Frequently Asked Questions
As we prepare for the upcoming osTicket 2.0 release, we’ve received many questions from the community.
This page answers the most common ones about the upcoming platform, upgrade paths, architecture changes, and how to stay informed as we approach the first Release Candidate (RC1).
Because osTicket 2.0 represents a major evolution of the platform, some details—such as documentation and migration guidance—are still being finalized. We’ll continue updating this page as new information becomes available.
osTicket 2.0
Yes. osTicket 2.0 remains fully open-source and free to use, just like previous versions.
The project continues to follow the same philosophy it has had since the beginning: providing a powerful help desk platform that anyone can run, modify, and extend.
If you're interested in the story behind the rewrite
See: [The Upgrade Story](https://next.osticket.com/blog/welcome-to-osticket-2.0)
We are currently preparing the first Release Candidate (RC1).
Rather than committing to a specific date, our focus is on ensuring the platform is stable and ready for real-world use. RC1 will be released once the core systems, upgrade paths, and documentation reach the quality level we expect.
The best way to stay informed is to subscribe to the mailing list, where we will announce RC1 and other milestones.
Both.
The platform has been rebuilt from the ground up, but the goal was never to abandon what made osTicket successful. Instead, the rewrite focused on preserving the core ideas and workflows that users rely on while introducing a modern architecture that allows the platform to evolve much further.
You can read more about that journey here Welcome: The Upgrade Story
Yes. Providing a clear upgrade path has always been a priority for osTicket.
We are working to ensure that existing installations can transition to osTicket 2.0 in a predictable and manageable way. More details about upgrade procedures will be shared as RC1 approaches.
To understand the architectural changes behind the new platform, see: Inside osTicket 2.0: Architecture Overview
Yes. Existing installations will be able to upgrade their databases as part of the transition to osTicket 2.0.
Because legacy osTicket was built around MySQL, the initial upgrade path assumes a MySQL-based database and includes the migrations required to bring existing data into the new platform.
That said, one of the benefits of the new architecture is that osTicket 2.0 now uses Laravel’s Eloquent ORM, which allows the platform to support multiple database engines. This means that new installations can run on database engines supported by the Laravel ecosystem e.g MySQL and PostgreSQL.
Over time we plan to provide tooling that will make it easier to migrate between database engines as the platform and ecosystem evolve.
Learn more about the new data model here: Queues to Views Everywhere: The Data Model Behind osTicket 2.0
Not directly.
osTicket 2.0 introduces a completely new plugin architecture designed to support the platform’s modular and API-driven foundation. Because of these changes, existing plugins and custom themes built for earlier versions will need to be ported to the new architecture.
The new extension model is significantly more flexible and powerful, and we will be publishing migration guidance and developer resources as we approach RC1.
Documentation for osTicket 2.0 is currently being prepared and will be released as we get closer to the RC1 release.
Because the platform introduces several architectural changes, we want to ensure the guides are clear and complete before publishing them.
In the meantime, you can explore development insights and architectural overviews on next.osticket.co, including:
Inside osTicket 2.0: Architecture Overview
Queues to Views Everywhere: The Data Model Behind osTicket 2.0
osTicket 2.0 is built on modern frameworks including Laravel and React, which means the platform benefits from the tooling and ecosystem around those technologies.
Most standard Linux-based hosting environments capable of running modern PHP applications should be able to support osTicket 2.0. We will publish detailed system requirements and deployment guidance as we approach the RC1 release.
Our goal is to keep the platform approachable while also taking advantage of modern tooling that improves maintainability, extensibility, and long-term stability.
Yes.
The repository will be published on GitHub once the project reaches the appropriate stage in the release process. Until then, development is continuing privately while we prepare the first release candidate and documentation.
If you'd like to be notified when the repository becomes available, please subscribe to the mailing list.
In many ways, yes.
While osTicket remains a help desk application at its core, the new architecture is designed to be far more extensible. The platform exposes its capabilities through APIs and composable interfaces, making it easier for developers to build integrations, automation, and new user experiences on top of the system.
You can learn more here:
Inside osTicket 2.0: Architecture Overview
Queues to Views Everywhere: The Data Model Behind osTicket 2.0