The app
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Ruby
The programming language RootFlare is written in.
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Ruby on Rails
The framework the whole app is built on.
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Hotwire
Makes the website's pages quick and responsive without a heavy app in your browser.
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Preact
Runs field mode on your phone, so assessments work with or without signal.
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Tailwind CSS and daisyUI
The building blocks of the look, from the forest-green bar to the rating badges.
Your data
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PostgreSQL
The database that keeps every tree, assessment and report.
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Amazon Web Services
Where RootFlare runs, and where your photos and reports are stored.
Reports
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Chromium
The open-source browser that turns each report into a PDF.
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pdftk-java
Fills in the ISA Basic Tree Risk Assessment Form and joins a report's pages together.
Maps
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Leaflet
Draws the maps of your trees and inventories.
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OpenStreetMap
The street map, made by its volunteer contributors.
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The U.S. Geological Survey
The aerial imagery behind the satellite view.
Type and icons
AI
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Claude, by Anthropic
Looks at a tree's photos and suggests findings for the arborist to review.
Running the service
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Kamal
Puts each new version of RootFlare live.
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Stripe
Handles subscriptions and payments.
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SendGrid
Delivers the emails RootFlare sends, reports included.
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Honeybadger
Tells us the moment something breaks, so we can fix it.
Words
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Basecamp's open-source policies
The starting point for our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, under CC BY 4.0.
Thank you
RootFlare is one arborist's project, but it couldn't exist without the thousands of people who build these tools and give so much of their work away. To everyone who writes, maintains, documents and answers questions about them: thank you. You made it possible for me, someone who enjoys working with (and climbing) trees, to build tools like RootFlare.
Adam