Intro to Plane Community
Video Placeholder Duration: 3-5 minutes Topics covered: Open source foundation, community edition, contributing, getting help
What is Plane Community?
Plane Community (also called Plane CE or Community Edition) is the open-source foundation of Plane. It's the free, self-hostable version that anyone can deploy, use, and contribute to.
Open Source Foundation
Core Principles
- Free to use — No cost for the core product
- Self-hostable — Run on your own infrastructure
- Transparent — Source code is publicly available
- Community-driven — Contributions welcome
License
Plane is released under a modified open-source license:
- Free for personal and commercial use
- Self-hosting permitted
- Contributions go back to the community
What's Included in Community Edition
Core Features (Free)
- Workspaces and projects
- Work items (issues)
- Cycles (sprints)
- Modules
- Pages
- Views
- States and labels
- Basic integrations
Features in Paid Tiers
Some advanced features require paid plans:
- Advanced AI features
- Time tracking
- Epics and Initiatives
- Custom automations
- Advanced analytics
- Priority support
Getting Plane Community
Option 1: Self-Host
Deploy Plane on your own servers:
- Docker deployment
- Kubernetes deployment
- Full control over data
Option 2: Plane Cloud Free Tier
Use the hosted version:
- No infrastructure to manage
- Free tier available
- Quick start
The Plane Repository
GitHub
Plane's source code lives on GitHub:
https://github.com/makeplane/planeWhat's in the Repo
- Backend (Django/Python)
- Frontend (Next.js/React)
- Documentation
- Docker configurations
- Deployment guides
Star and Watch
- Star to show support
- Watch for updates
- Fork to contribute
Community Channels
GitHub Discussions
Ask questions, share ideas, discuss features:
- Feature requests
- Help and support
- Show and tell
GitHub Issues
Report bugs and track development:
- Bug reports
- Feature tracking
- Development progress
Discord
Real-time community chat:
- Quick questions
- Community help
- Announcements
Contributing to Plane
Ways to Contribute
| Contribution | Impact |
|---|---|
| Bug reports | Help identify issues |
| Feature requests | Guide development |
| Code contributions | Add features/fixes |
| Documentation | Help others learn |
| Translations | Make Plane accessible |
| Community support | Help other users |
Contributing Code
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Make your changes
- Write tests
- Submit a pull request
- Participate in review
Contribution Guidelines
Follow the project's contribution guidelines:
- Code style
- Testing requirements
- PR process
- Communication norms
Community vs Commercial
Community Edition
- Free
- Self-hosted
- Core features
- Community support
Commercial Plans
- Plane Cloud hosting
- Advanced features
- Priority support
- SLA guarantees
Choose based on your needs:
- Cost sensitivity → Community
- Need advanced features → Commercial
- Want no maintenance → Cloud
- Need data control → Self-hosted
Staying Updated
Release Notes
Follow releases for:
- New features
- Bug fixes
- Security updates
- Breaking changes
Upgrade Path
Keep your installation current:
- Regular updates
- Security patches
- New capabilities
Key Takeaways
- Plane Community is the open-source, free edition
- Source code available on GitHub
- Self-hostable with Docker or Kubernetes
- Community support via GitHub and Discord
- Contributions welcome in many forms
- Commercial plans add advanced features
- Stay updated with regular releases
Next Steps
Quick start with hosted Plane: Plane Cloud.
Next Lesson: Intro to Plane Cloud