Portainer

A lightweight web interface for managing containers on Docker, Docker Swarm, Podman, Kubernetes and Azure ACI, free in its Community Edition.

38.8k stars, 2.9k forks TypeScript On GitHub since May 2016

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is Portainer?

Portainer gives you a graphical console for containers: you see and manage containers, images, volumes, networks and stacks, deploy from compose files or templates, read logs and open a console inside a container. One Portainer server can manage several environments, from a single Docker host to Kubernetes clusters, through agents. The Community Edition in this repository is meant for homelab operators, hobbyists, students and anyone experimenting on their own hardware; Portainer Business Edition, built on the same base, adds features for companies.

Good fit if

  • You want to manage Docker hosts from a browser instead of the command line.
  • You run a homelab with several machines or a small Kubernetes cluster.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want git-push deployments with domains and certificates handled for you: Coolify or Dokploy.
  • You want deployments for many servers synced from Git: Komodo.

Before you adopt it

The Community Edition is under the zlib license, an OSI-approved permissive license, and contributors sign a CLA. The README says it is provided as-is at no cost; support and features such as role-based access belong to the paid Business Edition.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 30 October 2026. Report a correction

Portainer health: is it still maintained?

72 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    58 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 16 October 2026.
    21 / 30
  • Contributors
    17 people wrote the 58 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 26% of them.
    17 / 20
  • Releases
    15 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, 2.45.3, on 21 October 2026.
    19 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 9% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 2 days.
    10 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 5.2 of 10.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

Portainer license: is it open source?

Portainer uses Zlib, an open-source license approved by the OSI. Contributors sign a contributor license agreement, which lets the owner relicense their work later.

  1. May 2016First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayZlib. A contributor license agreement is required.

How to run Portainer yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Setup effort
1 of 5, judged from the compose file
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, Windows, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: portainer.io or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to Portainer

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  • 1Panel1Panel is a modern, open-source Linux server management panel and a lightweight AI management platform. 88 health · GPL-3.0 · 37.3k stars
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  • KuberoA free and self-hosted PaaS alternative to Heroku / Netlify / Coolify / Vercel / Dokku / Portainer running… 35 health · GPL-3.0 · 4.5k stars
  • CoolifyAn open-source, self-hostable PaaS alternative to Vercel, Heroku & Netlify that lets you easily deploy… 78 health · Apache-2.0 · 65.5k stars

All 25 projects in Self-hosting & PaaS

Questions about Portainer

Is Portainer open source?

Yes. Portainer is published under Zlib, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Portainer still maintained?

Its health score is 72 of 100 (actively developed). It had 58 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 16 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 21 October 2026.

How do I run Portainer?

You can run it with Docker, as an app for Linux, Windows, including ARM. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to Portainer?

Close alternatives in the Self-hosting & PaaS category include Tsuru, 1Panel, CapRover.