Mayan EDMS: Open-Source Enterprise Document Management System

What is Mayan EDMS?

Mayan EDMS is a sophisticated open-source enterprise document management system that transforms how organizations manage, organize, and archive documents. With powerful OCR capabilities, advanced search functionality, automated workflows, and compliance features, Mayan EDMS handles the complex document management requirements of enterprises, government agencies, legal firms, and healthcare organizations.

In an era where paper creates chaos and digital documents go missing in endless folders, Mayan EDMS provides intelligent document management that eliminates inefficiency. Every document is automatically indexed, made searchable, and routed through approved workflows.

The system works with virtually any document type—PDFs, images, office documents, and more. Sophisticated OCR extracts text from scanned documents, making handwritten forms and old scans fully searchable and accessible.

Core Features and Capabilities

Document Management

Advanced OCR: Extract text from scanned documents in 100+ languages with high accuracy
Full-Text Search: Search across entire document database by keywords, metadata, or OCR-extracted text
Document Versioning: Track document history with version control and change management
Metadata Management: Add custom metadata fields and automatically extract metadata from documents
Multi-Document Indexing: Organize documents into logical collections and hierarchies
Document Compression: Automatically compress large documents to save storage space

Workflow and Automation

Automated document routing based on rules and conditions
Multi-step approval workflows with user assignments
Task scheduling and deadline management
Email integration for notifications and task alerts
Event-based automation triggers
Webhook support for third-party system integration

Security and Access Control

Role-based access control (RBAC) with granular permissions
User and group management with delegation
Digital signature and document authentication
Document encryption and secure storage
Audit trails tracking all document access and modifications
GDPR and HIPAA compliance features

Compliance and Retention

Document retention policies with automatic archival
Compliance documentation and audit reports
Legal hold capabilities for litigation support
Data classification and handling rules
Destruction management with audit trails

System Requirements

Server Requirements

Operating System: Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS) or Docker
Python: Python 3.8 or higher
Database: PostgreSQL 10+ or MySQL 5.7+
Web Server: Nginx or Apache
RAM: Minimum 2GB, Recommended 4GB+ for production
Storage: 50GB+ depending on document volume
OCR Engine: Tesseract OCR (included) or ABBYY (optional)
Message Broker: Celery for background task processing

Client Requirements

Modern web browser with JavaScript enabled
Screen resolution 1024×768 minimum
PDF reader for document viewing

Installation and Setup

Docker Quickstart

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/mayan-edms/mayan-edms.git
cd mayan-edms

# Run with Docker Compose
docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml up -d

# Access at http://localhost:80
# Default username: admin
# Default password: admin

Ubuntu Installation

# Install dependencies
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install python3-pip postgresql nginx

# Install Tesseract OCR
sudo apt-get install tesseract-ocr libtesseract-dev

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv mayan-env
source mayan-env/bin/activate

# Install Mayan
pip install mayan-edms

# Initialize database
mayan-edms-install

# Start server
mayan-edms start

Production Configuration

# Configure Nginx
sudo cp mayan-edms-nginx.conf /etc/nginx/sites-available/mayan
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/mayan /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# Configure Systemd service
sudo cp mayan-edms.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable mayan-edms
sudo systemctl start mayan-edms

# Configure backup
sudo cp mayan-edms-backup.sh /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/mayan-edms-backup.sh

Use Cases

Legal Firm Document Management

Law firms use Mayan EDMS to manage case files, contracts, correspondence, and discovery documents. Automated workflows route documents for review and approval. Digital signatures authenticate important documents.

Healthcare and HIPAA Compliance

Medical practices and hospitals use Mayan EDMS for patient record management, ensuring HIPAA compliance with encrypted storage and comprehensive audit trails.

Government and Compliance

Government agencies implement Mayan EDMS for records management with retention policies and compliance reporting.

Accounts Payable Automation

Finance departments use Mayan EDMS to capture invoices, extract data, route for approval, and archive for audit purposes.

HR Document Management

Human resources departments manage employee files, contracts, performance reviews, and compliance documentation securely.

Financial Services Compliance

Banks and financial institutions use Mayan EDMS for regulatory compliance, managing customer documents, and supporting audits.

Advantages

Zero Software Costs: Open-source means no licensing fees, dramatically reducing document management expenses.
Complete Transparency: Full source code access ensures no hidden features or data handling.
Customization: Modify OCR, workflows, metadata, and integration to exact requirements.
Strong OCR: Enterprise-grade OCR makes even poor-quality scans searchable.
Compliance Ready: Built-in compliance features support regulatory requirements.
Scalability: Handles millions of documents with appropriate infrastructure.
No Data Lock-in: Export documents and metadata anytime in standard formats.
Community Support: Active community provides plugins, integration examples, and support.

Limitations

Initial Configuration Required: Setup and configuration need IT expertise or professional services.
OCR Quality Variable: OCR accuracy depends on document quality and scans must be legible.
Smaller Community: Fewer pre-built integrations compared to commercial solutions like Alfresco.
Learning Curve: Complex features require user training and documentation review.