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🚀 Open Source Deployment Platforms (Self-Hosted)

Last Updated: January 28, 2026
Goal: Deploy FlexGate without Docker using open-source platforms

🎯 Top Open Source Alternatives to Render

Option 1: Coolify ⭐ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

License: Apache 2.0 (Open Source)
Best for: Self-hosting with Docker-like simplicity

What is Coolify?

  • 🔥 Open-source Heroku/Netlify/Vercel alternative
  • ✅ One-click deployment from Git
  • ✅ Built-in SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt)
  • ✅ Automatic deployments on push
  • ✅ Beautiful web UI
  • ✅ Database management (Redis, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
  • ✅ Preview deployments for PRs
  • ✅ Zero-downtime deployments

Architecture:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│      Coolify Dashboard (Port 8000)       │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Git Integration (GitHub/GitLab)   │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │   FlexGate API + Admin UI          │  │
│  │   Auto-deployed on push            │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │   Redis + Other Services           │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────┘

Setup (5 minutes):

1. Install Coolify on your server:

# On a fresh Ubuntu/Debian server (1GB RAM minimum)
curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | bash

# Or via Docker
docker run -d \
  --name coolify \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v coolify-data:/data \
  coollabsio/coolify:latest

2. Access dashboard:

Open: http://your-server-ip:8000
Create admin account

3. Deploy FlexGate:

1. Click "New Resource" → "Public Repository"
2. Paste: https://github.com/tapas100/flexgate-proxy
3. Select branch: main
4. Build Command: npm ci && npm run build
5. Start Command: npm start
6. Port: 3000
7. Click "Deploy"

4. Add Admin UI:

1. Click "New Resource" → "Static Site"
2. Repository: (same)
3. Build Command: cd admin-ui && npm ci && npm run build
4. Publish Directory: admin-ui/build
5. Click "Deploy"

Cost:

  • Self-hosted: $5-12/mo (VPS: Hetzner, DigitalOcean)
  • Coolify Cloud: Coming soon (managed option)

Documentation: https://coolify.io/docs

Option 2: CapRover ⭐ EXCELLENT

License: Apache 2.0 (Open Source)
Best for: Simple PaaS on your own server

What is CapRover?

  • ✅ Self-hosted Heroku alternative
  • ✅ One-click apps (PostgreSQL, Redis, etc.)
  • ✅ Auto SSL (Let's Encrypt)
  • ✅ CLI deployment
  • ✅ Web UI dashboard
  • ✅ No Docker knowledge needed

Setup:

1. Install CapRover:

# On your server (Ubuntu/Debian)
docker run -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -p 3000:3000 \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v /captain:/captain \
  caprover/caprover

2. Setup domain:

# Install CLI
npm install -g caprover

# Setup
caprover serversetup

3. Deploy FlexGate:

# In your project root
cat > captain-definition << 'EOF'
{
  "schemaVersion": 2,
  "templateId": "node/20",
  "dockerfilePath": null,
  "imageName": null
}
EOF

# Deploy
caprover deploy

Cost: $5-10/mo (VPS hosting)

Documentation: https://caprover.com/docs

Option 3: Dokku ⭐ CLASSIC

License: MIT (Open Source)
Best for: Heroku-like experience, self-hosted

What is Dokku?

  • 🐳 Docker-powered mini-Heroku
  • ✅ Git push to deploy
  • ✅ Buildpacks (no Dockerfile needed)
  • ✅ Plugin ecosystem
  • ✅ CLI-focused (minimal UI)

Setup:

1. Install Dokku:

# On Ubuntu 22.04+
wget -NP . https://dokku.com/install/v0.32.0/bootstrap.sh
sudo DOKKU_TAG=v0.32.0 bash bootstrap.sh

2. Create app:

# On server
dokku apps:create flexgate-api
dokku apps:create flexgate-admin

# Set buildpack
dokku buildpacks:set flexgate-api https://github.com/heroku/heroku-buildpack-nodejs

3. Deploy:

# On local machine
git remote add dokku dokku@your-server:flexgate-api
git push dokku main

Cost: $5-10/mo (VPS)

Documentation: https://dokku.com/docs

Option 4: Easypanel ⭐ MODERN

License: Open Source
Best for: Visual deployment management

What is Easypanel?

  • ✅ Modern UI (similar to Vercel/Netlify)
  • ✅ Built on Docker
  • ✅ Template marketplace
  • ✅ Easy database management
  • ✅ GitHub integration

Setup:

1. Install:

curl -sSL https://get.easypanel.io | sh

2. Access:

Open: http://your-server-ip:3000

3. Deploy:

1. Connect GitHub
2. Select flexgate-proxy repo
3. Auto-detects Node.js
4. Click Deploy

Cost: Free (self-hosted) or $20/mo (managed)

Documentation: https://easypanel.io/docs

Option 5: Piku ⭐ MINIMALIST

License: MIT (Open Source)
Best for: Simple, Heroku-like, single file

What is Piku?

  • 🎯 Minimal (single Python file!)
  • ✅ Git push to deploy
  • ✅ No Docker required
  • ✅ Runs on Raspberry Pi
  • ✅ Super lightweight

Setup:

1. Install:

curl https://piku.github.io/get | sh

2. Deploy:

git remote add piku piku@your-server:flexgate
git push piku main

Cost: $5/mo (tiny VPS works)

Documentation: https://piku.github.io

Option 6: Kamal (by 37signals/Basecamp) ⭐ NEW

License: MIT (Open Source)
Best for: Zero-downtime deployments

What is Kamal?

  • 🚀 Created by Ruby on Rails team
  • ✅ Deploy to any server
  • ✅ Zero-downtime deployments
  • ✅ Secrets management
  • ✅ Health checks built-in

Setup:

1. Install:

gem install kamal

2. Initialize:

kamal init

3. Deploy:

kamal deploy

Documentation: https://kamal-deploy.org

Option 7: Porter ⭐ KUBERNETES

License: MIT (Open Source)
Best for: If you need Kubernetes

What is Porter?

  • ☸️ Kubernetes made simple
  • ✅ Heroku-like experience on K8s
  • ✅ Auto-scaling
  • ✅ Multi-cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure, DO)

Cost: Self-hosted free, or Porter Cloud

Documentation: https://porter.run/docs

📊 Comparison Table

Platform License Complexity UI Database Support Best For
Coolify Apache 2.0 Low ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✅ Built-in Modern PaaS
CapRover Apache 2.0 Low ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✅ One-click Simple hosting
Dokku MIT Medium ⭐⭐ ✅ Plugins Heroku clone
Easypanel Open Low ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ✅ Built-in Visual UI
Piku MIT Low ⭐ ⚠️ Manual Minimal
Kamal MIT Medium ⭐ ⚠️ Manual Zero-downtime
Porter MIT High ⭐⭐⭐ ✅ K8s Enterprise

🎯 Recommended for FlexGate

Best Overall: Coolify 🏆

Why?

  1. ✅ Beautiful modern UI
  2. ✅ Git push auto-deploy
  3. ✅ Built-in Redis, PostgreSQL
  4. ✅ Free SSL certificates
  5. ✅ Active development
  6. ✅ Great documentation
  7. ✅ Preview deployments
  8. ✅ Easy backup/restore

Setup Time: 10 minutes
Cost: $6/mo (Hetzner CX11) or $12/mo (DigitalOcean)

🚀 Quick Start with Coolify (Recommended)

Step 1: Get a Server

Providers (cheapest to most expensive):

Hetzner Cloud: €4.15/mo (CX11 - 2GB RAM)
Vultr: $6/mo (1GB RAM)
DigitalOcean: $12/mo (2GB RAM)
Linode: $12/mo (2GB RAM)

Step 2: Install Coolify

# SSH into your server
ssh root@your-server-ip

# Install Coolify (one command!)
curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | bash

# Wait 2-3 minutes for installation

Step 3: Access Dashboard

# Open in browser
http://your-server-ip:8000

# Create admin account
# Username: admin
# Password: (choose strong password)

Step 4: Deploy FlexGate

In Coolify Dashboard:

1. Click "+" → "New Resource" → "Public Repository"

2. Git Settings:
   - Repository: https://github.com/tapas100/flexgate-proxy
   - Branch: main
   - Auto Deploy: ON

3. Build Settings:
   - Type: NodeJS
   - Build Command: npm ci && npm run build
   - Start Command: npm start
   - Port: 3000

4. Environment Variables:
   - NODE_ENV=production
   - PORT=3000
   - JWT_SECRET=<auto-generated>

5. Click "Deploy"

Step 5: Add Redis

1. Click "+" → "New Database" → "Redis"
2. Name: flexgate-redis
3. Version: 7
4. Click "Deploy"
5. Copy connection string
6. Add to FlexGate env vars: REDIS_URL

Step 6: Deploy Admin UI

1. Click "+" → "New Resource" → "Public Repository"
2. Same repo: https://github.com/tapas100/flexgate-proxy
3. Build Settings:
   - Type: Static Site
   - Build Command: cd admin-ui && npm ci && npm run build
   - Publish Directory: admin-ui/build
   - Base Directory: admin-ui
4. Environment Variables:
   - REACT_APP_API_URL=<flexgate-api-url>
5. Click "Deploy"

Step 7: Setup Custom Domain (Optional)

1. In Coolify Dashboard → Your App
2. Click "Domains"
3. Add: api.flexgate.io
4. SSL: Auto (Let's Encrypt)
5. Point your DNS:
   - Type: A
   - Name: api
   - Value: your-server-ip

💰 Cost Comparison

Open Source (Self-Hosted):

Server (Hetzner): €4.15/mo
Domain: $12/year = $1/mo
SSL: Free (Let's Encrypt)
─────────────────────────
Total: ~$6/mo

Render (Managed):

Web Service: $7/mo
Redis: $7/mo
Static Site: Free
─────────────────────────
Total: $14/mo

DigitalOcean App Platform (Managed):

Basic App: $12/mo
Redis: $15/mo
─────────────────────────
Total: $27/mo

Savings with self-hosting: $8-21/mo 💰

🔧 Required Changes for Coolify

Update package.json:

{
  "engines": {
    "node": "20.x",
    "npm": "10.x"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc -p tsconfig.build.json",
    "start": "node ./dist/bin/www",
    "deploy": "echo 'Deploy via Coolify dashboard'"
  }
}

Add .coolify/deploy.sh (optional):

#!/bin/bash
set -e

echo "🚀 Building FlexGate..."
npm ci
npm run build

echo "✅ Build complete!"

📝 Next Steps

I recommend Coolify because:

  1. ✅ Open source (Apache 2.0)
  2. ✅ Modern UI (better than Render)
  3. ✅ Self-hosted (you own your data)
  4. ✅ Cost-effective ($6/mo vs $27/mo)
  5. ✅ Easy to use (no Docker knowledge needed)
  6. ✅ Active community (growing fast)

Want me to:

  1. Create Coolify deployment configuration?
  2. Set up a Hetzner server for you?
  3. Show alternative like CapRover or Dokku?

Let me know which platform you prefer! 🚀