In this article I would like to recap the first months running the open source project Ghostfolio, a web-based personal finance management software.
From 1 to 100 stars on GitHub
When I decided to publish the project as open source software (OSS), I did not know what exactly to expect. In the worst case, nobody would care. And in the best case, the repository would be overrun with contributions. The truth is probably somewhere in between.
In the beginning, it felt quite weird to develop in public where anyone can observe the progress. Stupid mistakes remain visible forever. But this feeling, fortunately, quickly settled. I believe the benefits like all the learning clearly outweigh the drawbacks when you just do it.
At the end of 2021, Ghostfolio reached an important milestone: 100 stars on GitHub.
This is really exciting with almost no marketing. I am a technical founder, so I prefer writing code over anything else. But there is so much more to make this project happen: writing documentation, maintaining bug reports and feature requests, supporting users and managing the community, keeping the SaaS running, etc.
Reaching 100 stars will not only attract very early adopters, but also the early adopters. At the same time, the demands and expectations are also increasing.
What is new?
During the last months, Ghostfolio has transformed from a one man project into a prospering wealth management application with 9 contributors and counting. User feedback has directly shaped the direction of the product development.
These are some selected key features:
- Simplified self-hosting with an official Ghostfolio docker image on Docker Hub
- Improved import for activities (transactions and dividend)
- Enriched market data for ETFs (region and industries)
What is coming?
Here is a brief overview of what I am planning in 2022.
The goal remains to offer a simple and solid software to manage personal finances. Thus, the main focus is on the core functionality.
My personal goal is to reach break-even with the Saas offering (Ghostfolio Premium) and regularly report about the progress and my learnings on this exciting journey.
I have already started to build a community of users. In the future, I would like to involve more contributors to further extend the functionality of Ghostfolio (e.g. with new reports). Get in touch with me by email or on Twitter if you are interested, I’m happy to discuss ideas.
I would like to say thank you for all your feedback and support during the last months.
Have a great start into the new year and happy investing
Thomas from Ghostfolio
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