Kiwi TCMS

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Introduction

Kiwi TCMS describes itself as ‘the leading open source test management system for both manual and automated testing’ (vendor claim). The README lists its main capabilities: bug tracker integration, search pages, powerful access control, test automation framework plugins, visual reports and a rich API layer. Its stated mission is to make testing more organised, transparent and accountable for everyone on a team.

The project has an unusually long history for an open-source test management tool. Red Hat created it in February 2009 under the name Nitrate. In 2017, after upstream became unresponsive, it was forked, modernised for current Django versions, given a Patternfly-based UI, and renamed Kiwi TCMS. Since then it has added GitLab integration from an outside contributor, become the first open-source TCMS on GitHub Marketplace in 2019, and won a Mozilla Open Source award in 2020, according to the README’s history section.

Kiwi TCMS is a Django application, usually deployed with the official container image. The core concepts are familiar to anyone who has used TestLink or TestRail: products and versions, test plans that group test cases, test runs that record executions, and bugs linked from failed executions. Test cases can be tagged and have components, priorities and categories, and permissions control who can change what.

For automation, Kiwi TCMS provides plugins that send results from test frameworks into test runs, so automated and manual results live in the same place. The API is accessible over JSON-RPC and XML-RPC, which makes custom integrations straightforward. Bug trackers such as Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Bugzilla, Redmine and others can be linked so testers can report or link issues from failed executions.

The project is active: release 17.0 shipped on 3 November 2026, and the repository has commits from November 2026. Translations are community-driven on Crowdin.

In the quality loop, Kiwi TCMS sits at the release gate, where test plans and run results show whether a version is ready, and where automated results from CI can be combined with manual exploratory and regression testing.

When comparing Kiwi TCMS with commercial tools, the main trade-off is effort against cost and control. Self-hosting gives full ownership of test data, which matters for teams with strict data rules, but someone must plan upgrades, back up the database and monitor the service. Teams moving from TestLink often find the concepts close enough that migration is mostly a data-mapping exercise, while teams used to modern SaaS tools should try the public demo first to check that the interface suits them.

Features

1. Test plans and runs: Organise cases by product and version and record executions.
2. Manual and automated: Store both kinds of results together.
3. Automation plugins: Send results from test frameworks into runs.
4. Bug tracker integration: Link or report issues in Jira, GitHub, GitLab and others.
5. Access control: Fine-grained permissions for teams.
6. Search pages: Find cases, plans and runs quickly.
7. Visual reports: Built-in reporting on test activity.
8. API layer: JSON-RPC and XML-RPC for integrations.
9. Container deployment: Official image for self-hosting.
10. Translations: Community-maintained languages.

Pros

1. Open source: Self-host without licence fees.
2. Mature: Roots going back to 2009.

Cons

1. Self-hosting work: You run upgrades, backups and security.
2. Traditional UI: Less polished than some SaaS tools.
3. Support is paid: Guaranteed support needs a subscription.

Usage and Links (Example)

# Quick evaluation with the official container image (see the docs for production setup)
git clone https://github.com/kiwitcms/Kiwi.git && cd Kiwi
docker compose up -d
docker exec -it kiwi_web /Kiwi/manage.py initial_setup

Typical adoption path:

1. Create products, versions and builds that match your release process.
2. Import or write test cases and group them into test plans.
3. Install the plugin for your test framework so CI publishes automated results into test runs.
4. Connect your bug tracker so failed executions link to issues.

Resources:

• Kiwi TCMS website
• GitHub repository

Pricing

Self-hosted community edition is free (GPL-2.0). Paid plans listed on kiwitcms.org: Self Support $35/month, Private Tenant (SaaS) $150/month, Enterprise $600/month, Managed Hosting $2,000/month per instance. See site.

Recommended for?

1. Teams wanting open-source, self-hosted test management.
2. Organisations replacing TestLink with a maintained alternative.
3. Not a fit for teams that want zero infrastructure work and no paid plan.

Conclusion

Kiwi TCMS is a mature, actively developed open-source test management system with a strong automation story. It covers the core needs of test plans, runs, bug links and reports without licence costs.

Expect to invest in hosting, or buy one of the paid hosting and support plans if you prefer not to run it yourself.

On CheckOps, Kiwi TCMS is filed under the Release & CI gates stage. Related tools listed here include TestLink, TestRail, SquashTM, Qase, Testmo and Allure TestOps. Before choosing, compare them on licence, supported languages and platforms, hosting model, and how well each fits your existing CI pipeline. Facts on this page were checked against the official website, documentation and repository on 11 November 2026; statements the vendor makes about its own product are marked as vendor claims.