Softaculous

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Softaculous

A curated collection of the 8 best self hosted alternatives to Softaculous.

Softaculous is a SaaS auto-installer and application management platform for web hosting control panels. It provides one-click installation and updates for popular web applications, plus backup/restore, staging, and basic app lifecycle management.

Alternatives List

#1
CasaOS

CasaOS

Open-source personal cloud system with a web dashboard, app store, and file management to run and manage Docker apps on home servers and SBCs.

CasaOS screenshot

CasaOS is an open-source personal cloud system that provides a web-based dashboard for running and managing self-hosted applications on a home server. It is designed to make Docker-based app deployment and basic server management accessible on common hardware like mini PCs and single-board computers.

Key Features

  • Web UI tailored for home-server scenarios with a simple, “no forms” setup experience
  • App store and one-click installation for curated, community-verified self-hosted apps
  • Support for installing and managing many Docker applications from the wider container ecosystem
  • Built-in drive and file management features for local storage organization
  • Dashboard widgets for quick visibility into app status and system resource usage
  • Broad hardware and Linux distribution compatibility (x86_64 and ARM variants)

Use Cases

  • Run a personal home server to host common self-hosted apps (cloud storage, media, DNS, home automation)
  • Provide a lightweight “personal cloud” interface for managing Docker apps on a NAS-like device
  • Set up a beginner-friendly homelab dashboard on Raspberry Pi, NUCs, or repurposed PCs

Limitations and Considerations

  • Functionality depends heavily on the Docker ecosystem; non-containerized apps are not the primary focus
  • The project has been positioned by its maintainers as evolving toward ZimaOS, which may affect long-term direction and feature focus

CasaOS is well-suited for users who want an approachable UI to deploy and monitor Dockerized services at home. It focuses on simplifying day-to-day app management while remaining flexible enough to install a wide range of container-based software.

32.9kstars
1.8kforks
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#2
DockSTARTer

DockSTARTer

DockSTARTer is a menu-driven CLI that installs Docker and helps configure and run curated Docker Compose apps for homelab and self-hosted setups.

DockSTARTer screenshot

DockSTARTer is a shell-based, menu-driven tool that helps you quickly set up Docker and deploy a curated set of self-hosted applications using Docker Compose. It targets common homelab scenarios and provides an interactive workflow for configuration and day-to-day management.

Key Features

  • Installs and configures Docker on supported platforms
  • Interactive terminal menus for selecting apps and setting configuration variables
  • Generates and manages Docker Compose configuration for selected services
  • CLI command for running common management actions and updates
  • Supports multiple Linux distributions and macOS (via Homebrew)

Use Cases

  • Quickly bootstrap a homelab server with Docker and a set of common self-hosted apps
  • Standardize Docker Compose app deployment across multiple machines
  • Learn Docker Compose setups by starting from a guided, curated baseline

Limitations and Considerations

  • Focused on Docker Compose workflows and the projects included in its curated app selection
  • Installation via remote bootstrap script may be undesirable for strict security policies (an alternate git-based install is provided)

DockSTARTer is a practical starting point for deploying and maintaining a Docker-based self-hosted stack. It works well both as a long-term helper tool and as a stepping stone toward more advanced custom Docker configurations.

2.5kstars
292forks
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#3
Deployrr

Deployrr

Deployrr automates homelab setup and app deployment using Docker and Docker Compose, with pre-configured stacks, Traefik reverse proxy options, and security integrations.

Deployrr screenshot

Deployrr is a homelab deployment automation tool that streamlines setting up and operating Docker and Docker Compose applications. It focuses on repeatable stack deployment, guided configuration, and opinionated integrations for networking and security in a home server environment.

Key Features

  • Large catalog of pre-configured applications and stacks for one-click style deployment
  • Automated environment setup with system checks to validate prerequisites
  • Reverse proxy and networking automation (Traefik configuration, exposure modes, multi-domain and multi-server support)
  • Security-focused options such as Docker socket proxy patterns and CrowdSec integration
  • Multiple authentication integration options (including common OIDC-based providers)
  • Stack management UI for deploying, updating, and managing containerized services
  • Backup and restore automation for supported stacks
  • Remote share mounting support for common protocols (SMB, NFS) and rclone-based mounts
  • Monitoring and logging integrations for deployed services

Use Cases

  • Rapidly bootstrap a new homelab host or VM with a standardized Docker Compose setup
  • Deploy and manage a curated set of popular homelab apps behind a reverse proxy with consistent conventions
  • Rebuild or recover a homelab environment using automated stack deployment plus backups

Limitations and Considerations

  • DNS challenge provider support is limited to Cloudflare for automated certificate flows
  • Some deployments require ports 80/443 to be reachable for typical reverse-proxy and certificate scenarios
  • Certain apps with external database dependencies may require manual database cleanup during removal

Deployrr is best suited for users who want a guided, automated path to running many common homelab services with consistent defaults. It reduces the manual effort of wiring together Compose stacks, networking, and security options while keeping Docker as the underlying runtime.

691stars
68forks
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#4
OpenPanel

OpenPanel

Self-hosted web hosting control panel built around Docker containers, providing isolated per-user environments, resource limits, and integrated DNS, SSL, and management tools.

OpenPanel is a multi-user web hosting control panel designed around Docker containers. It provides isolated per-user environments so each customer can manage their own stack (web server, runtimes, databases, and services) with VPS-like control on a shared server.

Key Features

  • Per-user isolated container environment for hosting websites and applications
  • Admin interface (OpenAdmin) for user, plan, and server configuration management
  • User interface (OpenPanel) for managing domains, services, limits, logs, and backups
  • Choice of per-user web server stacks (e.g., Nginx, Apache, OpenResty, OpenLiteSpeed) and optional caching layers (e.g., Varnish)
  • Integrated reverse proxy and automated TLS via Caddy
  • Integrated DNS server support (BIND9)
  • Resource limiting for CPU, memory, disk, inodes, and other hosting quotas
  • CLI automation via OpenCLI for common administrative and user actions
  • Security features such as activity logging and optional two-factor authentication

Use Cases

  • Running a shared hosting platform with stronger isolation between customers
  • Offering “VPS-like” control to users without giving full server access
  • Managing multiple websites, domains, and per-user service stacks on a single host

Limitations and Considerations

  • Some advanced capabilities may depend on edition/licensing and may not be available in the Community Edition

OpenPanel fits hosting providers and administrators who want a container-first panel with strong per-user separation, flexible web server choices, and both web and CLI management. It aims to reduce operational overhead by letting users manage many of their own services within controlled limits.

593stars
81forks
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#5
xsrv

xsrv

A collection of Ansible roles and CLI utilities to install, configure and maintain self-hosted network services (Nextcloud, Matrix, Jitsi, PostgreSQL, WireGuard) on Debian-based hosts.

xsrv screenshot

xsrv is an Ansible-based collection of roles, playbooks and utilities designed to install, manage and run a wide range of self-hosted network services and applications on your own servers. It provides modular roles, an optional command-line controller and templates to bootstrap a single-server project quickly.

Key Features

  • Modular Ansible roles for many services (web server, mail, VPN, databases, media, collaboration and more) so components can be deployed independently.
  • Optional command-line controller with utilities for common tasks (provisioning VMs, initializing templates, applying changes and upgrades).
  • Built-in templates and example inventory to get a single-server deployment up quickly and reproducibly.
  • Integration with libvirt for automated VM provisioning and with common OS/stack tooling used on Debian-based hosts.
  • Centralized configuration via role variables and a documented list of configuration variables to control deployments and service options.
  • Role-level maintenance and upgrade procedures; guidance for TLS certificate acquisition and DNS requirements for public services.

Use Cases

  • Deploy and operate a personal or small-team self-hosted server running Nextcloud, Gitea, Matrix, Jitsi, media servers and similar applications.
  • Create reproducible lab or test environments by provisioning Debian VM templates and automated roles via libvirt/Ansible.
  • Manage ongoing maintenance, upgrades and role-based configuration for multiple Debian hosts from a single Ansible controller.

Limitations and Considerations

  • Focused on Debian-based systems: documentation and many roles assume Debian/Ubuntu packaging and tools; non-Debian platforms will require manual adaptation.
  • Requires familiarity with Ansible and SSH-based controller/host workflows; not a turnkey graphical control panel — operations are performed via playbooks and CLI tools.
  • Services and resource usage depend on installed roles; plan CPU, RAM and storage per role and follow role-specific guidance for production use.

xsrv is intended for users who prefer infrastructure-as-code and reproducible Ansible-driven deployments for self-hosting. Its modular role approach makes it suitable for incremental adoption and custom configurations.

388stars
30forks
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#6
Easy-WI

Easy-WI

Responsive PHP web interface to manage and automate game servers, Teamspeak voice servers, webspace and databases with monitoring, REST API and reseller support.

Easy-WI screenshot

Easy-WI is a PHP-based web interface designed to manage and automate game servers, voice servers and web hosting resources. It provides a CMS, multi-tenant/reseller features and a REST API so hosting providers, clans or event organizers can run and monitor distributed server fleets.

Key Features

  • Responsive Bootstrap-based UI optimized for mobile and desktop
  • Manage game servers and Teamspeak voice servers with automated deployment and shared-image symlink support
  • Webspace management for Apache and Nginx, plus MySQL/MariaDB database management
  • Monitoring and auto-restart on crash with configurable checks and remediation
  • REST API for integrating modules into shops or external platforms (WHMCS, Magento, etc.)
  • Reseller and multi-tenant account support, plus import of existing servers
  • Multilingual interface and separation of PHP modules from HTML views for templating
  • Installer and packaged scripts for common Linux distributions, plus optional server-side helpers

Use Cases

  • Hosters offering automated game-server and voice-server rental services with reseller accounts
  • Clan administrators or LAN/event organizers managing multiple game and voice daemons centrally
  • Small web hosts requiring integrated webspace, database and daemon management with monitoring and automation

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires PHP 7.4+ with extensions (openssl, json, hash, ftp, SimpleXML, curl, gd, PDO, pdo_mysql) installed
  • Game server module depends on system tools like sudo, cron, proftpd and bash at the game root; voice module works best with Linux Teamspeak setups
  • Official installers target specific distro versions; manual adjustments may be needed for newer or heavily customized environments

Easy-WI is a focused control panel for automating and monitoring game, voice and web hosting workflows. It emphasizes automation, REST integration and multi-tenant management for small to mid-sized hosting scenarios.

242stars
81forks
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#7
Installatron

Installatron

Automated web app installer and updater integrated with hosting control panels, providing one-click installs, updates, backups, and cloning for popular PHP apps.

Installatron screenshot

Installatron is a hosting control panel add-on that automates installation and lifecycle management of popular web applications (notably PHP-based CMSs and forums) for shared hosting and VPS environments. It is typically offered by hosting providers and integrates into control panels to let admins and end users deploy and maintain apps with minimal manual work.

Key Features

  • One-click installation of many web applications from a curated catalog
  • One-click application updates (including “update all” style workflows where supported)
  • Built-in backup and restore for installed applications
  • Application cloning/staging to duplicate a site to another location/domain
  • Import/migrate existing installations into Installatron management (where supported)
  • End-user and admin interfaces integrated into hosting control panels

Use Cases

  • Hosting providers offering easy CMS deployment for customers (e.g., WordPress)
  • Small teams standardizing installs/updates/backups across many customer sites
  • Rapid provisioning of test/staging copies of an existing site via cloning

Limitations and Considerations

  • Distributed primarily as a commercial add-on for hosting providers; it is not an open-source project and does not publish a public source repository.
  • Feature depth varies by application and control panel integration.

Installatron is best suited for environments where a control panel-managed “app catalog + automated upkeep” workflow is desired. For organizations managing many small sites, its installer, updater, backup, and cloning tools reduce repetitive operational tasks and help keep app deployments consistent.

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#8
HomelabOS

HomelabOS

HomelabOS is an Ansible and Docker-based app platform to deploy, update, back up, and run 100+ self-hosted services with a simple “app store” experience.

HomelabOS screenshot

HomelabOS is a self-hosted platform that helps you deploy and manage a large catalog of services on your own servers. It focuses on reproducible setup, security defaults, and keeping services usable on a local network even when the internet is unavailable.

Key Features

  • Curated “app store” catalog for deploying 100+ self-hosted services
  • Automated provisioning and configuration using Ansible
  • Container-based service deployment (Docker)
  • Built-in backup and restore workflows using restic
  • Optional S3-compatible backup targets (for example via MinIO)
  • Security-oriented defaults for common homelab deployments
  • Optional Tor hidden service configuration for exposing apps without port forwarding
  • Optional Terraform workflow to deploy a bastion/reverse-proxy host

Use Cases

  • Quickly stand up a homelab with common apps (chat, file sync, media, home automation)
  • Create a more private alternative to multiple SaaS subscriptions under one admin workflow
  • Run LAN-first services that continue working during internet outages

Limitations and Considerations

  • App availability, updates, and configuration options depend on the maintained catalog/roles
  • Managing many containers and backups can require planning for storage and system resources

HomelabOS is best suited for homelab operators who want an opinionated, automated way to deploy many services consistently. It combines infrastructure automation with a large app catalog to reduce ongoing maintenance overhead.

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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running