osTicket
PHP and MySQL help desk that turns email, phone and web-form requests into assigned support tickets.
Turn email, phone and web-form requests into tickets assigned to agents, on your own PHP server.
osTicket is a widely used support ticket system. It brings inquiries from email, phone and web forms into a multi-user web interface where agents manage, organise and archive requests. It suits small support teams that have a PHP host and want a no-licence help desk.
What it is
Users open tickets through your website, email or phone, the system saves and assigns them to agents, and agents respond. The osticket.com site lists dashboard reports, ticket filters, configurable help topics, a customer support portal and service level agreements. It runs on Apache or IIS with PHP and MySQL.
Who it's for
It suits IT teams and small businesses that can run a PHP and MySQL stack and want a simple, lightweight help desk. It does not give you a managed service by itself: for hosting you either run it yourself or use the separate cloud-hosted SupportSystem product.
Key features
Multi-channel ticket intake
Email, phone and web-form requests all become tickets.
Ticket filters
Filters route tickets to the right department.
Configurable help topics
Add, edit and delete the topics your help desk offers.
Customer support portal
Customers get a portal to follow their requests.
Service level agreements
Set business hours and SLA rules the system applies.
Translatable interface
The interface is translatable, with language packs on the download page.
Up and running in 3 steps
Our honest verdict
What's great
- Email, phone and web-form requests all land in one ticket queue.
- Runs on a plain PHP and MySQL stack, with Apache or IIS, rather than needing containers.
- The interface is fully translatable, with language packs offered for download.
- Commercial support and hosting services are available if you do not want to run it alone.
Where it falls short
- You must provide an HTTP server, PHP 8.2 to 8.4 and MySQL 5.5 or greater, plus several PHP extensions such as imap, intl and gd.
- The README describes deployment by cloning the repo and running php manage.php deploy, which needs command-line comfort.
- You handle your own backups and upgrades; the README advises backing up attachments, database and code before upgrading.
- Hosted help desk is a separate product (SupportSystem), so the free GPL download means you run and maintain the server yourself.
Pricing & license
osTicket is free under GPL version 2. osticket.com shows a 30-day free trial of the separate cloud-hosted SupportSystem but no price, so if you self-host the only cost is your server and any commercial support you buy.
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FAQ
Is osTicket really free?
The README says the software is free and released under the GPL2 license. You still pay for hosting, and commercial support is a separate option.
Can I get it hosted for me?
osticket.com points to SupportSystem as a cloud-hosted alternative and offers a 30-day free trial; hosting services are also listed.
How do I upgrade?
The README says it supports upgrading from 1.6-rc1 and later, and points to the Upgrade Guide; with a git install you pull and redeploy.
