Dokku is a Docker-powered, open-source mini-Heroku written in Bash that provides the smallest PaaS implementation for deploying applications on a single server. It accepts Heroku-compatible apps via Git push, builds them using Heroku buildpacks or Dockerfiles, and handles routing, SSL, subdomains, and zero-downtime deploys out of the box. Install it on any Ubuntu or Debian host with a single shell command and turn a bare VPS into a self-hosted Heroku in minutes, with no control plane or proprietary runtime to manage.
The project is best known for its plugin ecosystem — official and community plugins add managed PostgreSQL, Redis, MySQL, MariaDB, Let's Encrypt certificates, persistent storage, HTTP basic auth, maintenance pages, and container schedulers. Dokku's architecture keeps the core small while letting operators compose exactly the platform they need, from single-app side projects to multi-service internal platforms shared across teams. CLI-first configuration means every setting is version-controllable via shell scripts or Ansible playbooks.
Dokku is ideal for indie hackers, startups, and platform teams that want Heroku-style git-push deploys without a cloud vendor bill scaling with traffic. It runs happily on DigitalOcean, Hetzner, OVH, or bare-metal hardware, works well as a sandbox for ephemeral preview environments tied to pull requests, and is a common self-hosted alternative to Render, Railway, and Fly.io for teams comfortable maintaining their own Linux servers and wanting full control over their data plane.
