# OpenRPA: a Windows desktop RPA stack you build and run yourself > OpenRPA is an MPL-2.0 licensed RPA tool written in C#, distributed as an MSI, with OpenFlow as the optional backend for orchestrating multiple robots. Here is what the repository actually gives you, and where it stops. **open-rpa/openrpa** — Free Open Source Enterprise Grade RPA - Repository: https://github.com/open-rpa/openrpa - Website: https://app.openiap.io - Stars: 3,081 · Forks: 662 - Language: C# - License: MPL-2.0 - Published: 2026-09-24 · Updated: 2026-09-24 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/open-rpa-openrpa ## The niche OpenRPA fills: unattended desktop automation you host yourself Most RPA products are sold as a control plane plus a per-machine runtime, with the control plane in the vendor's cloud. OpenRPA splits that differently. The Windows client is the automation authoring and execution surface, and it is open source under MPL-2.0. The multi-robot management layer is a separate product, OpenFlow, which the README calls the "backend" for managing multiple robots and links at openflow.openiap.io. A hosted OpenFlow account is available at app.openiap.io, and the repository topics list openflow alongside multiple-robots, so the intended shape is one or many OpenRPA clients reporting to a shared backend. The audience is narrow and specific. This is for teams automating Windows applications: the repository ships projects for SAP, Office, Internet Explorer, Java, native messaging, terminal emulation, databases, image recognition and speech. It is not a cross-platform browser automation library, and it is not a general scripting runtime. If your process lives in a browser tab on a Linux server, this is the wrong tool and the project list says so by omission. ## How the pieces fit: a C# client, plugin projects, and a separate backend The solution file OpenRPA.sln ties together a main OpenRPA project and a long list of plugin projects. Each plugin is a capability: OpenRPA.Windows for UI automation, OpenRPA.IE for Internet Explorer, OpenRPA.Java plus OpenRPA.JavaBridge for Java applets, OpenRPA.SAP plus OpenRPA.SAPBridge for SAP GUI, OpenRPA.Office for Office documents, OpenRPA.TerminalEmulator, OpenRPA.Image, OpenRPA.MSSpeech, OpenRPA.Database, OpenRPA.FileWatcher, OpenRPA.Forms, OpenRPA.PS (PowerShell), OpenRPA.Script and OpenRPA.CodeEditor. There is also Open3270 at the repository root, a terminal emulation component. State and transport are their own projects. OpenRPA.Net handles the connection to a backend, OpenRPA.OpenFlowDB is the OpenFlow-facing data layer, OpenRPA.NamedPipeWrapper and OpenRPA.NativeMessagingHost support browser and native-messaging integration, and OpenRPA.Storage.LiteDB and OpenRPA.Storage.Filesystem give two local storage options for workflows and data. The presence of LiteDB both as a top-level directory and as a storage project suggests local persistence is a first-class concern, not an afterthought. Remote execution is handled by a separate service family: OpenRPA.RDService, OpenRPA.RDServiceMonitor and OpenRPA.RDServicePlugin, with RDService.sln as its own solution. That is the mechanism behind running robots on machines nobody is sitting at. The README links a video titled "Install and configuring High Density robots", which is the closest the README gets to describing that deployment mode in text. ## Installing OpenRPA and running a first workflow The README gives exactly one installation path: download and run the MSI from the latest release. There is no package manager command, no Docker image and no build-from-source instructions in the README, even though the solution is in the repository. The link points at OpenRPA.msi on the latest release page. ```bash # The README points to the MSI asset on the latest release: https://github.com/open-rpa/openrpa/releases/latest/download/OpenRPA.msi ``` The README adds a Windows 11 caveat: if OpenRPA does not start or crashes, use a different installer, OpenRPA.py.3.11.4.msi, from the same release page. That is a real constraint worth reading twice, because it means the default MSI is not guaranteed to work on every current Windows build. ```bash https://github.com/open-rpa/openrpa/releases/latest/download/OpenRPA.py.3.11.4.msi ``` For a first real use, the README's own sequence is the guide: install, then watch the "First time installing and running OpenRPA" video, then the "Workflow types and doing your first recording" video. Recording is the entry point for authoring, and the README separately links videos for getting table data in Chrome, recording in SAP, using image recognition and OCR, and working with WorkItems. To manage more than one robot, the README directs you to create an OpenFlow account at app.openiap.io and connect the client to it. ```bash # Hosted backend referenced by the README for managing multiple robots: https://app.openiap.io ``` If you would rather run the backend yourself, the README links the OpenFlow project at openflow.openiap.io, but it does not include self-hosting steps. Treat the backend as a separate deployment you have to research on its own documentation. ## Where OpenRPA stops: Windows, bridges, and a thin README The first limitation is the platform. Everything in the repository is a .NET or Windows concern: an MSI installer, a WiX project (OpenRPA.wxs, OpenRPA.wixobj), a Windows service for remote execution, an Internet Explorer plugin, a SAP GUI bridge, a native messaging host for browsers. There is no Linux or macOS installer in the repository. Teams standardising on headless Linux containers will not get a runtime here, and the related search for a Docker deployment has no answer in the README. The second is integration fragility. Several capabilities depend on a bridge process talking to a host application: OpenRPA.JavaBridge for Java, OpenRPA.SAPBridge for SAP, OpenRPA.NativeMessagingHost for browser integration. Bridges are the part of RPA that breaks when the host application updates. The README does not document version compatibility for any of them, and it does not document rollback if a bridge stops working after an upgrade. That silence is the risk, not a claim that the bridges are bad. The third is documentation depth. The README is mostly video links and a thank-you list. It defers to docs.openiap.io, the GitHub wiki, and a Discourse forum at discourse.openiap.io. There is no API reference, no configuration key list, and no upgrade guide in the README itself. Anyone evaluating this for a regulated process will have to read the wiki and the external docs site before they can answer basic questions about authentication, storage and credential handling. Finally, the release cadence is uneven. The three most recent releases listed are 1.4.57.13 on 2025-06-03, 1.4.57.12 on 2025-02-24 and 1.4.57.11 on 2025-02-06. The repository's last push is 2026-04-15, so the code is moving, but the tagged releases are sparse and the notes are terse ("Fix arrays for powershell Invoke-OpenRPA", "Fix logging attributes"). Pin a version and test it rather than assuming the latest tag is a drop-in. ## OpenRPA versus Power Automate and Robot Framework The comparison people search for most is OpenRPA versus Power Automate. The difference is ownership of the control plane, not the recording feature. Power Automate is a Microsoft-hosted service with desktop flows tied to that tenant; OpenRPA is a Windows client you install from an MSI and can point at a backend you run yourself through OpenFlow. If your organisation already lives inside Microsoft 365 licensing and wants no servers to operate, Power Automate removes work that OpenRPA hands back to you. If you need the workflow definitions and the execution history on infrastructure you control, OpenRPA is the one that allows it. The second comparison is OpenRPA versus Robot Framework. These are different categories. Robot Framework is a keyword-driven test automation framework driven by text files and a Python ecosystem, and it is at home in CI pipelines. OpenRPA is a desktop recorder and runner with a visual workflow model, a Windows service for unattended execution, and a database-backed backend for distributing work items. Robot Framework will not record a click in a SAP GUI window; OpenRPA will not give you a plain-text test suite that runs headless on a build agent. Choosing between them is really choosing between test automation and business-process automation, and the repository layout makes OpenRPA's side of that line clear: OpenRPA.SAP, OpenRPA.Office, OpenRPA.RDService. ## Licence, releases and the cost of staying current OpenRPA is MPL-2.0. That is a file-level copyleft licence: you can use it in a commercial setting, and modifications to MPL-covered files have to be made available under the same licence, while larger works that combine it with other code can be licensed differently. This is not legal advice, and the repository also ships a SECURITY.md and a CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md but no separate commercial licence file, so if you plan to redistribute a modified OpenRPA inside a product, have counsel read the LICENSE file in the repository root rather than relying on a summary. The README points to commercial support at openiap.io, which is the practical answer for teams that need an escalation path. The upgrade cost is the part to budget for. There is no documented migration procedure between versions in the README, the release notes are one line each, and the Windows 11 installer caveat shows that a platform change can require a different MSI rather than a patch. In practice that means every upgrade needs a test machine with the same bridges and host applications as production, and a rollback plan you write yourself, because the README does not provide one. ## Conclusion Adopt OpenRPA if your automation targets live on Windows desktops (SAP, Office, Java applets, terminals, browsers) and you want the source, the workflow files and the backend under your own control rather than a vendor tenant. Do not adopt it if your estate is Linux or macOS, if you need a hosted SaaS with a support contract out of the box, or if you cannot staff a Windows build environment for the C# solution. Before committing, verify three things on your own machines: that the current MSI installs and starts on your Windows 11 build (the README points to a separate Python 3.11.4 MSI for crashes there), that the extension or bridge for each application you intend to drive is present in the OpenRPA project list, and that your OpenFlow account or self-hosted backend answers at the endpoint your robots are configured with. ## FAQ ### What is OpenRPA? OpenRPA is an open source robotic process automation tool written in C# and licensed under MPL-2.0. It is distributed as a Windows MSI and ships plugins for automating applications such as SAP, Office, Internet Explorer, Java and terminal emulators. ### Is OpenRPA free? The README describes it as free open source software and the repository is licensed MPL-2.0. Commercial support is offered separately through openiap.io, but the software itself is downloadable at no cost from the releases page. ### How do I use OpenRPA? The README's path is to install the MSI from the latest release, then follow the linked videos for first-time setup and for recording your first workflow. For more than one robot you create an OpenFlow account at app.openiap.io and connect the client to that backend. ### What is the difference between OpenRPA and Power Automate? OpenRPA is a Windows client you install and can point at a backend you control through OpenFlow, while Power Automate is a Microsoft-hosted service. The repository layout shows OpenRPA's emphasis on desktop application bridges rather than cloud connectors. ### What are the alternatives to OpenRPA? Two commonly compared tools are Microsoft Power Automate, which is hosted, and Robot Framework, which is a keyword-driven test automation framework rather than a desktop recorder. The choice depends on whether you need a hosted control plane or plain-text test suites. ## Sources - [License: MPL-2.0](https://github.com/open-rpa/openrpa/blob/master/LICENSE) - [open-rpa/openrpa on GitHub](https://github.com/open-rpa/openrpa) - [Project website](https://app.openiap.io) - [README](https://github.com/open-rpa/openrpa/blob/master/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/open-rpa/openrpa/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/open-rpa-openrpa