Plane: Open-Core alternative to Jira in 2026
Plane is a project and issue management platform for product and engineering teams, with cycles, modules and Kanban views in the style of Linear/Jira, but fully self-hostable.
Core is open source, but advanced features or enterprise support may be behind a paid tier β check the license.
Audit Snapshot
View notes βLicense β Matches GitHub
GitHub β Active
Latest release β v1.4.2 Β· 1 month ago
Docker Compose β Partial
Production β Not production-tested by AltFreeStack
Plane vs. Jira
Pros
- Much more polished interface than other open source alternatives
- No per-seat charge when self-hosted
Things to consider
- Needs more server resources than a simple Kanban board
- Some enterprise integrations are cloud-only
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 β
π‘ Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?
- On the official cloud: $8.15/mo per user on Jira.
- On your own VPS: the core is free to self-host on your own server β no more monthly SaaS fee, though some advanced features stay behind a paid plan.
version: "3.9"
services:
plane-app:
image: makeplane/plane-aio-community:v1.4.2
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "3000:3000"
environment:
- DATABASE_URL=postgres://plane:change-me-postgres-password@plane-db:5432/plane # password must match the canonical db password below
- REDIS_URL=redis://plane-redis:6379
- SECRET_KEY=change-me-super-secret
depends_on:
- plane-db
- plane-redis
plane-db:
image: postgres:15-alpine
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- POSTGRES_USER=plane
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD=change-me-postgres-password # REQUIRED: generate a random secret before first run
- POSTGRES_DB=plane
volumes:
- plane_pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
plane-redis:
image: redis:7-alpine
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
plane_pg_data:
π Deploy in 1 command
Recommended for beginnersCopy 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 β no nano, no pasting code blocks.
curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=plane" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.shThis docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project β last commit today.
This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub βTechnical profile
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Category
- Productivity
- Replaces
- Jira, Asana, Linear
- Tech stack
- DjangoNext.jsPostgreSQLRedis
Under the hood
Database
PostgreSQL
Language
Python (Django) + TypeScript (Next.js)
Platforms
Web Β· Desktop (Mac/Win/Linux)
Key features
- Cycles (sprints), modules and roadmaps
- Kanban, list, calendar and Gantt views
- Public REST API and webhooks
- Importers from Jira and Linear
Preview

Public image provided by Plane on its own website.
πΎ 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 β 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 ./data2. 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.gzπ Connect your domain with free SSL
Step 1 β 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 β Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy
One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates β Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.
Create a file called Caddyfile:
yourdomain.com {
reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}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