Piku: A Tiny PaaS #
- Piku is a lightweight PaaS that does not require Docker.
- It is inspired by Dokku but designed for environments where Docker cannot be used.
- Piku offers a simple and efficient way to deploy applications on servers where Docker is unavailable.
Key Features #
- Flexible Runtime: Piku is not tied to Docker, allowing for deployment on older operating systems or environments with limited resources.
- Easy Environment Management: Uses environment variables to manage different runtime environments and dependencies like pyenv and nvenv.
- Stable Deployment: Piku is designed for stable long-term deployments, even on older Linux distributions.
- Simple Deployments: Piku enables straightforward deployments without requiring complex configurations.
Benefits of Piku #
- Reduced Dependencies: Eliminates the need for a Docker runtime, potentially simplifying system requirements.
- Greater Deployment Flexibility: Leverages readily available tools and environments for deployment.
- Stable Long-Term Deployment: Suitable for applications that need to run for extended periods without needing frequent updates or Docker upgrades.
Alternatives and Considerations #
- Dokku: A similar platform that utilizes Docker for deployments.
- Nix: A package manager that offers robust environment management and isolation, potentially overcoming limitations with Piku.
- Podman and Podman Quadlet: Offers potentially improved management and security compared to Docker, while still providing containerization abilities.
- Systemd-Proxyd: Provides a powerful system for service management and proxying.
Quotes #
"This looks good, and Dokku has been very solid for me, but removing the Docker dependency means that now I'm beholden to my OS's choices. For apps that might run for years without maintenance, that's not ideal, as you'll quickly find you need a specific version of the OS for them." - stavros
"Most of the deployments I got wind of are on extremely stable distros - typically LTS versions where you will not need to upgrade your runtime every six months (and my website has been running in it for at least two Ubuntu LTS releases…)" - rcarmo
"Very happy to see this here - check out our freshly revamped docs at https://piku.github.io/" - rcarmo
"Isn't it better to create local docker repository and then use Podman Quadlet with autopull images to run apps?" - mati365
"Nice work. But why isn't Docker supported as a runtime? Or is it?" - theanonymousone
"pikku means tiny or little in Finnish. Is it where the name came from?" - ericaska
"I think a more common use case than doing deploys by pushing to a different remote is to send git repo webhooks on PR merges to main to an API that has a deploy key and can fetch the repo itself." - sneak