# Spree Commerce — Open-Source Headless E-Commerce for Ruby

> A mature open-source headless e-commerce platform built with Ruby on Rails, offering REST API, TypeScript SDK, and a Next.js storefront for cross-border and marketplace commerce.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# Spree Commerce — Open-Source Headless E-Commerce for Ruby

## Quick Use
```bash
gem install spree
rails new my_store
cd my_store
bundle add spree
bin/rails g spree:install
bin/rails server
```

## Introduction
Spree Commerce is one of the longest-running open-source e-commerce frameworks, first released in 2008. Built on Ruby on Rails, it has evolved into a headless-first platform with a REST API, TypeScript SDK, and a pre-built Next.js storefront for modern deployments.

## What Spree Does
- Provides a complete headless commerce backend with product management, orders, and payments
- Ships a Next.js-based storefront that connects via the REST API
- Supports multi-store, multi-currency, and multi-language from a single instance
- Handles B2B, B2C, marketplace, and cross-border commerce scenarios
- Offers an extensible architecture via Rails engines and Spree extensions

## Architecture Overview
Spree is a set of Ruby gems mounted into a Rails application. The backend exposes a versioned REST API consumed by any frontend. The data layer uses ActiveRecord with PostgreSQL or MySQL. The storefront is a standalone Next.js app communicating through the TypeScript SDK. Background jobs run via Sidekiq for order processing and notifications.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Requires Ruby 3.2+, Rails 7+, Node.js 18+, and PostgreSQL
- Install via Bundler and the Spree generator
- Configure database, payment gateways, and shipping in the admin panel
- Docker Compose files available in the official repo
- Use Sidekiq and Redis for background job processing

## Key Features
- Headless-first with a full REST API and TypeScript SDK
- Multi-vendor marketplace support via extensions
- Built-in support for digital products, subscriptions, and gift cards
- Customizable checkout flow and tax calculation engine
- Over 15 years of community-developed extensions

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Bagisto** — Laravel-based; more monolithic, better for PHP teams
- **Medusa** — Node.js headless; newer, smaller extension ecosystem
- **Saleor** — Python/GraphQL; stronger GraphQL API, less mature marketplace support
- **WooCommerce** — WordPress-based; larger ecosystem but tightly coupled to WordPress
- **Solidus** — Ruby fork of older Spree; more conservative release cadence

## FAQ
**Q: Is Spree free for commercial use?**
A: Yes. Spree is licensed under the BSD 3-Clause license.

**Q: Can I use Spree as a headless backend only?**
A: Yes. The API-first design means any frontend framework can consume the REST endpoints.

**Q: How active is the community?**
A: Spree has been in active development since 2008 with regular releases and a marketplace of extensions.

**Q: Does Spree support multi-vendor marketplaces?**
A: Yes, through the official multi-vendor extension that adds seller dashboards and commission management.

## Sources
- https://github.com/spree/spree
- https://spreecommerce.org

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/5c065bd5-4236-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: AI Open Source