What is OpenFGA used for?

OpenFGA is an open-source authorization engine that lets developers build granular access control with a modeling language and APIs. It is a good fit for building granular access control for applications and implementing authorization for platforms of any size.

Is OpenFGA open source?

Yes. OpenFGA is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openfga/openfga and is written mainly in Go.

Yes. OpenFGA is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host OpenFGA?

Yes. OpenFGA can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is OpenFGA an alternative to?

OpenFGA is an open-source alternative to Permit.io, Authress and Oso. Other open-source alternatives to Permit.io include SpiceDB, Keto and OPA.

Is OpenFGA actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to OpenFGA was on 13 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.22.0, published on 6 October 2026. The project has 6k stars on GitHub.

OpenFGA: open-source alternative to Permit.io, Authress, Oso

About OpenFGA

OpenFGA is an open-source authorization solution that allows developers to build granular access control using an easy-to-read modeling language and friendly APIs. It is inspired by Google Zanzibar and is a CNCF Incubating project.

The engine supports Relationship-Based Access Control, Role-Based Access Control, and Attribute-Based Access Control use cases. It is designed to answer authorization check calls in milliseconds and includes SDKs for popular languages.

Key features

Model any authorization system using a modeling language that supports ReBAC, RBAC, and ABAC
SDKs for popular languages for easy integration
Designed to answer authorization checks in milliseconds
Built in the open with an RFC process and governance model
CNCF Incubation Project

Good fit for

Building granular access control for applications
Implementing authorization for platforms of any size

Built with: Go tools
Tags: authorization; fine-grained; zanzibar; rbac; abac; cncf

OpenFGA: questions and answers

What is OpenFGA used for?: OpenFGA is an open-source authorization engine that lets developers build granular access control with a modeling language and APIs. It is a good fit for building granular access control for applications and implementing authorization for platforms of any size.
Is OpenFGA open source?: Yes. OpenFGA is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openfga/openfga and is written mainly in Go.
Is OpenFGA free?: Yes. OpenFGA is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host OpenFGA?: Yes. OpenFGA can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is OpenFGA an alternative to?: OpenFGA is an open-source alternative to Permit.io, Authress and Oso. Other open-source alternatives to Permit.io include SpiceDB, Keto and OPA.
Is OpenFGA actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to OpenFGA was on 13 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.22.0, published on 6 October 2026. The project has 6k stars on GitHub.