Dokku

Lightweight, open source Platform as a Service that runs on a single server of your choice. Powered by Docker, it turns any VPS into a self-hosted PaaS where you deploy applications via git push and manage the full lifecycle from build to scaling.

Dokku positions itself as a Heroku-compatible alternative with no vendor lock-in: you own the infrastructure and use tools you already know. It supports official one-click installs on Azure, DigitalOcean, and DreamHost. The project is built as a modular core plus plugins, so you can extend it with databases, caches, and services by writing plugins in any language or installing community ones.

Key capabilities:

• Deploy via git push with Heroku buildpacks or Dockerfile support
• Automatic routing for web processes via nginx, plus cron and background workers
• Plugin ecosystem for PostgreSQL, Redis, ClickHouse, and other add-ons
• Let's Encrypt SSL and custom domains out of the box
• Runs on inexpensive cloud providers or your own hardware

Teams use Dokku to host staging environments, personal projects, and small production workloads without commercial PaaS costs. Developers get a familiar git push workflow and container isolation, while operators keep full control over where and how apps run.