Mayan EDMS

What Mayan EDMS is

Mayan EDMS is a free, open-source electronic document management system that organizations can operate on infrastructure they control. It organizes documents with version history, workflows, metadata, indexing, retention policies, event tracking, and automated links. Teams can upload through a browser or bring in files from watched folders, cloud object storage, and IMAP or POP3 email accounts. The system can create previews, extract text, scan for malware with ClamAV, and use OpenAI or Ollama models for document tasks.

Access rules can be assigned by role down to individual operations, alongside configurable authentication, brute-force lockouts, and optional time-based two-factor authentication. Files can be stored on a local filesystem, Amazon S3, or on-premises MinIO. A versioned HTTP REST API is documented with OpenAPI. Docker Compose is the recommended starting deployment for most new users. Its basic setup calls for 4 GB RAM, a 64-bit dual-core 1 GHz processor, PostgreSQL 13.11, and GNU/Linux or another system with mature virtualization and Docker Compose support. The maker says the project began in 2010; its documentation describes ongoing development since 2011. A free plan is available, with paid options from $9.99 a month.

Who it suits

Mayan EDMS suits organizations that need to manage document lifecycles on infrastructure they control, with fine-grained access rules and audit-oriented event tracking. It can also fit teams that need ingestion from email or storage sources and a documented API, provided they can run its deployment requirements.

Limits

The Self Guided plan costs $9.99 a month and provides knowledge-base content. Level 4 enterprise lists a maximum of 1,000,000 documents and 500 users; the custom contract lists unlimited documents and users.

Getting started

1. Open the Mayan EDMS website
2. Prepare GNU/Linux or another system with mature virtualization and Docker Compose support
3. Meet the basic requirements, including 4 GB RAM, a 64-bit dual-core 1 GHz processor, and PostgreSQL 13.11
4. Use Docker Compose for the recommended basic deployment
5. Choose the free plan or a paid support plan if needed

Verdict

Choose Mayan EDMS if your organization wants document management on infrastructure it controls, with broad ingestion options and granular permissions. Its free plan and open-source model are useful starting points; organizations needing guaranteed assistance should look at its professional services or support plans.