.
• Custom ERP Integration: Embed ProjeQtOr modules into an existing PHP‑based ERP, sharing the same authentication and database layer.

Advantages

ProjeQtOr delivers a feature‑rich, self‑hosted project management platform without the recurring costs of SaaS solutions. Its open‑source nature ensures full control over data and compliance with strict privacy regulations. The combination of a lightweight stack, comprehensive API surface, and plugin ecosystem gives developers the flexibility to tailor workflows, integrate with existing tooling, or expose custom services—making it a compelling choice for organizations that value performance, transparency, and extensibility.