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E-commercedocker-readypermissive-license100% FOSS🔴 Full · ~2GB

Medusa: Open Source alternative to Shopify in 2026

Medusa is a headless commerce platform in Node.js with fully code-customizable order, inventory and pricing modules, built as a developer-focused alternative to Shopify.

ℹ️ Medusa doesn't publish any official Docker image — their own documentation says so explicitly. medusajs/medusa doesn't exist on Docker Hub. The officially supported path is create-medusa-app or building your own Dockerfile with Postgres and Redis, following Medusa's official guide.

Alternative to Shopify
License MIT36.7k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Not verifiable on GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v2.21.2 · 15 days ago

  • Docker Compose — Not verified

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

Medusa vs. Shopify

Pros

  • No commission per sale, unlike Shopify

Things to consider

  • Requires development skills to fully customize
  • No official Docker image (see note above) — build your own via create-medusa-app

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 Shopify.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
version: "3.9"
services:
  medusa:
    image: medusajs/medusa:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://medusa:change-me-postgres-password@medusa-db:5432/medusa # password must match the canonical db password below
      - REDIS_URL=redis://medusa-redis:6379
      - JWT_SECRET=change-me-super-secret
      - COOKIE_SECRET=change-me-super-secret
    depends_on:
      - medusa-db
      - medusa-redis
  medusa-db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=medusa
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=change-me-postgres-password # REQUIRED: generate a random secret before first run
      - POSTGRES_DB=medusa
    volumes:
      - medusa_pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
  medusa-redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
  medusa_pg_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=medusa" -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
MIT
Category
E-commerce
Replaces
Shopify
Tech stack
Node.jsPostgreSQLRedis

Under the hood

Database

PostgreSQL

Language

Node.js

Platforms

Web

Key features

  • Customizable order, inventory and pricing modules
  • REST API and admin panel included
  • Native multi-region and multi-currency

Preview

Medusa interface preview

Public image provided by Medusa on its own website.

💾 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:9000
}

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