Free tools for the budget-minded Mac admin

In the ##osx-server IRC room, a question that comes up fairly often from new Mac admins is one similar to this:

I’m on a tight budget. Are there any free tools that I can use to help manage my Macs?

There are a lot of free tools available to Mac admins, a number of which are community-built open-source tools. Here’s a list of free tools to get started with:

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Update 2-4-2015: Tom Bridge has put together a list of free or cheap Mac sysadmin tools.

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Imaging and machine building

• AutoDMG – https://github.com/MagerValp/AutoDMG/wiki/Getting-Started
• Blast Image Config: http://clc.its.psu.edu/UnivServices/itadmins/mac/blastimageconfig
• Create Recovery Partition Installer.app – https://github.com/MagerValp/Create-Recovery-Partition-Installer
• DeployStudio – http://www.deploystudio.com
• FileWave Lightning – http://www.filewave.com/index.php/features/lightning

Installer package building and development

• Packages – http://s.sudre.free.fr/Software/Packages/about.html
• Payload-Free Package Creator.app – https://github.com/rtrouton/Payload-Free-Package-Creator
• Simple Package Creator.app – https://github.com/rtrouton/Simple-Package-Creator
• The Luggage – https://github.com/unixorn/luggage

FileVault 2 recovery key management

• Cauliflower Vest – https://github.com/google/cauliflowervest
• Crypt – https://github.com/grahamgilbert/Crypt

Mac management

• CreateUserPkg – http://magervalp.github.io/CreateUserPkg/ (also available from the Mac App Store.)
• mcxToProfile – https://github.com/timsutton/mcxToProfile
• Make Profile Pkg – https://github.com/timsutton/make-profile-pkg
• Puppet – https://docs.puppetlabs.com/guides/install_puppet/install_osx.html
• Plan B – https://github.com/google/macops/tree/master/planb

NetBoot

• BSDPy – https://bitbucket.org/bruienne/bsdpy
• NetSUS – https://github.com/jamf/NetSUS

OS installation and upgrades

• createOSXInstallPkg – https://github.com/munki/createOSXinstallPkg
• First Boot Package Install Generator.app – https://github.com/rtrouton/First_Boot_Package_Install_Generator

Software management and deployment

• aamporter – https://github.com/timsutton/aamporter
• AutoPkg – https://github.com/autopkg/autopkg/wiki/Getting-Started
• AutoPkgr – http://www.lindegroup.com/autopkgr/
• Munki – https://github.com/munki/munki/wiki
• MunkiAdmin – https://github.com/hjuutilainen/munkiadmin
• Munki-in-a-box – https://github.com/tbridge/munki-in-a-box
• munkireport-php – https://github.com/munkireport/munkireport-php
• Reposado – https://github.com/wdas/reposado
• Sal – https://github.com/salsoftware/sal
• Simian – https://github.com/google/simian

Know of any more free tools to help manage Macs? Got a favorite that you think is missing from the list? Let me know in the comments.