# bestpractical/rt

Request Tracker, an enterprise-grade issue tracking system

Repository: https://github.com/bestpractical/rt
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/rt
Homepage: https://bestpractical.com/rt
Language: Perl
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: perl, ticketing-system, customer-support, support-tools, support, issue-tracker, issue-management, issue-tracking-system, helpdesk, helpdesk-ticketing, ticket-management, project-management, asset-management, bug-tracker, workflow
Last push: 2026-08-25T17:03:16+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 84, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6266, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 105, "gap_med": 14.0, "n_releases_24m": 9}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1144, forks 293 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:45.202666+00:00)

## What it is
Request Tracker (RT) is an open-source, enterprise-grade issue and ticket tracking system written in Perl, used for helpdesk, customer support, and workflow management. It integrates deeply with email, offers customizable lifecycles, automation via Scrips, dashboards, and is commercially supported by Best Practical Solutions.

## Use cases
- run a helpdesk for support@ and helpdesk@ email addresses
- track customer support tickets via email and web
- manage internal IT request queues
- build custom ticket workflows with automated actions
- track assets and incidents alongside tickets
- self-host an enterprise issue tracking system

## When to choose
- you need a mature, battle-tested ticketing system with deep email integration
- you want full self-hosting control with a free open-source license
- your organization needs highly customizable workflows and automation
- you need enterprise features like SLAs, dashboards, and SSO with commercial support available

## When to avoid
- you want a lightweight, modern issue tracker with minimal setup
- your team lacks Perl expertise for customization and maintenance
- you need a SaaS-first tool with quick onboarding and no infrastructure
- you prefer agile project management boards over ticket queues

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: stable
- function: workflow-automation, email, web-framework, data-visualization, scheduling
- domain: developer-tools, self-hosted, hr
- platform: self-hosted, cross-platform
- tags: ticketing, helpdesk, issue-tracker, customer-support, email-integration, asset-management, perl, enterprise, incident-response, self-hosted, automation, linux, web-server

## Member repositories
- bestpractical/rt (main) score 94

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:45.202666+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:34:43.945070+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/bestpractical/rt (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:45.202666+00:00, sha ad6ad69ae853)
  - homepage: https://bestpractical.com/rt (fetched 2026-08-29T12:39:53.853089+00:00, sha 6549c9586fe7)
  - site_page: https://requesttracker.com/about (fetched 2026-08-29T12:39:53.864866+00:00, sha d5968d12e21d)
  - site_page: https://requesttracker.com/pricing (fetched 2026-08-29T12:39:53.862589+00:00, sha 7cdcdd7d1c04)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.