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Bus Core – a local-first ERP for small manufacturing shops

Bus Core – a local-first ERP for small manufacturing shops

by True-Good-Craft·Mar 5, 2026·5 points·0 comments
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AI Analysis

●●●BangerSolve My ProblemNiche GemSlick

AGPL ERP for shops that outgrew spreadsheets but reject SaaS lock-in.

Strengths
  • •True local-first architecture: SQLite + FastAPI bound to 127.0.0.1 by default, no cloud trap
  • •FIFO inventory + atomic production runs + COGS derivation solves real shop accounting pain
  • •Opinionated design (no subscription, no telemetry, no remote kill switch) appeals to operators who distrust SaaS
Weaknesses
  • •Niche audience (small manufacturing); limited to shops <50 people before scaling becomes friction
  • •No multi-user collaboration; single-machine binding limits shared access across teams
Category
Productivity
Target Audience

Small manufacturing shops, makers, production operators under 20 people

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Post Description

I built BUS Core, a local-first ERP aimed at small manufacturing shops and makers.

It handles inventory, vendors, manufacturing runs, and costing.

Everything runs locally: - no accounts - no telemetry - no SaaS dependency

The goal was to make something usable for very small shops that outgrow spreadsheets but don't fit traditional ERP systems.

Tech stack is intentionally simple: Python backend + SQLite + local web UI.

Project started as an experiment in building software using LLMs with a strict Source-of-Truth + smoke test loop.

Repo: https://buscore.ca/ https://github.com/True-Good-Craft/TGC-BUS-Core

Curious to hear from anyone running small production operations — what breaks first as you scale past spreadsheets?

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