What is Peppermint used for?

Peppermint is listed as a Communication tool on TiloBox. Review the overview, features, and official documentation on this page to decide whether it solves your specific workflow.

How do I get started with Peppermint?

Start with the project's GitHub repository and official website for supported installation and deployment instructions. Test the setup with representative data or a small project before rolling it out more widely.

What license does Peppermint use?

Peppermint is listed under the MIT license. Read the complete license text and the project's notices before using, modifying, or distributing the software.

Is Peppermint ready for production use?

Production readiness depends on your requirements. Review maintenance activity, security practices, documentation, backup and upgrade procedures, and compatibility with your stack; then validate it in a non-production environment.

Is Peppermint an alternative to Zendesk?

Peppermint is listed as an alternative to Zendesk. Compare the core workflow, deployment model, integrations, and licensing against your must-have requirements before switching.

Communication Alternative to Zendesk Alternative to Freshdesk

Peppermint

Lightweight, open-source ticket management and helpdesk software alternative to Zendesk.

View on GitHub Visit website

LicenseMIT

GitHub stars3.2k

Last commit11 months ago

Tags6 topics

SupportReactNodejsSelf HostedHelpdeskTicketing

Overview

Why consider Peppermint?

Peppermint is a minimalist, self-hosted helpdesk and ticketing application built with Node.js and React. It features custom ticket priorities, markdown support, and email notifications.

Guided learning

Learn Peppermint by building

Practical setup notes, real use cases, and copy-ready examples in one focused guide.

3 min read 10 sections

In this guide10 sections

What is Peppermint?

Peppermint is an open-source, lightweight ticket management and helpdesk application built with Node.js, Express, and React. It serves as an uncomplicated, privacy-first alternative to complex proprietary support platforms like Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Jira Service Management.

Peppermint focuses on clarity and speed, delivering an easy-to-use support desk where teams can track customer issues, assign responsibilities, manage client tickets with custom priority levels, and exchange Markdown-formatted comments with file attachments.

Who Is It For?

Small IT Support Teams: Managing internal office hardware and network support tickets without complex configuration overhead.
Startups & Indie Developers: Providing a clean, branded support portal where software users can submit bug reports and feature requests.
Freelancers & Agencies: Organizing client maintenance tasks and revision requests in a shared ticket dashboard.

Key Features

Clean, intuitive user interface with fast search, filtering, and tag categorization.
Markdown-supported ticket descriptions and comment threads with image and document uploads.
Custom ticket priority management (Low, Medium, High, Urgent) and lifecycle statuses (Open, In Progress, Closed).
Automatic email notifications for ticket assignments, status updates, and customer replies via SMTP.
Multi-user role management separating Administrators, Support Agents, and End-User Clients.

Deploying Peppermint with Docker Compose

yaml

1version: '3.8'

3services:

4 peppermint:

5 image: peppermintlab/peppermint:latest

6 container_name: peppermint

7 restart: unless-stopped

8 ports:

9 - "5000:5000"

10 environment:

11 - PORT=5000

12 - DB_STRING=postgres://peppermint:secure_peppermint_pass@db:5432/peppermint

13 - JWT_SECRET=generate_a_secure_random_jwt_secret_key

14 - BASE_URL=http://localhost:5000

15 - SMTP_HOST=smtp.mailtrap.io

16 - SMTP_PORT=587

17 - SMTP_USER=smtp_username

18 - SMTP_PASS=smtp_password

19 depends_on:

20 - db

22 db:

23 image: postgres:15-alpine

24 container_name: peppermint_db

25 restart: unless-stopped

26 volumes:

27 - ./postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

28 environment:

29 - POSTGRES_DB=peppermint

30 - POSTGRES_USER=peppermint

31 - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secure_peppermint_pass

Start the instance:

bash

1docker compose up -d

Navigate to http://localhost:5000 in your web browser to register your initial administrator account.

Practical Use Cases

1. Internal Office IT Helpdesk

An IT coordinator tracks employee requests for new laptops, VPN credentials, and printer maintenance using customizable priority flags.

2. Client Web Development Revision Tracker

A web agency provides clients with access to log design revisions and bug reports directly into a shared project ticket queue.

3. Open-Source Project Issue Portal

A developer hosts Peppermint as an accessible web support desk where non-technical software users can submit assistance requests without needing a GitHub account.

Troubleshooting and Limitations

SMTP Configuration for Client Updates: Ensure valid SMTP credentials are provided so clients receive automated email notifications when their tickets are updated.
File Upload Limits: If users attach large crash log files or screen recordings, adjust the reverse proxy client maximum body size (e.g. client_max_body_size 50M; in Nginx).

Official Resources

Official Website: https://peppermint.sh
GitHub Repository: https://github.com/Peppermint-Lab/peppermint
Documentation: https://docs.peppermint.sh

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