OpenDecoDesk

Free and open source · AGPL-3.0

Software for embroidery and garment decoration shops

OpenDecoDesk is a set of free tools for small businesses that embroider or print garments for clubs, teams, schools and companies: online ordering and a back office on your own Cloudflare account, or the back office alone as a desktop program, plus desktop apps for checking designs and moving them on and off networked embroidery machines.

Pre-release. Everything here is early. Expect rough edges, read each project's notes on what has and hasn't been tested, and keep your own backups.

Projects

Download buttons always fetch the newest release.

OpenDecoDesk

Shop software · Web or Desktop

Order and production tracking, inventory, and expenses with receipts, with accountant-ready year-end reports. It comes in two versions: Web, with online ordering, on your own Cloudflare account, and Desktop, the back office alone as a program on one computer. There is no hosted version, and nobody else holds your data.

The two versions don't work together. Each keeps its own orders, books and settings, and they don't share or sync anything. Choose the one that fits your shop.

Web

For a shop that sells online. Each group you sell to gets its own ordering page on its own address, or turn the storefront off and use just the back office. It runs as one Cloudflare Worker with a database and file storage on your own account, so you and your staff can use it from any computer, phone or tablet.

  • Storefront per shop: per-size prices, colors, personalization, customer-uploaded designs
  • Card, Venmo, Zelle or check; pickup, delivery or carrier rates
  • Embroidery production: designs, machines, a run-order queue and run times
  • Blanks and transfers in stock, cost of goods, expenses, reconciliation, year-end export

Install it with one click: no terminal, Node.js or git. It copies the code into your GitHub account, makes the database and deploys it to your Cloudflare account.

Deploy to Cloudflare Step-by-step guide

Needs a Cloudflare account and a free GitHub account. On Cloudflare's page, tick Create private Git repository, and replace the example setup password with your own of 12 characters or more. Early: tested on a new free account with no domain. Connecting your domain from the app hasn't been tried on a real account yet, and file storage, card payments, shipping, email and updates aren't set up from the app yet.

Command-line installer Source

The command-line installer sets up every service in one go. It needs a domain on Cloudflare and Node.js 22+ on macOS or Linux.

Desktop

For a shop that doesn't sell online: the back office as a program for Windows and Mac, with no Cloudflare account and no domain. Orders are entered by hand, and the database and files stay in your user folder. It has the same production, inventory, cost of goods and books as the web version.

What it leaves out

  • No online shop: no ordering pages, and every order is typed in.
  • No card payments. Payments are recorded by hand.
  • No pay-online links. Invoices go out as an emailed PDF, and design proofs are approved by reply.
  • Email is optional, from your own mailbox (Gmail, iCloud, your web host). Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com aren't supported yet.
  • One computer. Several people can sign in, but only on that computer, and phones can't reach it.
  • Email, tracking and supplier checks run only while the program is open.
  • No cloud copy: backups are up to you (File → Back up…).
  • Early: tried on a Mac with Apple Silicon and on Windows 11 (ARM, in Parallels); not yet on an Intel or AMD PC or an Intel Mac.

Latest release

Windows macOS (Apple Silicon) macOS (Intel)

Release notes Desktop guide

Not sure which Mac? Apple menu → About This Mac: "Chip: Apple M…" is Apple Silicon, "Processor: Intel" is Intel. On Windows, unzip it to a folder of its own and run OpenDecoDesk.exe from there. The builds aren't signed yet. On Windows choose More info → Run anyway; on a Mac, System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

Stitch Analyzer

Desktop app · Windows, macOS

Check an embroidery design before it goes to a machine, and convert it between machine formats. It opens Tajima .DST, Barudan .DSB and ZSK .DSZ files and draws every stitch to scale, with long and short stitches, jumps, trims and stops marked. It also reports density, layering and a run-time estimate, and can compare two versions of a design. Files never leave your computer.

Latest release

Windows macOS (Apple Silicon)

Release notes Source

The macOS app isn't signed yet: the first time, right-click it and choose Open.

Machine Files

Desktop app · Windows, macOS

Copy embroidery designs between a folder on your computer and an embroidery machine on your network, with no vendor software. It finds the machines, lists their files, and copies either way, skipping files that are already there. Each copy can be read back and checked stitch by stitch, and files copied off a machine can be saved as .DST.

The Machine Files window: a folder of designs on the left, a machine's files on the right, and the copy buttons between them

Latest release

Windows macOS (Apple Silicon)

Release notes Source

The first scan asks to use the local network (Windows Firewall, or macOS). Allow it.

Machine Agent

Python program · any OS

The piece of OpenDecoDesk that talks to embroidery machines. A web page can't reach a machine on your shop's private network, so this small program runs on a computer on the same network and does it for the admin site: find machines, list their files, send a design, copy one back. It runs next to your browser, or as a relay that phones and tablets can use. It is one Python file using only the standard library.

No release yet. Run it from the source.

How to run it Source

Needs Python 3.9 or newer.