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Open Mercato
MITOpen-source TypeScript framework for custom CRM and ERP apps, replacing SAP ERP and Retool with self-hosted modular code and KMS field encryption.
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Overview
Mid-market software teams building custom order management and customer workflows often hit a wall with closed enterprise platforms. Open Mercato provides an open-source TypeScript foundation that supplies standard CRM and ERP primitives in a self-hosted repository. By placing multi-tenancy, dynamic entities, and event handlers in developer-owned code, engineering squads retain full authority over their infrastructure and data.
Why Open Mercato instead of SAP ERP
SAP ERP coordinates multinational supply chains and finance, but it anchors companies to proprietary ABAP runtimes and closed databases. For product teams engineering custom commerce or customer tracking, SAP imposes heavy structural weight and isolates data behind restrictive agreements. Open Mercato approaches business software from the opposite direction: it runs as an open-source TypeScript application on PostgreSQL, Redis, and Meilisearch, deploying directly to bare-metal servers or private VPC clusters.
The operational divide centers on data privacy and architectural autonomy. SAP ERP requires extensive consulting contracts to adapt to bespoke workflows, while low-code builders like Retool charge per-seat fees that escalate as internal adoption grows. Open Mercato incorporates tenant-scoped column encryption into its MikroORM data layer, using AES-GCM and external KMS keys to protect sensitive records at rest without disabling indexed lookups. Teams exchange turnkey general ledger accounting and deep manufacturing modules for absolute control over schemas and deployment topology.
What it does well
- Field-level database encryption: Hooks encrypt sensitive fields with AES-GCM while generating deterministic hash columns, keeping personal data secure on private infrastructure.
- Spec-first development harness: Specifications in
.ai/specs/establish interface contracts and changelogs, helping AI coding tools generate code that adheres to project standards. - Modular architecture: Features reside in isolated packages under
src/modules/with automatic discovery of entities, REST endpoints, dependency injection bindings, and admin screens. - Multi-tenant organization trees: Native tenant scoping applies across every entity and API route, giving platform engineers granular role-based access control out of the box.
- Standard containerized stack: Operates entirely on standard PostgreSQL, Redis, and Meilisearch services without requiring proprietary cloud runtime dependencies.