CodeGrade

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to CodeGrade

A curated collection of the 3 best self hosted alternatives to CodeGrade.

CodeGrade is an online platform for programming education that lets instructors create and manage coding assignments, run configurable autograders and tests, review student submissions, and provide feedback and analytics at scale.

Alternatives List

#1
RELATE

RELATE

Open-source Django LMS for creating courses with YAML/Markdown content, git-backed versioning, sandboxed code questions, automatic grading, calendars and analytics.

RELATE screenshot

RELATE is a web-based courseware system built on the Django web framework for authoring, delivering, and grading interactive course content. It emphasizes simple, text-based authoring and supports interactive flows that combine static pages, quizzes, and code-execution questions.

Key Features

  • Text-first content authored in YAML and Markdown for reusable course materials
  • Deep git integration so instructors can version content and preview unpublished changes while students use prior versions
  • Code question support with in-browser code entry, sandboxed execution, automatic grading, optional human second-stage grading, and plotting support
  • Flow-based activities that sequence pages (text, video, quiz, code, uploads) and flexible rules for participation and grading
  • Course calendar, grade book, and basic analytics/statistics of student answers
  • REST API for integration and automation; optional XMPP support for in-class messaging
  • Supports hosting multiple courses on a single installation and Docker-based deployment options

Use Cases

  • University instructors delivering programming assignments with automatic grading and versioned course materials
  • Running live in-class quizzes and monitored coding exercises with sandboxed execution
  • Coordinating multi-course installations with shared content repositories and gradebook/calendar management

Limitations and Considerations

  • Production deployment and long-term maintenance require server administration; optional integrations (XMPP, SAML, external auth) add setup complexity
  • Advanced features (sandboxing, plotting, automatic grading) require careful configuration of execution environments and dependencies

RELATE is well suited for institutions and instructors who need a flexible, text-driven LMS focused on programmatic assignments and reproducible course content. It favors administrators comfortable with Django-based deployments and git workflows.

422stars
127forks
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#2
INGInious

INGInious

Open-source platform for creating, running and automatically grading programming exercises in Docker sandboxes; integrates with LMS (Moodle, edX).

INGInious screenshot

INGInious is an automated exercises assessment platform designed to run and grade students' programming submissions inside isolated Docker environments. It provides a web frontend for students and teachers, an administration interface for course and task management, and integration points for external LMS platforms.

Key Features

  • Automated grading of programming exercises using custom tests and pluggable grading environments
  • Executes student code inside Docker-based sandboxes to isolate and control runtime behavior
  • Web frontend for submissions and an admin UI for course/task management and student monitoring
  • Integrations with external learning systems (LMS) such as Moodle and edX via standard connectors
  • Deployable via Docker Compose with provided example grading environments and a tasks folder for courses
  • Supports multiple programming languages through configurable grading containers and task definitions
  • Includes demo tasks and tooling for creating and importing exercise sets

Use Cases

  • University and classroom programming courses requiring scalable, consistent automated grading
  • MOOCs and online learning platforms that need external graders integrated with LMS
  • Technical training and coding interview platforms that require reproducible, sandboxed code evaluation

Limitations and Considerations

  • Execution relies on Docker containers: secure configuration (SELinux, namespaces) is required for safely running untrusted code
  • Out-of-the-box deployment is oriented around Docker Compose; large-scale horizontal scaling requires additional infrastructure and orchestration
  • Administrators must manage and maintain grading environment images and task repositories to cover target languages and toolchains

INGInious is suitable for institutions and instructors who need a configurable, containerized autograding solution that integrates with existing LMS workflows. It emphasizes secure execution, extensible grading environments, and a teacher-focused administration interface.

231stars
147forks
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#3
QST

QST

Open-source assessment software for creating, delivering, and grading quizzes, exams, and surveys, with question banks, interoperability formats, and built-in gradebook analytics.

QST screenshot

QST is an open-source online/LAN assessment platform for creating, delivering, and grading quizzes, tests, surveys, and other markable assignments. It supports large-scale, proctored-style testing as well as lightweight quizzes, with an emphasis on controlled access, portability of question banks, and integrated results analysis.

Key Features

  • Role-based administration for organizations, instructors, and students, including bulk user/class imports and optional student photo display
  • Question/item banks with folders and reuse across assessments
  • Multiple question types (including MCQ, multiple-answer, matching, true/false, short answer, essay) plus survey-style items
  • Branching/adaptive delivery (skip logic) and randomization (question/answer shuffling and random selection)
  • Multiple delivery modes (single-question flows, jump/next, paper-style) and configurable result visibility
  • Auto-marking for objective questions plus manual grading for written responses
  • GradeBook with per-assessment and per-question statistics and export (CSV/JSON)
  • Import/export and conversion across common formats (QST XML, Moodle XML, QTI, Word XML, PDF)
  • Rich editors for formatted content, including math/chemistry equation support (MathML/TeX/LaTeX)

Use Cases

  • School or training-center quizzes, surveys, and exams with reporting and grade aggregation
  • Secure in-network testing for labs or classrooms with controlled access and timed assessments
  • Migration/archival workflows using imports/exports to move question banks between platforms

Limitations and Considerations

  • Not a full LMS; focuses on assessments and grading rather than broader course delivery features
  • Some accessibility work is noted as partial/ongoing (WCAG AA support)

QST is a feature-rich assessment system designed for organizations that need strong question-bank portability, flexible test delivery options, and detailed grading analytics. It fits well where a standalone, scalable testing platform is needed without adopting a full learning management suite.

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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running