Spots Open-source, self-hostable deployment platform with built-in CI/CD. Point it at a repo — it builds, ships, routes, and TLS-terminates your app. Drive it from a desktop app, web dashboard, or CLI.
There's one decision to make first: how you run Openship itself (the control plane). Everything else is the same afterwards.
Solo? Use the desktop app. It runs Openship's control plane on your own machine only while the app is open — nothing is left running on an always-on server, nothing is exposed publicly. You only need an always-on server install once you want push-to-deploy (CI/CD), team access, or to host apps on that box — the things that need a public, always-on endpoint.
The control plane runs locally and drives your servers over SSH. No login, no terminal, no public surface — download, open, done:
Linux: chmod +x Openship.AppImage && ./Openship.AppImage. Already have the CLI? openship install fetches and launches it. Links always point at the newest release.
From the desktop app you connect a server (SSH) or Openship Cloud and deploy to it — the app itself doesn't host public apps on your laptop. Team / always-on — self-hosted server
Install the CLI (it bundles the API + dashboard), then run openship — an interactive wizard creates the first admin, wires your domain, and installs Openship as a boot service. Run it again anytime to manage the instance.
The install script brings its own Node when your system one is older than 22; a package-manager install runs on the Node you already have. For CI / headless boxes, skip the wizard and drive openship up directly: openship up picks how it runs for you:
On Linux with Docker → Compose mode (the default). Brings up the full stack — Postgres, Redis, API, dashboard, and a containerized OpenResty edge on :80/:443 — from published images. This is the flavor that hosts your deployed apps on the same box, with automatic domains + Let's Encrypt TLS. Force it with --compose.
Everywhere else → bare mode (macOS, Windows, or Linux without Docker). A single lightweight process with an embedded database — an always-on control plane that deploys apps out to a server (SSH) or Cloud, like the desktop app but always on and login-required. Force it with --bare.
Open-source, self-hostable deployment platform with built-in CI/CD.