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Changemaker Lite

cmlite.org

Free plan Open source WebLinuxAPISelf-hosted
Visit cmlite.org
Spec score 8.8 #2 of 28 in Advocacy Software

What it is

Changemaker Lite is a self-hosted campaign toolkit for growing political movements, combining advocacy, canvassing, volunteer scheduling and newsletters. Influence campaigns can look up representatives by postal code, send tracked advocacy emails and collect responses. Its mobile canvassing map supports live GPS, walking routes, visit recording and outcome tracking. Shift scheduling provides public signup, confirmation emails, cut assignment and capacity management. The Listmonk newsletter feature includes subscriber management, templates and analytics, with unlimited subscribers listed. Named integrations include Rocket.Chat, Gancio, Listmonk, n8n, Gitea, NocoDB and Vaultwarden. Deployment documentation covers Docker Compose and options including a reverse proxy, tunnel or private VPN. An included script backs up PostgreSQL databases and uploaded media, with optional S3 upload. REST endpoints cover authentication, campaigns, locations, shifts, media and more. The Self-Hosted plan is free, billed forever, and includes all 45+ campaign tools, unlimited users and data, community support and use of your own infrastructure. The homepage describes the product as beta and under active development, with possible breaking changes.

Spec sheet

What it does
Changemaker Lite is a self-hosted campaign platform for political movements and community organizers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Purpose
Changemaker Lite describes itself as a self-hosted campaign toolkit built for growing political movements.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Deployment
The deployment guide documents Docker Compose and several exposure options, including Pangolin/Newt, Cloudflare Tunnel, direct DNS with a reverse proxy, and private VPN access.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
API
Two JSON REST APIs are documented: Express on port 4000 for core functions and Fastify on port 4100 for media.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Integrations
The site describes integrations including Rocket.Chat, Gancio, Listmonk, n8n, Gitea, NocoDB, and Vaultwarden.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Security
The site lists JWT rotation, rate limiting, XSS prevention, encrypted secrets, and HSTS headers among its security measures.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Headquarters
Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaRead 28 Sep 2026 · cmlite.org
Additional integrations
The documented service stack includes Jitsi, Excalidraw, Gitea, NocoDB, Vaultwarden, Gancio, Pangolin, Prometheus, Grafana, and Listmonk.Read 15 Oct 2026 · publicinterestalberta.org
Advocacy
Its influence campaigns use postal-code representative lookup and support tracked advocacy emails and response collection.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Advocacy campaigns
Supporters can find representatives by postal code, send advocacy emails, track responses, and use a moderated response wall.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
API authentication
The APIs use JWT bearer authentication with 15-minute access tokens and rotating refresh tokens.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
API scope
The reference documents endpoints for authentication, users, campaigns, responses, representatives, locations, cuts, shifts, canvassing, pages, email, payments, videos, playlists, comments, and analytics.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Backups
An included script backs up PostgreSQL databases and uploaded media, with optional S3 upload.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Canvassing
Its mobile canvassing map supports real-time GPS, walking routes, visit recording, and outcome tracking.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Company structure
The project is presented as built by The Bunker Operations, a Canadian worker co-op based in Edmonton.Read 15 Oct 2026 · publicinterestalberta.org
Data portability
The maker says users can export data using a standard PostgreSQL database and standard file formats.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Development status
The homepage says the product is in beta, under active development, and may receive breaking changes.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Documentation depth
The documentation covers installation, administration, volunteer use, deployment, architecture, services, API routes, troubleshooting, security, and contribution workflow.Read 15 Oct 2026 · soroushsamavat.org
Email builder
A GrapesJS editor provides variable substitution, versioning, and preview for campaign email templates.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Extensibility
Gitea, Code Server, n8n, webhooks, public QR endpoints, and documented REST routes support customization and integrations.Read 15 Oct 2026 · publicinterestalberta.org
Fundraising
The stack supports one-time donations, recurring subscription plans, products, tickets, merchandise, inventory, and payment analytics through Stripe.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
GPS canvassing
The platform provides mobile canvassing maps with live GPS, walking routes, visit recording, and outcome tracking.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Independent deployment evidence
Public Interest Alberta presented a live Changemaker Lite demonstration with no-install browser access and a forkable starter stack.Read 15 Oct 2026 · publicinterestalberta.org
Independent licence description
Public Interest Alberta describes the Changemaker Lite demonstration stack as AGPL-licensed free software.Read 15 Oct 2026 · publicinterestalberta.org
Landing pages
GrapesJS provides drag-and-drop landing-page editing, reusable blocks, custom components, and instant publishing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Licence
The public source repository identifies Changemaker Lite as Apache 2.0 licensed.Read 15 Oct 2026 · gitea.bnkops.com
Limit: beta status
The official site says the product is in beta, with active development and breaking changes still being pushed.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Limit: desktop whiteboard
The Excalidraw integration is documented as requiring a desktop browser for its drawing experience.Read 15 Oct 2026 · publicinterestalberta.org
Limit: operational dependencies
A production installation still needs server hardware, internet, a domain, SMTP, and optionally an Android phone for SMS and Stripe for card payments.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Limit: scaling work
The v2 announcement says performance optimization for large location datasets and expanded test coverage were still underway.Read 15 Oct 2026 · soroushsamavat.org
Media library
Video management includes FFprobe metadata, scheduled publishing, view analytics, reactions, threaded comments, and live chat.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Newsletter integration
Listmonk supplies subscriber management, templates, analytics, and synchronized newsletter operations.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Newsletters
The Listmonk newsletter feature includes subscriber management, templates, and analytics, with unlimited subscribers listed.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Notable news
The Bunker Operations announced Changemaker Lite v2 on March 22, 2026 as a ground-up rebuild with dual APIs, React, PostgreSQL, Prisma, and more than 30 Docker services.Read 15 Oct 2026 · soroushsamavat.org
Production requirements
Production deployments require Linux with Docker, a domain, public access or tunnel, and an SMTP provider.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Security controls
Documented controls include password rules, Redis rate limits, JWT rotation, RBAC, AES-256-GCM field encryption, HSTS, and XSS prevention.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Self-hosting
The software runs as a Docker Compose stack and can be installed from pre-built images or from source.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
System requirements
Local testing requires Docker 24+, Compose v2, OpenSSL, 2 GB RAM, and 10 GB disk; 4 GB RAM is recommended with media, chat, or monitoring.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Team communication
Rocket.Chat is integrated as self-hosted team chat with SSO and automatic campaign and shift notifications.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Volunteer management
Volunteer shifts support public signup, confirmation email, territory assignment, and capacity controls.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Volunteer shifts
Shift scheduling includes public signup, confirmation emails, cut assignment, and capacity management.Read 4 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Workflow automation
Bundled n8n provides visual workflows, webhooks, scheduled jobs, custom code, and more than 400 integrations.Read 15 Oct 2026 · soroushsamavat.org

Plans and prices

Self-Hosted Free forever All 45+ campaign tools · unlimited users and data · complete documentation · community support · your infrastructure · 100% open source Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Managed Hosting Priced on request monthly Managed operations · Canadian data centres · daily backups · 24/7 monitoring · security updates · priority support Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org
Pre-Configured Priced on request Everything in Self-Hosted · hardware included · pre-installed and configured · 30-minute setup · training · Canadian support Read 15 Oct 2026 · cmlite.org

Every Changemaker Lite plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Postal-code lookup supports representative outreach.
  • Canvassing includes GPS and outcome tracking.
  • Shift scheduling manages signup and capacity.
  • Newsletter tools list unlimited subscribers.
  • Backups cover databases and uploaded media.

Limits

  • The product is in beta.
  • Breaking changes may occur.
  • Self-hosted plan uses your infrastructure.

Who it suits

Changemaker Lite suits political movements and advocacy groups prepared to run campaign software on their own infrastructure. Its tools cover legislator outreach, canvassing, volunteer shifts and newsletters.

Verdict

Changemaker Lite brings several campaign functions into a self-hosted toolkit, with deployment and backup options documented. Its beta status and potential breaking changes are important considerations for groups planning to rely on it.

Where Specifiction places it

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