Learn how Request Tracker (RT), Best Practical Solutions' open-source ticketing system, works, what it costs to self-host or run in the cloud, and its key…
Request Tracker (RT) is one of the longest-running open-source ticketing systems in active use, first released in 1996 by Jesse Vincent and now developed and supported by Best Practical Solutions LLC, a small company based in Somerville, Massachusetts. RT is distributed under the GNU General Public License, meaning organizations can self-host it for free and modify the source code, which is maintained publicly on GitHub.
Best Practical Solutions also offers a hosted Cloud RT service along with training, consulting, and support packages for organizations that want RT's flexibility without managing their own servers. A specialized edition, RT for Incident Response (RTIR), targets security teams handling incident-response workflows.
RT provides email-based ticket creation and updates, a visual Lifecycle builder for customizing ticket states and workflows, an automation engine (Scrips and Actions) for rules-based ticket handling, a knowledge base for FAQs and canned responses, asset management, SLA tracking with business-hours support, and role-based permissions.
Integration options include a REST v2 API and Zapier connectivity, and the platform supports a multi-language interface covering more than 35 languages. More than 400 community-built extensions are freely available to extend RT's core functionality.
The core Request Tracker software is free and open source to download and self-host under the GNU General Public License, with no licensing fee required. Organizations that prefer a managed option can subscribe to Best Practical's hosted Cloud RT service or purchase support, training, and consulting packages.
Third-party pricing trackers cite tiered monthly per-user pricing for RT-related services (roughly $25 to $105 per user/month across Starter, Business, Growth, and Enterprise tiers), which reflects Best Practical's Cloud RT hosting and support offerings rather than a fee for the open-source software itself.
Yes, the core Request Tracker software is free and open source under the GNU General Public License for self-hosted use. Best Practical Solutions also offers paid hosted Cloud RT and support packages.
Request Tracker was first released in 1996 by Jesse Vincent, who later founded Best Practical Solutions LLC to develop and support it commercially.
Best Practical Solutions LLC, a small company headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, maintains and supports Request Tracker.
RT for Incident Response (RTIR) is a specialized variant of Request Tracker designed for security teams handling incident-response ticketing workflows.
Yes, RT can be downloaded and self-hosted for free, or run through Best Practical's hosted Cloud RT service for organizations that prefer a managed deployment.
Yes, RT includes an automation engine called Scrips and Actions that triggers rules-based responses and notifications based on ticket events.
RT's interface supports more than 35 languages through community translations.
Yes, RT includes a REST v2 API and supports Zapier integration for connecting to other tools.