If neighbors voluntarily share OpenParcelBox capacity, a parcel can be placed in a nearby free box when the target box is full. The recipient receives only the scoped, time-limited pickup right. The neighbor does not need to see more than necessary.
Local-first parcel access infrastructure
OpenParcelBox
Turn existing boxes, cabinets and lockers into open, carrier-neutral parcel drop-off infrastructure with local control, open locks and optional integrations.
Cloud optional
Home Assistant optional
Carrier-neutral
Why it exists
DHL ended the parcel box and accidentally opened the idea.
The original DHL parcel box had one obvious flaw: it was built for DHL, not for parcel delivery in general. Only after the closed access system was discontinued did the core idea become visible again: an open parcel box for every carrier.
01Retrofit first
02Open lock profiles
03Optional cloud
Mission
Individual parcel boxes can become open infrastructure.
OpenParcelBox should do more than retrofit private parcel boxes. Long term, it can become a foundation for community parcel boxes, apartment buildings, neighborhoods, villages, housing projects, associations, small commercial areas and municipalities where parcel stations are too rare or the available infrastructure does not fit.
Open source for everyone
For places that otherwise fall through the gaps.
Planning, manufacturing, installation, maintenance, hosting and operation can be economically sustainable. The foundation should still remain open: locally usable, repairable, rebuildable and free from new closed dependencies.
March 2025
The trigger
Project origin
The official fix was a combination lock. That says quite a lot.
When DHL announced that electronic access to older DHL parcel boxes would end on 15 May 2025, thousands of existing boxes did not suddenly become scrap. The hardware was still there. The space was still there. The usefulness was still there. What disappeared was the closed access layer.
DHL's pragmatic suggestion was to turn the box into a normal drop-off location: make it manual, attach a combination lock or latch, and store the code in the delivery instructions for the alternative drop-off location.
DHL even published a short how-to video for this manual conversion: Umbau des DHL Paketkasten zu Ablageort.
The unintended side effect
A formerly DHL-only system suddenly became a receptacle any carrier could use in principle. Not because the system became better, but because the proprietary barrier disappeared.
The real point
A code in delivery instructions is not a platform. A carrier does not need control over the whole box. It needs a limited right to open it for a specific delivery.
Why open?
Not every place needs a new box. Many places need an open receiving network.
The DHL parcel box shows the core problem clearly: the physical hardware can still be useful while the closed access system becomes the bottleneck. OpenParcelBox should therefore first ask what can be reused, retrofitted or responsibly adapted before new hardware is created.
The goal is not just a smarter single box. It is shared neighborhood receiving capacity: fewer failed deliveries, fewer extra trips, less driving to parcel shops or parcel stations, and more value from infrastructure that already exists.
Every successful first delivery can avoid extra trips: redelivery, driving to a parcel shop, detours to a parcel station, lost time, fuel, CO2 and unnecessary notification loops.
DHL, Hermes, DPD, GLS, UPS, Amazon Logistics and local couriers do not need ownership of the box. They need a limited, verifiable deposit right.
Open, locally operated boxes can help where large parcel stations are missing: apartment buildings, villages, neighborhoods, associations and small business sites.
Carrier-neutral
A carrier needs a right, not platform power.
Deposit, pickup, service and admin rights must be checked locally, scoped, revocable and auditable. The box must not depend on whether a single provider, app or cloud still exists tomorrow.
Sustainable
Understand what already exists. Then retrofit.
Old parcel boxes, cabinets, readers, locks, power supplies and enclosures are not automatically waste. OpenParcelBox should help people reuse existing things safely instead of reflexively buying another closed product. Existing hardware should be understood first; new hardware should only be built when it is actually better.
Local first
The device must keep its basic local function without internet, cloud services or Home Assistant.
Carrier neutral
Carrier integrations should be optional plugins, never a single-vendor dependency or hidden lock-in path.
Retrofit friendly
Existing parcel boxes, cabinets, lockers and garage boxes should remain useful instead of being replaced by a closed product.
Next launch
Milestone 1 / Version 1 Beta
DHL Retrofit Beta
A fully local ESP-based retrofit for an existing DHL parcel box: 4 households, PIN and NFC access, Wiegand keypad path, carrier PINs, local logging, MQTT, local API foundation and OTA updates.
For manufacturers and providers
Open source and commercial products can belong together.
Carriers, mailbox manufacturers, lock makers, smart-home vendors, retrofit providers and service companies are welcome to build on OpenParcelBox and create products from it. Go for it.
But official OpenParcelBox compatibility means the relevant documentation must be open for project review. Official variants belong in Git: documented, traceable and reviewable by the community.
Products may only be sold as OpenParcelBox, official variants or officially compatible offerings after the licensing and review conditions have been met and written approval has been granted.
Manufacturers must prove legal, technical and normative conformity for every target country themselves. Official compatibility does not mean “it somehow works”; it means openly documented, reviewable, repairable, interoperable and legally clean in the distribution market.
Open documentationSchematics, interfaces, pinouts, protocols, mounting data and firmware changes must be reviewable.
Proudly MadeA future “Proudly Made for OpenParcelBox” mark requires approval and an openly reviewable OpenParcelBox-related foundation.
Repairable partsSpare parts should be available, rebuildable or self-manufacturable through standard parts, specs or printable files.
No new dead endA box must not become useless again because a vendor disappears, a cloud ends or a spare part vanishes.
Fair businessEarn money on hardware, production, support, installation, service, cloud convenience and integrations, not lock-in.
Ecosystem building blocks
Not one box. A set of open parts.
OpenParcelBox Core
Hardware/backplane concept for power, ports, sensors, locks and expansion.
OpenParcelLock
Open lock module and interface profile for parcel boxes and retrofit setups.
Opening rights
Local-first access-control model for delivery, pickup and carrier integrations.
Carrier adapters
Optional adapter layer for future carrier workflows and dynamic delivery rights.
Access flow
One right. Many ways to present it.
OpenParcelBox models access as an opening right that can become a PIN, QR code, signed token, app action or future carrier grant.
01Issue
Create a scoped deposit-only right.
02Present
Render it as PIN, QR or token.
03Validate
Check locally, even offline.
04Audit
Log the event without raw secrets.
European by design
European groundwork, practical implementation.
OpenParcelBox treats CEN/TS 17457:2020 as the key European reference for interoperable digital opening and closing systems for home-use parcel receptacles. We align the model with it without claiming finished compliance or copying protected standards text.
Optional integrations
Smart home is welcome, never required.
MQTT, Home Assistant, HomeMatic, Matter, webhooks, LoRa/LoRaWAN and cloud services are integration paths, not prerequisites for local operation.
Community
Get involved
The project is currently collecting requirements, research, architecture decisions and retrofit scenarios. Use GitHub Discussions for open questions and Issues for concrete tasks.