Dokku

A self-hosted platform as a service that runs on one server, builds apps from git push using Docker, and accepts Heroku-style buildpacks.

Open-source alternative to:

Heroku

Visit Dokku GitHub Docs

MITSelf-hostedSome features paywalled

Screenshot of the Dokku website — Homepage of dokku.com

What the free edition leaves out

The free edition is genuinely usable, but some team or enterprise features need a paid plan. “Not confirmed” means the official pages we read did not say, so we do not guess.

Open-core feature checklist for Dokku
Feature	Free edition	Details	Source
SSO / SAML	Not confirmed	The Pro page does not mention SSO.	Source ↗
Role-based access control	Not confirmed	The Pro page does not mention RBAC.	Source ↗
Audit logs	Not confirmed	The Pro page does not mention audit logging.	Source ↗
Multi-user / teams	Not confirmed	The Pro page lists Team Management with no details, and does not describe what the open-source edition allows.	Source ↗
Backups and restore	Free	The backup docs describe backing up the Dokku directories with a tar command, plus each datastore's export tools.	Source ↗
API access	Paid	The Pro page lists a JSON API as a Pro feature.	Source ↗
Support SLA	Paid	The Pro page lists email support from the maintainers; no response times or SLA are stated.	Source ↗

Best for

Developers who want a simple Heroku-style git push workflow on a single server they control.

Why choose it over Heroku

MIT licensed and installed with one script on an Ubuntu or Debian server. You push code with git, and apps are built with Dockerfiles or Heroku-compatible buildpacks, so many Heroku apps move over with few changes.

Where it falls short

Dokku runs on a single server, with a separate K3s scheduler option for clusters. The web UI, JSON API, HTTP push and team management are listed as features of the paid Pro add-on. You manage your own server, updates and backups.

Open-source alternative to

Heroku — Dokku calls itself an open-source alternative to Heroku; you push Heroku-compatible apps with git to your own server.

Topics

Tech stack

Languages as reported by GitHub for the repository.