Open source and self-hosting

All the code under the Apache 2.0 licence: host OptimCE yourself, connect it to your tools, or let us host it.

An energy community entrusts its software with its list of members, their meters, its invoices and its filings with the regulator. It needs to be able to keep that software if the vendor changes course, to choose where it is hosted and to connect it to its other tools. OptimCE is open source software: all its code is published under the Apache 2.0 licence, and the same application runs on our servers or on yours.

How OptimCE handles it

All the code, under the Apache 2.0 licence

There is no cut-down edition and no proprietary core: all of OptimCE’s code is published under the Apache 2.0 licence, in the optimce GitHub organisation. The licence lets you use, modify and redistribute the software, including in a professional setting. In return, it asks you to keep the licence and copyright notices, and to flag the files you have modified.

For a community, this means it is tied to no one: if OptimCE Cloud no longer suits it, it can run the same application elsewhere.

On our servers or on yours

The same software can be used in two ways.

OptimCE Cloud is the hosted version, at app.optimce.be: nothing to install, nothing to maintain. It is free throughout the alpha phase.
Self-hosting puts OptimCE on your own infrastructure, free of charge and without restriction, for good. The installation guide covers deploying the full stack locally with Docker Compose.

Both routes give access to the same features. The choice depends mostly on who you are: a community that simply wants the tool has nothing to install, while a technical team can host the platform, keep full control of the data or contribute to the code. What is free, and for how long, is set out on the pricing page.

One installation, several communities

A single OptimCE installation runs several energy communities. An account can belong to several communities and switch between them in “My communities”. An organisation that supports several projects, or that chooses to host OptimCE for others, therefore does not need a separate installation for each community.

Connecting your tools

An event-driven architecture (NATS) lets you plug third-party tools into OptimCE, such as an energy management system. A REST API lets you integrate it into your own tools. A tool the community already uses can thus exchange data with OptimCE instead of having it typed in again, at the cost of some integration work.

An interface in four languages

The interface is available in French, English, Dutch and German, which matters in a country with three official languages. The emails sent by the platform come in the same four languages.

Contributing

The installation guide is also meant for teams that want to contribute to the code: the full stack runs locally with Docker Compose. Translations of the interface are proposed collaboratively on Weblate, without touching the code.

What it does not do

No service guarantee when self-hosting. On your own servers, you handle hosting, updates and availability yourself: no service guarantee is provided on that route.

The installation guide describes a development stack. Its databases are not persistent: data resets when the containers restart. For a deployment meant to last, you need to set up persistent volumes and a backup strategy yourself.

Open source does not do the work for you. Hosting software that handles members’ data takes someone to administer it. Without that person, OptimCE Cloud remains the simplest route.

Frequently asked questions

Is OptimCE really open source?

Yes. All the code is published under the Apache 2.0 licence, in the optimce GitHub organisation: no cut-down edition, no proprietary core. The hosted version and the version you install yourself give access to the same features.

Can I use OptimCE in a professional setting?

Yes. The Apache 2.0 licence lets you use, modify and redistribute the software, including in a professional setting, provided you keep the licence and copyright notices.

What is the difference between OptimCE Cloud and self-hosting?

Who hosts the application. OptimCE Cloud runs on our servers, with no installation and no maintenance, and it is free during the alpha. When you self-host, OptimCE runs on your infrastructure, free of charge and without restriction, but you handle hosting, updates and availability.

How do I connect OptimCE to my other tools?

Through its events or its API. An event-driven architecture (NATS) lets you plug in third-party tools, such as an energy management system, and a REST API lets you integrate OptimCE into your own tools.