awesome-selfhosted-stacker

266 self-hostable apps, each deployable with a single stacker.yml. Deploy to your laptop, your own server, or the cloud with one command - database setup, health checks, secrets, and remote monitoring included.

Eevery entry here is a ready-to-run deployment: Pick a directory, generate secrets, and stacker deploy. Same layout, same commands.

cd stacker-projects/umami         # pick any project, for instance umami
./scripts/generate-secrets.sh     # generate .env from .env.example
stacker deploy                    # → running locally in minutes

Quick deploy to cloud and remote control

export HETZNER_API_TOKEN=your_token
stacker deploy --target cloud --force-rebuild

Contents

• Quick Start
• Deploy in 30 Seconds
• Deployment Targets
• PIPE — Connect Apps Together
• Remote Monitoring Without SSH
• Secret Management
• Common Commands
• Customization
• Security Checklist
• Troubleshooting
• Project Catalog
• Resources

---

Quick Start

cd umami                 # pick any project directory
./scripts/generate-secrets.sh   # create .env from .env.example
stacker deploy           # deploy locally

Then open http://localhost:PORT (the port is defined in the project's stacker.yml).

If the CLI is missing, see the installation guide: https://github.com/trydirect/stacker

Prerequisites (local): Docker, Docker Compose, and the Stacker CLI.

---

Deploy in 30 Seconds

# 1. Pick a project
cd plausible

# 2. Generate secrets
./scripts/generate-secrets.sh

# 3. Deploy to cloud
stacker deploy --target cloud --force-rebuild

Deployment Targets

Local

Best for development and testing on your own machine.

stacker deploy

Own Server

Deploy to a Linux server you control (Ubuntu 24.04+/Debian 12+, 2 GB+ RAM, 20 GB+ disk, key-based SSH, Docker installed).

stacker config setup server --ip <IP> --user root --key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
stacker deploy --target server --force-rebuild

What happens: Stacker uploads the config bundle, generates docker-compose.yml from stacker.yml under .stacker/ on the server, runs docker compose up -d, waits for health checks, then runs post-deploy hooks.

When the Stacker API is unreachable (DNS or auth issues), deploy manually:

scp .stacker/docker-compose.yml .env root@<IP>:/home/trydirect/project/
ssh root@<IP> "docker compose -f /home/trydirect/project/docker-compose.yml -p project up -d"

Cloud (Hetzner and others)

Fully automated provisioning. Requires a provider account, an API token, and an SSH key registered with the provider.

export HETZNER_API_TOKEN=your_token_here

# First deploy — creates a new server (5-10 minutes)
stacker deploy --target cloud --force-new

stacker status           # get the server IP, then point DNS at it

# Later deploys — reuse the same server (omit --force-new)
stacker deploy --target cloud --force-rebuild

Cloud settings live in stacker.yml:

deploy:
  target: cloud
  cloud:
    provider: hetzner         # or: digitalocean, aws, linode, vultr
    region: fsn1              # Frankfurt (nbg1, hel1, ash, hil, sjc, sin, ...)
    size: cpx22              # 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM
    ssh_key: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
    public_ports:            # REQUIRED — without it only SSH (22) is open
      - "80"
      - "443"

public_ports opens the provider firewall. Forgetting it is the most common cause of "app unreachable after deploy." You can also add ports afterwards:

stacker cloud firewall add --public-ports 8080/tcp

Hetzner server sizes:

Size	vCPU	RAM	Price	Best for
cpx12	1	2 GB	~11.49 EUR	Small apps, testing
cx23	2	4 GB	~5.49 EUR	Most apps
cpx32	4	8 GB	~35 EUR	Heavy / multiple apps
cpx42	4	8 GB	~50 EUR	AI stacks

---

Remote Monitoring Without SSH

Enable the status panel in stacker.yml so the Stacker agent can serve logs and health from remote servers directly through the CLI — no SSH required:

monitoring:
  status_panel: true
  healthcheck:
    endpoint: /health
    interval: 30s

With status_panel: true, the stacker agent commands read directly from your remote deployment:

stacker agent health                     # service health at a glance
stacker agent logs app-name --lines 200  # tail logs remotely
stacker agent status                      # server + container status

This is the recommended way to inspect running services. Reserve manual ssh root@server access for cases the agent cannot cover.

---

Reverse Proxy Support

Stacker supports multiple reverse proxy types for automatic HTTPS and domain routing. Configure in stacker.yml:

proxy:
  type: traefik         # or: caddy, nginx-proxy-manager, nginx, none
  auto_detect: false
  domains:
    - domain: app.example.com
      ssl: off          # off | auto | manual
      upstream: app:3000

Supported proxy types

Type	Image	Config	Auto-HTTPS	Notes
traefik	traefik:latest	Docker labels	✅ (Let's Encrypt)	Default for cloud deploys
caddy	caddy:2-alpine	Caddyfile	✅ (automatic)	Simple config, zero-touch TLS
nginx-proxy-manager	jc21/nginx-proxy-manager	Web UI	✅ (Let's Encrypt)	GUI-based management
nginx	nginx:alpine	nginx.conf	❌	Manual config
none	—	—	—	No proxy (direct port access)

This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗