Inventory and tool lending software

Makerspace inventory and tool lending

Space Works Inventory is a free, open-source, self-hosted stock room and lending desk for makerspaces, tool libraries and fab labs that tracks stock, lends tools with a QR scan and moves stock between rooms or makerspaces.

Space Works Inventory keeps the catalogue, shelves and bins in order, lends tools to members with a QR scan and a photo at every handover, counts stock and moves it between rooms or between makerspaces, all on infrastructure you control. One installation runs several makerspaces, each with its own members, roles, settings and audit trail. It is fully standalone, and its REST API and signed webhooks connect it to the other Space Works apps or anything else.

Get Inventory View on GitHub

What it is: Inventory and tool lending software
Status: Released · 0.6.0
For: makerspaces, tool libraries, fab labs
Licence: AGPL-3.0-or-later
Built with: Next.js 16, React, Prisma, PostgreSQL 16, Redis 7, BullMQ, Silo object storage, Caddy, Docker Compose (Node 22)
Works with: Razorpay, Stripe, WhatsApp, Telegram
How it fits: Fully standalone with its own installation and database. Its REST API and signed webhooks connect it to the other Space Works apps (Events, Workspace, Bookings, Machines) or anything else. Its inventory, lending and transfer domain is ported from the original Space Works makerspace manager.
Source code: SpaceWorks-Inventory

What you can do

Inventory, feature by feature.

Set up in minutes

A first-run wizard for the admin, your first makerspace, locations, categories, units, roles, lending and fees.
Locations nest from building to room to shelf to bin.
Bulk import from CSV or Excel with a validated preview, templates and a realistic sample inventory.

Catalogue and stock

Quantity-tracked items and serialized assets, with photos, suppliers, costs and per-item lending rules.
QR labels for items, assets, shelves, kits and containers, printed as PDF sheets in three sizes.
Receipts, adjustments with a reason, moves between shelves, a repair shelf and an append-only stock ledger.
Cycle counts, blind if you like, scheduled or ad hoc, with four-eyes posting above a threshold.
Low-stock alerts, a to-buy list and stock valuation at weighted average cost.

Transfers between rooms and makerspaces

Request, approve, pick and dispatch with QR scans, then receive in one go or in parts.
Move stock between locations of a space or between makerspaces of the same installation.
Damaged units go to the repair shelf, missing units are declared and refused units return to the sender.
Stock stays correct in transit, and both spaces see the full timeline.

Lending

A member catalogue and an optional public one, with requests, staff approval, renewals and self-checkout.
Guided issue and return desk flows: scan labels, check lines, add photos and remarks.
Overdue reminders and escalation; lost or damaged items open incidents that can restrict borrowing.
Free or paid lending: deposits, daily, weekly or flat rental, late fees and damage or loss charges.

Repairs and finance

Report damaged items, keep a technician directory and send repair requests by email, WhatsApp or Telegram.
External technicians get a private link; staff verify fixes and pay them.
One finance ledger for payments, refunds, payouts and purchases, with CSV or Excel downloads.

Roles, reports and integrations

Roles for Inventory manager, Staff, Member and Technician, with every settings change audited.
Reports with CSV and Excel exports, an audit log, and email and in-app notifications.
A REST API with API keys and signed outbound webhooks.
Email and password, emailed magic links and authenticator-app MFA.

Install

Yours to run.

Free and open source under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Your data stays in your own database.

On a Linux server

$ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SpaceWorks-Labs/SpaceWorks-Inventory/main/install.sh | bash

Run it as a user with sudo. Read the script first: install.sh.

Prefer the cloud? Deploy to Render in one click.

Questions

Inventory, answered.

Is Space Works Inventory free?

Yes. Space Works Inventory is free, open-source software under the GNU AGPL v3.0 or later, so you can use, study, change and share it, including for your own makerspace.

Can I self-host Space Works Inventory?

Yes. Space Works Inventory installs on your own 64-bit Linux server with one curl command and runs with PostgreSQL 16, Redis 7, Silo object storage and Caddy for automatic HTTPS. An optional cloud setup runs on free plans with Render and managed services.

Can Space Works Inventory charge for tool loans?

Yes, lending can be free or paid. Space Works Inventory supports refundable deposits, rental fees, late fees and damage or loss charges; members pay with Razorpay or Stripe, staff record cash or bank payments, or members choose pay later.

Can one Space Works Inventory install run several makerspaces?

Yes. One installation of Space Works Inventory runs several makerspaces, each with its own members, roles, settings and audit trail, and stock can be transferred between them.

Does Space Works Inventory work with the main Space Works platform?

Space Works Inventory is fully standalone with its own installation. Its REST API and signed webhooks connect it to the other Space Works apps (Events, Workspace, Bookings and Machines) or anything else.