Request Tracker (RT)

What is Request Tracker (RT)?

Request Tracker (RT) is an open-source ticketing and workflow system developed by Best Practical Solutions. It has been widely deployed for over two decades by IT teams, support organizations, universities, and governments to manage requests, incidents, and internal workflows via email and a web interface.

Who is it for?

RT is a strong fit for organizations that need serious customization control and either prefer to self-host or want a proven cloud option without per-seat bloat. It's especially popular in academic institutions, non-profits, government agencies, and IT operations teams that need fine-grained access controls and scriptable automation.

Strengths

• Open source and self-hostable — full source code available; no vendor lock-in, no per-seat surprises on self-hosted deployments.
• Deep customization — unlimited custom fields, queues, roles, and lifecycle scripts let teams model almost any workflow.
• Mature and battle-tested — 20+ years of active development with 400+ free extensions in the community ecosystem.
• Email-native workflow — staff can triage, respond, and resolve tickets entirely via email without touching the UI.
• Asset management built in — tracks tangible and intangible assets alongside support tickets in one system.

What to consider

• The UI is functional but dated — onboarding non-technical users takes more effort than modern SaaS alternatives.
• Self-hosting requires Linux administration skills; cloud plans add a per-user cost that erases the "free" advantage for larger teams.
• Reporting and dashboards are powerful but not as polished or point-and-click as newer tools.

Bottom line

Request Tracker is the right choice for teams that value control, customization, and longevity over slick UX. If you have technical staff and need a ticketing system that bends to your processes rather than the other way around, RT has a decades-long track record to back it up.