Helfertool
Helfertool is open-source software for organizing event volunteers or staff.
What Helfertool is
Helfertool is open-source software for organizing event volunteers or staff. People can sign up online for jobs and shifts, while organizers manage registrations and schedules. Events can contain any number of jobs and shifts, with start and end times and a maximum helper count for each shift. Jobs may be public or internal, and registration links can provide access to internal openings. Organizers can assign job-specific administrators who manage helpers for that job only. Event information can be exported to Excel or PDF, and organizers can email helpers, coordinators, or all registrants; a history of sent messages is saved. The tool also supports LaTeX-based badges, barcode scanning to prevent duplicate badge exports, and barcode tracking of items loaned to helpers. Registration can collect T-shirt sizes and food-handling certificate details. It runs on Linux, the web, or a self-hosted installation, with Docker and Django deployment options. Self-hosting requires several services, including a database, RabbitMQ, a reverse proxy, and a mail server. Authentication options include local accounts, LDAP, and OpenID Connect.
Good
- Free and open source.
- Supports jobs, shifts, and volunteer self-signup.
- Job administrators can be limited to their own helpers.
- Exports event data to Excel or PDF.
- Supports local, LDAP, and OpenID Connect authentication.
Watch out
- Self-hosting requires several supporting services.
- Documented languages are English and German.
- Timezone is configured for the whole installation, not per event.
Who it suits
Helfertool suits event organizers who need online volunteer signup, shift scheduling, and job-specific access controls. It is also relevant to teams that need exports, email records, badge handling, or equipment-loan tracking.
Verdict
Helfertool combines volunteer registration and shift management with exports, communications, badges, and inventory tracking. Its self-hosting requirements and installation-wide timezone are worth considering when planning an event setup.
The facts
Each one read from Helfertool's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Access controls
- Jobs can be public or internal, and each job can have administrators limited to managing that job’s helpers.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Authentication
- Supported authentication backends are local accounts, LDAP, and OpenID Connect.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Badges
- Badges can be created from a LaTeX template and can include barcodes for access control or privileges.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Databases
- Documented database options include PostgreSQL, MySQL or MariaDB, and SQLite; PostgreSQL is recommended for deployments.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Dependencies
- A self-hosted deployment requires Docker Engine, a database, RabbitMQ, a reverse proxy, and a mail server; PostgreSQL and nginx are recommended.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- The maker’s admin guide describes self-hosting with Docker and helfertoolctl, or manual deployment as a Django application.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Organizers can email helpers, job or shift coordinators, or all registered people, and the system saves a history of sent emails.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Exports
- Event data can be exported to Excel, or key information can be exported as PDF for all jobs or one job.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Exports and email
- Event data can be exported as Excel or PDF, and administrators can email helpers or coordinators with a history of sent messages saved.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Food handling certificates
- For events in Germany, the tool can ask helpers whether they have a food-handling certificate, need to renew it, or have never had one.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Inventory
- Organizers can track loaned items using barcodes on badges and items.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Job administrators
- Each job can have administrators who can manage that job’s helpers but not helpers for other jobs.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Jobs and shifts
- Organizers can create any number of jobs with shifts, start and end times, helper limits, and optional names.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Language and timezone
- The documented languages are English and German, and the timezone is configured for the whole installation rather than per event.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Helfertool manages volunteers or staff for events, including online job registration and administration of registered people.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Registration details
- Registration can optionally collect T-shirt sizes and ask about food-handling certificates, including whether one needs renewal.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Registration links
- Admins can create links for registration to events, jobs, or shifts that are not public, and registration through these links remains possible.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Registration visibility
- Jobs can be publicly visible or internal, with links available to access internal jobs.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Security configuration
- The installation guide says a deployment needs a secret key and allowed-host settings, and notes that TLS is required for use with the documented headers.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Security settings
- Configurable protections include account lockout after five failed login attempts for ten minutes, a 12-character minimum for local passwords, and captchas for newsletter registration and password reset by default starting with version 4.0.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support and community
- The project invites users to open GitHub issues and provides a Matrix room for development and administration discussions.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Support and source
- The maker’s homepage links to documentation, an issue tracker, and source code.checked 4 Oct 2026
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