100% Open Source

Glaze management, reimagined.

OpenGlaze is the open-source platform ceramic artists and studios use to manage recipes, track firings, and collaborate on glaze development — without losing control of their data.

126 Tests passing
MIT Open license
6 Experiment stages

Your Glaze Library

32 glazes
Celadon Cone 10 · Reduction
Reduction
Tenmoku Cone 10 · Reduction
Reduction
Chun Blue Cone 10 · Reduction
Reduction
Shino Cone 10 · Reduction
Reduction
White Satin Cone 6 · Oxidation
Oxidation

Everything you need to master glazes

From recipe management to AI-powered predictions, OpenGlaze gives you the tools to document, analyze, and share your glaze work.

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Recipe Management

Store unlimited glazes with full chemistry, recipes, and visual references. Import from Glazy, Insight, or spreadsheets.

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Chemistry Engine

Automatic UMF calculation, compatibility analysis, thermal expansion matching, and batch scaling.

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Recipe Optimizer

Computes exact material adjustments to hit target CTE, surface, or durability — before firing test tiles.

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Kama AI Assistant

Context-aware glaze consulting powered by local or cloud LLMs. Ask about recipes, predictions, and substitutions.

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Experiment Pipeline

6-stage workflow from ideation to documentation. Track every variable and build reproducible results.

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Studio Collaboration

Share glaze libraries with your team. Role-based access, lab assignments, and shared firing logs.

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Photo Documentation

Track results across firings with gallery views. Consistent documentation for reliable comparison.

Understand your glazes at the molecular level

The Unity Molecular Formula (UMF) engine analyzes your recipes and predicts surface qualities, helping you make informed adjustments before you fire.

  • Automatic oxide analysis from batch recipes
  • Silica-to-alumina ratio calculation
  • Thermal expansion coefficient estimation
  • Glaze compatibility risk assessment
  • Batch scaling with cost estimation
  • Recipe optimizer — target CTE, surface, or durability computationally
Learn More
Recipe: Celadon Base
Feldspar ............ 45%
Silica .............. 30%
Whiting ............ 15%
Kaolin ............. 10%
UMF Analysis:
SiO₂ / Al₂O₃ = 7.11
CaO (flux) = 0.55
Surface = glossy
CTE = 6.2 × 10⁻⁶/°C
💡 Predicted: High-gloss celadon with good durability. Compatible with cone 10 stoneware bodies.
Original: Cone 10 Celadon
Feldspar ............ 45%
Silica .............. 25%
Whiting ............ 18%
Kaolin ............. 12%
🎯 Target: More matte
SiO₂ / Al₂O₃ = 8.87 → 3.95
Surface = glossy → matte
💡 Suggested tweak: Replace all silica with kaolin. Fire a test tile to confirm.

Save clay, materials, and kiln time

The recipe optimizer computes exact material adjustments to hit your target properties — so you fire fewer test tiles and get results faster.

  • Target exact CTE to match your clay body
  • Shift surface from glossy to matte (or vice versa)
  • Reduce alkali for better durability
  • Lower running risk before it ruins a kiln shelf
  • Ranked suggestions with predicted outcomes
Learn More

Glaze chemistry guides built for search and humans

Start with the exact problem you searched for: UMF, CTE, recipe scaling, Glazy workflows, DigitalFire learning, or self-hosting.

Ceramic Glaze Calculator

Calculate glaze chemistry, understand recipe behavior, and plan the next test tile.

UMF Calculator

Convert recipes into Unity Molecular Formula, oxide roles, and SiO₂:Al₂O₃ ratios.

Glaze Recipe Calculator

Scale, document, compare, and improve ceramic glaze recipes.

CTE Calculator

Reason about crazing, shivering, and clay-body fit before firing.

Glazy Companion

Use OpenGlaze for private chemistry analysis alongside community recipe discovery.

DigitalFire Companion

Turn ceramic chemistry education into live recipe calculations.

Open Source Pottery Software

Keep studio knowledge in a transparent, modifiable MIT-licensed tool.

Self-Hosted Glaze Software

Run OpenGlaze locally or on your own server with private recipes.

Built in the open

OpenGlaze is 100% open source. Every line of code is available on GitHub. Fork it, modify it, run it yourself — no restrictions.

MIT License
126 Tests
100% Open Source
0 Proprietary deps

OpenGlaze is free and open source. If it saves you a test tile, consider supporting its development — Ko-fi, Patreon, or GitHub Sponsors.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is OpenGlaze?

OpenGlaze is a 100% open-source ceramic glaze management system for potters and ceramic studios. It includes a UMF calculator, CTE analysis engine, computational recipe optimizer, and AI-powered glaze consulting — all self-hosted and free under the MIT license.

Is OpenGlaze really free?

Yes. OpenGlaze is completely free, open-source software under the MIT license. There are no paywalls, no subscriptions, and no feature gates. You can self-host it on your own server and keep full control of your glaze recipes. Read why we chose this model.

What is a UMF calculator for ceramics?

UMF stands for Unity Molecular Formula. A UMF calculator converts raw glaze recipes (percentages of materials like feldspar, silica, and kaolin) into a normalized molecular formula. This reveals the SiO₂:Al₂O₃ ratio, flux composition, and predicted surface qualities — essential for understanding and adjusting glazes. OpenGlaze calculates UMF automatically from any batch recipe.

How does the glaze recipe optimizer work?

The OpenGlaze recipe optimizer uses computational chemistry — not AI guessing — to suggest exact material adjustments. You set a target (e.g., specific CTE, matte surface, reduced running risk) and the engine grid-searches stoichiometric adjustments, ranks them by predicted outcome, and returns the top suggestions with before/after chemistry.

Is OpenGlaze a replacement for Glazy or DigitalFire?

No — OpenGlaze complements them. Glazy is a recipe database and community. DigitalFire provides deep ceramic chemistry education. OpenGlaze is a computational chemistry engine and glaze management tool. Many users export recipes from Glazy into OpenGlaze for UMF analysis and optimization.

Can I self-host OpenGlaze?

Absolutely. Self-hosting is the primary deployment model. Run it locally with SQLite for personal use, or deploy with Docker and SQLite for the supported self-hosted path. Your recipes never leave your infrastructure.