AltFreeStack
ESEN
Deployment, PaaS & Hostingdocker-readypermissive-licenseOpen-Core🟢 Lightweight · ~256MB

CapRover: Open-Core alternative to Heroku in 2026

CapRover is a lightweight PaaS on top of Docker Swarm with its own web dashboard, one-click apps from its marketplace and automatic HTTPS — built for modest VPS.

Core is open source, but advanced features or enterprise support may be behind a paid tier — check the license.

Alternative to HerokuAlternative to Render
License Apache-2.015.2k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Not verifiable on GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v1.15.4 · 1 month ago

  • Docker Compose — Partial

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

CapRover vs. Heroku

Pros

  • Very lightweight, runs fine on a 1-2GB RAM VPS

Things to consider

  • Fewer advanced features than Coolify

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on Heroku.
  • On your own VPS: the core is free to self-host on your own server — no more monthly SaaS fee, though some advanced features stay behind a paid plan.
docker-compose.yml
services:
  captain:
    image: caprover/caprover:1.15.4
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - captain-data:/captain
volumes:
  captain-data: {}

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=caprover" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit today.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
Apache-2.0
Category
Deployment, PaaS & Hosting
Replaces
Heroku, Render
Tech stack
Node.jsDocker Swarm

Key features

  • One-click app marketplace
  • Automatic HTTPS via Let's Encrypt
  • Own web dashboard, light on resources
💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:80
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy