Switch from Mirth Connect to MessageFoundry
Mirth gave a generation of teams an open-source HL7 engine. MessageFoundry carries that idea forward — open source by license, but on a modern foundation: interfaces are plain Python in your own git repository, and moving your channels over is AI-assisted, not a multi-year re-platforming project.
Why Mirth teams are evaluating a move
Mirth Connect is the most widely adopted interface engine of the last decade — a huge community, deep documentation, and a battle-tested channel architecture. For many teams the appeal was simple: it was open source.
That changed. Mirth's open-source line ended at version 4.5.2; version 4.6 and later are closed and paid, and the free line no longer receives security patches. If you adopted Mirth because it was open and free to run, the ground has shifted under that decision — which is exactly why an open-source alternative is worth a look.
What you move to
Open source, by license
MessageFoundry is licensed under the AGPL — the property Mirth users came for — and self-hosted, so PHI never leaves your infrastructure and there's no per-interface licensing.
Python, not Rhino JavaScript
Write transforms and routing in Python, one of the world's most widely used languages — easier to staff and far more current than aging embedded JavaScript.
Code in git, not XML in a database
Your interfaces are ordinary code you can diff, review, and unit-test, driven from one config repository across Test and Production — not XML locked inside a channel database.
AI-assisted migration
The AI assistant drafts Python equivalents of your existing channel logic, so porting is measured in weeks, not the multi-year slog of re-platforming onto another engine.
How the migration works
The same staged playbook as any engine migration — just specific to Mirth.
- Inventory your channels. List every channel — source and destination connectors, filters, transformers, and code templates — so you know the real surface area before you move anything.
- Re-express channels as Python. Recreate each channel as a MessageFoundry connection, router, and handler. The AI assistant drafts equivalents of your JavaScript transformers, which you review and refine.
- Validate and shadow-run. Replay representative messages through both engines and compare outputs, then run MessageFoundry in shadow alongside Mirth to verify behavior on live traffic without cutting over.
- Cut over with a rollback path. Move interfaces over in waves, keeping Mirth available to fall back to until each interface is proven in production.
A Mirth channel that receives over MLLP, filters, and forwards becomes ordinary Python:
from messagefoundry import MLLP, inbound, outbound, router, handler, Send # Source + destination connectors — wired together by name inbound("IB_ADT", MLLP(port=2575), router="adt_router") outbound("OB_EHR", MLLP(host="ehr.internal", port=6000)) # Filter — the Mirth "filter" tab, as a plain function @router("adt_router") def route(msg): if msg["MSH-9.1"] != "ADT": return [] # not ADT -> UNROUTED return ["adt_handler"] # Transformer — review and refine what the AI drafts @handler("adt_handler") def handle(msg): msg["PID-5.1"] = msg["PID-5.1"].title() return Send("OB_EHR", msg)
What Mirth still does better today
A fair switch starts with an honest one. Mirth's community size, ecosystem depth, and years of production hardening are real advantages. MessageFoundry's transports are at rough parity, but it hasn't built up a comparable library of pre-built adapters yet — so if you depend on a specific Mirth extension or need a decade of operational track record right now, weigh that before you move. For a full, sourced side-by-side, see the comparison.
Switching from Mirth — FAQ
Is MessageFoundry a Mirth Connect alternative?
Yes. MessageFoundry is an open-source, self-hosted HL7 integration engine — a modern alternative for teams moving off Mirth Connect. It is open source by license (AGPL), you write interfaces in Python instead of Rhino JavaScript, and your integration logic lives as plain code in your git repository rather than as XML inside a database. Mirth still has the larger community and a deeper pre-built-adapter ecosystem today.
Is Mirth Connect still open source?
Mirth Connect's open-source line ended at version 4.5.2; version 4.6 and later are closed and paid, and the free line no longer receives security patches. Teams that adopted Mirth specifically because it was open source are the ones most often evaluating an open-source alternative like MessageFoundry, which is licensed under the AGPL.
Do I have to rewrite my Mirth JavaScript transformers by hand?
Not from scratch. MessageFoundry's AI assistant drafts Python equivalents of your existing channel logic, which your team reviews and refines. Because the result is ordinary, readable Python in your git repository, it is easier to diff, test, and maintain than transformer code embedded in a channel.
How long does migrating from Mirth Connect take?
It depends on how many channels you run and how complex they are, but because migration is AI-assisted and channels become plain Python, porting is typically far less work than re-platforming onto another proprietary engine. You migrate in waves and keep Mirth available to roll back to until each interface is proven in production.
Start your move off Mirth
Stand the engine up in minutes, then port your first channel.