# Saleor — High-Performance Open Source Headless E-Commerce

> GraphQL-first headless commerce platform built with Python and React, designed for high-volume storefronts and custom shopping experiences.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# Saleor — High-Performance Open Source Headless E-Commerce

## Quick Use
```bash
git clone https://github.com/saleor/saleor-platform.git && cd saleor-platform
docker compose build && docker compose up -d
# API playground: http://localhost:8000/graphql/
# Dashboard: http://localhost:9000/
```

## Introduction
Saleor is a headless, GraphQL-first e-commerce platform built with Django and React. It separates the backend commerce engine from the frontend, letting teams build custom storefronts with any technology while relying on a battle-tested order, product, and payment pipeline underneath.

## What Saleor Does
- Manages product catalogs with variants, attributes, categories, and collections
- Processes orders with multi-currency pricing, taxes, and flexible fulfillment workflows
- Exposes a complete GraphQL API for storefront, checkout, and admin operations
- Handles payments via plugins for Stripe, Adyen, PayPal, and other gateways
- Supports multi-channel selling across web, mobile, POS, and marketplace

## Architecture Overview
Saleor's backend is a Django application that exposes a single GraphQL endpoint powered by Graphene. Celery handles async tasks like email and order processing, with Redis as the broker. PostgreSQL is the primary datastore. The admin dashboard is a standalone React SPA that consumes the same GraphQL API, and storefronts connect through the public API.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Deploy with Docker Compose using the saleor-platform repository for a full stack
- Requires PostgreSQL 12+, Redis, and optionally Elasticsearch or OpenSearch for search
- Configure environment variables for database, email, payment plugins, and media storage
- Use the Saleor CLI for bootstrapping, running migrations, and managing plugins
- Serve behind Nginx or Caddy with SSL for production deployments

## Key Features
- GraphQL API with over 200 mutations and queries covering the full commerce lifecycle
- Multi-warehouse inventory management with allocation and stock tracking
- Extensible via webhooks and apps that subscribe to 60+ async events
- Built-in permission system with granular staff roles and channel-level access control
- Localization support for 20+ languages, multiple currencies, and regional tax rules

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Medusa** — Node.js headless commerce with a REST-first API; younger ecosystem but fast-growing
- **Shopify** — Managed SaaS with massive app ecosystem; proprietary and transaction fees apply
- **WooCommerce** — WordPress plugin with huge market share; monolithic PHP architecture
- **Vendure** — TypeScript headless commerce with GraphQL; smaller community than Saleor
- **Magento (Adobe Commerce)** — Feature-rich PHP platform; heavy resource requirements and complex hosting

## FAQ
**Q: Is Saleor free for commercial use?**
A: Yes. The core platform is BSD-licensed. Saleor also offers a managed Saleor Cloud service with additional features.

**Q: Can I use any frontend framework with Saleor?**
A: Yes. Since Saleor is headless, you can build storefronts with Next.js, Gatsby, Vue, or any framework that consumes GraphQL.

**Q: How does Saleor handle taxes?**
A: Saleor integrates with tax services like Avalara and TaxJar via plugins, or you can configure flat tax rates manually.

**Q: What kind of traffic can Saleor handle?**
A: With proper infrastructure, Saleor handles thousands of concurrent users. Its async architecture and caching layers support high-throughput storefronts.

## Sources
- https://github.com/saleor/saleor
- https://docs.saleor.io/

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/13b9b3bf-3cb4-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: AI Open Source