Dokku

Dokku

Dokku is an open source Platform-as-a-Service that runs on a single server, allowing developers to easily deploy and manage applications in a similar way to Heroku. It is lightweight, easy to install, and uses Docker and Git under the hood.
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docker git heroku paas

Dokku: Open Source PaaS

Lightweight, single-server Platform-as-a-Service for easy application deployment and management, built on Docker and Git

What is Dokku?

Dokku is an open source Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that allows developers to easily deploy, manage, and scale applications on a single server. It is designed to be lightweight, simple to install, and uses Docker and Git workflows under the hood.

Some key features of Dokku include:

  • Git push deployments - Developers can deploy apps simply by pushing their code to the Dokku server via Git.
  • Simple horizontal scaling - Apps can be easily scaled to multiple container instances for improved resilience and performance.
  • Supports multiple languages and frameworks - Dokku works with Python, Ruby, JavaScript, PHP, and more.
  • CLI administration and management - The entire platform can be administered via SSH and simple commands.
  • Pluggable architecture - Custom Dokku plugins allow extending core functionality.
  • Heroku compatibility - The Git push deployments mimic the Heroku workflow many developers are already familiar with.

As it is Docker-powered, Dokku allows developers to locally build and test applications using Docker containers before deploying to production. This ensures consistency between environments.

Overall, Dokku aims to provide PaaS-style simplicity for deploying apps on your own infrastructure. Its active community makes Dokku a compelling open source alternative to proprietary PaaS offerings.

Dokku Features

Features

  1. One-click deployments using Git
  2. Simple horizontal scaling
  3. Zero downtime deploys
  4. Built-in support for common add-ons like databases, caching, etc
  5. Heroku buildpacks support for easy language runtime configuration
  6. SSH access for debugging and configuration

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

Lightweight and easy to install

Leverages Docker for fast deployment

Similar workflow to Heroku

Active community support

Cons

Limited to a single server

Not as feature rich as Heroku

Requires some command line usage

Steeper learning curve than fully managed PaaS


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