Grist is a modern relational spreadsheet. It combines the flexibility of a spreadsheet with the robustness of a database.

• grist-core (this repo) has what you need to run a powerful server for hosting spreadsheets.

• grist-desktop is a Linux/macOS/Windows desktop app for viewing and editing spreadsheets stored locally.

• grist-static is a fully in-browser build of Grist for displaying spreadsheets on a website without back-end support.

Grist is developed by Grist Labs, an NYC-based company 🇺🇸🗽. The French government 🇫🇷 organizations ANCT Données et Territoires and DINUM (Direction Interministérielle du Numérique) have also made significant contributions to the codebase.

The grist-core, grist-desktop, and grist-static repositories are all open source (Apache License, Version 2.0). Grist Labs offers free and paid hosted services at getgrist.com, sells an Enterprise product, and offers cloud packaging.

Questions? Feedback? Want to share what you're building with Grist? Join our official Discord server or visit our Community forum.

To see exactly what is present in grist-core, you can run the desktop app, or use docker. The absolute fastest way to try Grist out is to visit docs.getgrist.com and play with a spreadsheet there immediately – though if you do, please read the list of extra extensions that are not in grist-core.

However you try it, you'll quickly see that Grist is a hybrid database/spreadsheet, meaning that:

• Columns work like they do in databases: they are named, and they hold one kind of data.
• Columns can be filled by formula, spreadsheet-style, with automatic updates when referenced cells change.

This difference can confuse people coming directly from Excel or Google Sheets. Give it a chance! There's also a Grist for Spreadsheet Users article to help get you oriented. If you're coming from Airtable, you'll find the model familiar (and there's also our Grist vs Airtable article for a direct comparison).

Here are some specific feature highlights of Grist:

• Python formulas.
  • Full Python syntax is supported, including the standard library.
  • Many Excel functions also available.
  • An