CapRover

CapRover is a lightweight, open-source platform-as-a-service for deploying and managing web applications and databases. It provides a simple web UI and CLI that automate container lifecycle, SSL provisioning and HTTP routing so developers can deploy apps quickly.

Key Features

• Automated app deployment using Docker images and build-from-source paths (git/webhooks/CLI/uploads).
• Web-based dashboard plus CLI for management, automation and scripting.
• Built-in HTTP routing and load balancing powered by nginx with customizable templates.
• Automatic TLS certificate provisioning and renewal via Let's Encrypt.
• One-click installable database and service apps (examples: MongoDB, MySQL/Postgres templates available).
• Cluster support using Docker Swarm to attach multiple nodes and enable automatic nginx load-balancing.
• Support for persistent volumes, environment variables, port and domain mappings, and instance scaling.
• Extensible deployment workflows (webhooks, git push, CLI) and customizable build commands.
• Basic runtime monitoring integration (NetData) and logs access via the dashboard.

Use Cases

• Hosting web applications (Node, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, etc.) with automated HTTPS and domain management.
• Rapidly provisioning development, staging and small production environments with prebuilt DB/service apps.
• Providing teams a simple internal PaaS to standardize deployments and reduce ops overhead.

Limitations and Considerations

• Uses Docker Swarm as the built-in orchestration layer rather than Kubernetes; teams requiring Kubernetes-native features or ecosystems may find functionality limited.
• Not focused on large-scale, multi-region enterprise orchestration—advanced scheduling, multi-cluster federation and some enterprise-grade RBAC features are not native.
• Observability and advanced metrics beyond bundled NetData/log access require external tooling integration and additional setup.

CapRover is best suited for teams and developers who want a straightforward, scriptable PaaS experience on their own infrastructure without learning low-level container and proxy configuration. It emphasizes rapid deployment, easy DB/service provisioning and customizable nginx routing while trading off some advanced orchestration and enterprise features.