# Best open source software for solo developers

> For a solo developer, a self-hosted stack starts with Coolify for deploying apps, Supabase for the backend and Uptime Kuma for monitoring. Each section takes the top-ranked apps in one catalog category, scored on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Question | What open source tools should a solo developer self-host? |
| Picks | 14 |
| Top pick | Coolify (62,628 stars) |
| Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-solo-developers |

A one-person dev stack: deploy, back end, monitoring, analytics and automation, all self-hostable and ranked with the solo-developer profile.

## Deploy and host

- [Coolify](https://appsgit.com/apps/coolify) (62,628 stars, Apache-2.0, PHP, Docker): Coolify has 62,628 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 4,939 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.
- [Dokploy](https://appsgit.com/apps/dokploy) (37,670 stars, Apache-2.0, TypeScript, Docker): Dokploy has 37,670 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,764 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

## Backend

- [Supabase](https://appsgit.com/apps/supabase) (111,147 stars, Apache-2.0, TypeScript, Docker): Supabase has 111,147 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,123 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase.
- [Appwrite](https://appsgit.com/apps/appwrite) (57,577 stars, BSD-3-Clause, PHP, Docker): Appwrite has 57,577 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image and had 10,376 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase.

## Monitoring

- [Uptime Kuma](https://appsgit.com/apps/uptime-kuma) (92,149 stars, MIT, JavaScript, Docker): Uptime Kuma has 92,149 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,359 commits in the last year; it replaces Datadog and Uptime Robot.
- [Netdata](https://appsgit.com/apps/netdata) (80,804 stars, GPL-3.0, Go, Docker): Netdata has 80,804 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,609 commits in the last year; it replaces Datadog and Pingdom.

## Analytics

- [Metabase](https://appsgit.com/apps/metabase) (49,547 stars, AGPL-3.0, Clojure, Docker): Metabase has 49,547 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,378 commits in the last year; it replaces Metabase Cloud and Tableau.
- [Umami](https://appsgit.com/apps/umami) (39,188 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Umami has 39,188 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,087 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Analytics.

## Automation

- [n8n](https://appsgit.com/apps/n8n) (206,738 stars, Sustainable Use License, source-available, TypeScript, Docker): n8n has 206,738 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Sustainable Use License 1.0 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 9,029 commits in the last year; it replaces Zapier and IFTTT.
- [Apache Airflow](https://appsgit.com/apps/apache-airflow) (47,062 stars, Apache-2.0, Python, Docker): Apache Airflow has 47,062 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 7,745 commits in the last year.

## Developer tools

- [OpenHands](https://appsgit.com/apps/openhands) (90,074 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker, AI features): OpenHands has 90,074 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 3,155 commits in the last year.
- [code-server](https://appsgit.com/apps/code-server) (79,549 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): code-server has 79,549 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 296 commits in the last year.

## Backups

- [Duplicati](https://appsgit.com/apps/duplicati) (15,062 stars, MIT, C#, Docker): Duplicati has 15,062 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,440 commits in the last year.
- [Kopia](https://appsgit.com/apps/kopia) (14,265 stars, Apache-2.0, Go, Docker): Kopia has 14,265 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 442 commits in the last year.

## How this list was made

- Each section is filled automatically with the top apps from one catalog category, ranked with the solo developers profile.
- Base score: GitHub stars on a log scale plus commits in the last 12 months (log scale, capped at 1,000).
- Bonus points for a published Docker image, an OSI-approved open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.
- Source-available apps can rank, but they are labelled and never described as open source.
- An app appears only once on the page, in the first section it fits.

## FAQ

### What is the cheapest way to self-host as a solo developer?

One VPS with Docker and a self-hosting platform such as Coolify or Dokploy can run your apps, databases and these tools side by side. Add off-site backups first.

### Is Coolify free?

Yes. Coolify is open-source software released under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

### Can I run this stack with Docker?

All 14 apps here publish Docker images, including Coolify, Dokploy and Supabase, so most of the stack can run side by side with Docker Compose on one server. Size the server for the heaviest app and add off-site backups.

## Related questions

- [What is the best open source self-hosting platform?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-self-hosting-platforms)
- [What is the best open source low-code platform?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-low-code-platforms)
- [What is the best open source monitoring tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-monitoring-tools)
- [What is the best open source analytics tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-analytics)
- [What is the best open source workflow automation tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-workflow-automation)
- [What open source software should a SaaS company self-host?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-saas)
- [What are the best open source AI tools for building SaaS AI features?](https://appsgit.com/best/ai-tools-for-saas)
- [What is the best open source software for marketing agencies?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-agencies)

## See also

- [All self-hosting platforms apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/self-hosting-platforms)
- [All low-code & backend apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/low-code)
- [All monitoring & status pages apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/monitoring)
- [All analytics apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/analytics)
- [Open-source alternatives to Heroku](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/heroku)
- [Open-source alternatives to Vercel](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/vercel)
- [Open-source alternatives to Netlify](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/netlify)
- [Open-source alternatives to Firebase](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/firebase)
- [Open-source alternatives to Supabase](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/supabase)
- [Open-source alternatives to Datadog](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/datadog)
- [Coolify vs Dokploy](https://appsgit.com/compare/coolify-vs-dokploy)
- [Appwrite vs Supabase](https://appsgit.com/compare/appwrite-vs-supabase)
- [PocketBase vs Supabase](https://appsgit.com/compare/pocketbase-vs-supabase)
- [Uptime Kuma vs Gatus](https://appsgit.com/compare/uptime-kuma-vs-gatus)
- [Grafana vs Metabase](https://appsgit.com/compare/grafana-vs-metabase)
- [Metabase vs Apache Superset](https://appsgit.com/compare/metabase-vs-superset)
- [How to self-host Supabase with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/supabase)
- [How to self-host Uptime Kuma with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/uptime-kuma)
- [How to self-host Umami with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/umami)
- [How to self-host n8n with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/n8n)

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Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-software-for-solo-developers
Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly.
Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.