Open-source tools for the people who keep makerspaces humming.

From a member's phone to the admin dashboard, from the parts bin to the machine that needs fixing: SpaceWorks helps a makerspace run without losing the plot (or the hex keys).

Built in a makerspace, for makerspaces. 🔩

SpaceWorks started at TinkerSpace, where I was looking after the hardware and inventory behind day-to-day making. When you are the person checking tools, finding parts, and keeping things working, you quickly learn that a makerspace is more than a room full of cool machines.

It is people, access, consumables, bookings, maintenance, and a hundred small details that turn a workshop into a community.

I also set up a fork for TinkerSpace along the way. That was the lightbulb moment 💡: many makerspaces have the same needs, but not every space has the infrastructure, time, or team to build a mobile app, admin dashboard, and the systems behind them from scratch.

So why should every makerspace have to reinvent the control panel?

SpaceWorks HQ is an open-source makerspace operations ecosystem, built a piece at a time and shaped by the spaces that use it.

Here is what is on the workbench:

• 👥 Membership management: profiles, roles, onboarding, and membership status.
• 📅 Tool and space reservations: find and book machines, rooms, and shared resources.
• 📦 Inventory and consumables: keep track of tools, parts, materials, stock levels, and equipment condition.
• 🔧 Equipment operations: maintenance records, issue reporting, and tool availability.
• 🔐 Access and permissions: support the rules around who can enter a space or use a particular tool.
• 🖥️ Admin dashboard: give organisers a practical view of members, resources, activity, and the things needing attention.
• 📱 Member experience: make everyday maker workflows simple and mobile-friendly.
• ⚡ IoT integrations: connect the physical world where it helps: tool status, access hardware, sensors, and inventory signals. Every hardware integration will have its own documentation so other spaces can replicate, modify, and improve it.

Some of this is still being built. That is intentional: we would rather build the right tools alongside real makerspaces than ship a shiny black box. 🧪

This is not software just for one space. The goal is to give more makerspaces a solid starting point, without requiring them to build an entire digital ecosystem before they can focus on making.

We are growing this organisation with people and makerspaces who want to contribute. The opportunities that came to us should reach others too. Everything here is open source, so you can inspect it, self-host it, adapt it to your weird and wonderful workflow, and send improvements back upstream.

Found a loose wire, an unclear instruction, or an idea worth trying?

• Report it: open an issue for bugs, questions, feature ideas, or feedback.
• Build with us: open a pull request for code, docs, hardware designs, or integrations.
• Represent a makerspace? Start a conversation through an issue or contribution proposal.

No contribution is too small: good documentation, a repaired typo, a tested wiring diagram, and a useful bug report all help the next makerspace.

SpaceWorks HQ is at the beginning of its public open-source journey. It grew from hands-on work at TinkerSpace and is becoming a reusable ecosystem for makerspaces everywhere.

Made with ❤️, care, and probably a little bit of filament dust for makers, by the makers of the TinkerSpace community.