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Best infrastructure tools (2026)
Stack Gems reviews 8 infrastructure tools: 8 free or open source. These are the top 8, each with its verdict and the Catch we would want to know before installing it.
Order: free and open source first, then hosted products with a real free tier, then paid-led; catalog order inside each group, with quiet or archived repos last. Not a score, and no tool pays for its place.
8 reviewed · 8 shown in full
Free / OSS · GPL-3.0 · 2.6k GitHub stars
VerdictA tidy home for your snippets that your agent can search as well.
CatchSmall project with a single main maintainer, so expect a narrower feature set than a full wiki. The MCP endpoint gives an assistant write access to your snippets, so scope the API key. GPL-3.0 if you redistribute modified versions.
Free / OSS · GPL-3.0 · 6.6k GitHub stars
VerdictThe easiest LDAP backend for a self-hosted stack.
CatchIt is deliberately not a full LDAP server: schema and features are limited, so some enterprise apps will not work. Still 0.x. Pair it with an SSO layer like Authelia for modern login flows.
Free / OSS · Apache-2.0 · 2.1k GitHub stars
VerdictA lightweight Auth0 alternative when you want users in your own database.
Catchv2 moved all configuration to CLI arguments and ignores .env files, which breaks older deployment recipes — read the migration guide. Much smaller community than Keycloak, Zitadel or Authentik. You own security updates.
Free / OSS · Apache-2.0 · 2.1k GitHub stars
VerdictA polished consumer-auth stack you can self-host — compare it with Zitadel first.
CatchSelf-hosting is a multi-service setup (Go servers, Postgres, Redis and more), and docs lean toward Authgear Cloud. Smaller community than Keycloak or Zitadel. SMS and WhatsApp OTP need your own provider and its costs.
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 45.7k GitHub stars
VerdictThe standard open-source tool for seeing exactly what an app sends.
CatchYou have to install and trust its CA certificate on the device, and apps that pin certificates won't work without extra steps. The last release was in May, though commits continue. Use it only on traffic you are allowed to inspect.
Free / OSS · OSS/MIT · 19.3k GitHub stars
VerdictA great free personal API client; budget a license for work use.
CatchThe app is free for personal use, but the pricing page says you need a paid license to use it at work (from $79/year per person). A younger ecosystem than Postman, with fewer team features.
Free / OSS · MPL-2.0 · 9.1k GitHub stars
VerdictA solid OSS load tester, especially for Playwright-based browser tests.
CatchThe hosted Artillery Cloud dashboard is a separate paid product; the CLI is the free part. Running at scale bills your own AWS account. k6 is the main alternative if you prefer scripting in JavaScript only.
Free / OSS · Open-Core · 25.1k GitHub stars
VerdictA strong self-hosted automation tool with good AI-agent support.
CatchThe LICENSE file is MIT except packages/ee, which is under a commercial license, so this is open-core and some enterprise features need a paid plan. GitHub shows no single license. Still pre-1.0.
FAQ
- What is the top free pick among infrastructure tools?
- ByteStash leads the Stack Gems list for infrastructure tools. Verdict: A tidy home for your snippets that your agent can search as well.
- How many infrastructure tools does Stack Gems review?
- 8: 8 free or open source. Each review has a verdict and an honest Catch; no tool pays for its spot.
- Which infrastructure tools can I self-host for free?
- ByteStash, lldap, Authorizer, Authgear, mitmproxy, Yaak, Artillery and Activepieces.
- Which infrastructure tools have the most GitHub stars?
- mitmproxy (45.7k), Activepieces (25.1k), Yaak (19.3k), per GitHub on 2026-10-19. Stars measure attention, not fit; read the Catch.
- What is the catch with ByteStash?
- Small project with a single main maintainer, so expect a narrower feature set than a full wiki.
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