# Open source BambooHR alternatives for AI agents

3 alternatives to BambooHR. 3 have an interface an agent can drive. 3 are open source.

Page: alternatives/bamboohr.html

## Ever Gauzy

Open business platform with employee time tracking, HR and scheduling, and an official 323-tool MCP server.

- Listing: apps/ever-co--ever-gauzy.html
- JSON: apps/ever-co--ever-gauzy.json
- License: AGPL-3.0
- Agent interface: MCP server, from the builder
- Reach: 5 of 10 jobs
- Last activity: 2026-09-02
- Effort: config-only
- Agent cannot reach: Screenshots and activity monitoring from the desktop timer
- Use it when: I run an agency with contractors and want time tracking, time-off and invoicing under one roof I control
- Use it when: I want my agent to log time, plan the day and update tasks for the team through MCP
- Gotcha: AGPL-3.0 copyleft
- Gotcha: Breadth is the cost: this is an ERP; scheduling and staffing are two modules of dozens, and production compose pulls PostgreSQL, Redis, OpenSearch, MinIO, Jitsu, Cube and Zipkin
- Gotcha: The API refuses to start on blank or default secrets (README Production section)
- Gotcha: MCP tool counts in packages/mcp-server/README.md were last updated 2025-08-05
- Gotcha: Hosted app.gauzy.co is labelled alpha and 'use it cautiously'

## Frappe HR

Open-source HR and payroll with shift types, assignments, checkins and auto attendance, reachable through the Frappe REST API.

- Listing: apps/frappe--hrms.html
- JSON: apps/frappe--hrms.json
- License: GPL-3.0
- Agent interface: API, from the builder
- Reach: 6 of 10 jobs
- Last activity: 2026-09-01
- Effort: config-only
- Agent cannot reach: Geolocated mobile check-in
- Use it when: I run shifts for hourly staff and want checkins to become attendance and leave balances automatically
- Use it when: I want my agent to assign shifts, approve leave and pull attendance through one API rather than three HR tools
- Gotcha: Requires ERPNext installed on the same site (README: bench get-app erpnext before hrms); this is not a standalone app
- Gotcha: GPL-3.0 per the repository; frappe.io/hr/pricing says AGPL-3.0, so check LICENSE before redistributing
- Gotcha: Framework-shaped: bench, sites and doctypes have a learning curve; customizing in the hrms repo directly makes upgrades painful
- Gotcha: Shift scheduling is shift assignment plus checkins, not drag-and-drop rostering

## MintHCM

AGPL HR platform with time and attendance, leave and resource booking, shipping its own MCP server module with OAuth 2.1.

- Listing: apps/minthcm--minthcm.html
- JSON: apps/minthcm--minthcm.json
- License: AGPL-3.0
- Agent interface: MCP server, from the builder
- Reach: 6 of 10 jobs
- Last activity: 2026-08-20
- Effort: config-only
- Agent cannot reach: Shift scheduling and rostering; Payroll
- Use it when: I need an HR system for a 50 to 500 person company that I host, with leave, attendance and room booking, and I want agents to work inside it
- Use it when: I want to build HR copilots on my own employee data without sending it to a SaaS
- Gotcha: AGPL-3.0 copyleft
- Gotcha: Heavy for an SMB: Apache with mod_rewrite and AllowOverride, PHP 8.2, MySQL or MariaDB, and Elasticsearch 7.10+ are required
- Gotcha: No shift rostering and no payroll; this is HR administration, not staffing
- Gotcha: Zero open GitHub issues on a 432-star repo: support runs through the minthcm.org forum and Discord, so issue history is not a signal here
- Gotcha: MCP discovery URLs depend on the root .htaccess generated by MintCLI; a hand installation must reproduce it

## Questions

### Is there an open source alternative to BambooHR?

Yes. All 3 listings here are open source: Ever Gauzy (AGPL-3.0), Frappe HR (GPL-3.0), MintHCM (AGPL-3.0).

### Which BambooHR alternatives have an MCP server?

Ever Gauzy and MintHCM have MCP servers from their builders.

### Which BambooHR alternative can an agent do the most with?

Frappe HR: 6 of 10 recorded jobs reachable. MintHCM: 6 of 10 recorded jobs reachable. Jobs differ by listing, so read each list before you choose.