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Customer support

Request Tracker

Enterprise-grade issue and ticket tracking driven by email queues.

See how Request Tracker fits among alternatives to Zendesk.

Repository updated

Website GitHub
1.2k starsGPL-2.0PerlBothUpdated

Repository counts and activity are catalog snapshots. Check GitHub for current values; a metadata review date is not recorded.

At a glance

Unverified

IT and operations teams that run support through email queues and want deep workflow control.

Watch out. The built-in rt-server is not for production, and the default root password must be changed after install. Full-text search is off by default.

Run
Hosted or self-host
Effort
Advanced
Deploy
Source installFastCGI or mod_perl
License
GPL-2.0
Replaces
Zendesk
Activity
Active · 1d ago

Overview

Request Tracker (RT) is an issue and ticket tracking system from Best Practical. Requests arrive by email at queue addresses or through the web UI and a self-service portal, and Scrips run conditions and actions on every ticket change. It includes SLAs with business hours, Articles for canned answers, dashboards with scheduled email reports, time tracking, and asset tracking, plus a REST 2 API. It runs on Perl with MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or Oracle behind Apache or nginx.

What it does

  • Email queues and a self-service portal
  • Scrips for condition and action automation
  • SLAs with business hours
  • Articles for canned answers
  • Dashboards with scheduled email reports
  • Time tracking and assets

Capability source: Project documentation

Who Request Tracker fits

IT and operations teams that run support through email queues and want deep workflow control.

How you run it

Request Tracker has hosted and self-hosted options.

Documented deployment options: Source install, FastCGI or mod_perl.

Perl projects · GPL-2.0 projects · Customer support

Before you choose it

The built-in rt-server is not for production, and the default root password must be changed after install. Full-text search is off by default.

Self-hosting and deployment

Self-hostable
Yes
Cloud / hosted offering
Yes
Docker noted in deployment tags
Not recorded
Deployment tags
Source install, FastCGI or mod_perl
Difficulty
Advanced

Request Tracker questions

What is Request Tracker?
Enterprise-grade issue and ticket tracking driven by email queues. It is listed under Customer support on PickOpenSource.
Is Request Tracker open source?
Yes. Its source code is public on GitHub under the GPL-2.0 license.
Can you self-host Request Tracker?
Yes. Listed deployment options: Source install, FastCGI or mod_perl. A hosted version is also available.
Is Request Tracker free?
Pricing is not recorded in this catalog. Check the official website for hosted plans and edition limits, and the GPL-2.0 license for usage conditions. Self-hosting also requires infrastructure and maintenance.
What are alternatives to Request Tracker?
Request Tracker is listed as an open-source alternative to Zendesk. Similar customer support projects include Chatwoot, UVdesk, and Zammad.
Is Request Tracker actively maintained?
The latest commit on GitHub was October 26, 2026, and the repository has 1.2k stars.

Related projects

Other approved projects in Customer support: Chatwoot, UVdesk, Zammad.

Maintain Request Tracker? Add the README badge

Listed on PickOpenSource
[![Listed on PickOpenSource](https://pickopensource.site/api/badge/request-tracker)](https://pickopensource.site/project/request-tracker)

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