Dockge Install - Docker Compose Manager for Self-Hosting

I first wrote about Dockge back in 2024, and two years later it’s still on every server I run. Where other Docker management tools keep adding features and complexity, Dockge stayed focused on one thing: making docker-compose stacks easy to manage from a browser.

Dockge was built by Louis Lam, the same developer behind Uptime Kuma. It has nearly 22,000 GitHub stars and a community that keeps growing. The project hit v1.5 with multi-agent support, and now you can manage stacks across multiple Docker hosts from one interface.

If you’re looking at Docker management UIs in general, I wrote a comparison of Portainer alternatives that covers Dockge alongside Arcane, Dockhand, UsulNet, and Komodo.

What Dockge does (and doesn’t do)

Dockge is a compose-file manager. You write or paste a docker-compose YAML, click deploy, and that’s it. All your compose files stay on disk in the directory you choose. Nothing gets locked in a database. You can still run docker compose up -d from the terminal and Dockge picks up the changes.

Here’s what you get:

What Dockge doesn’t have: vulnerability scanning, RBAC, OIDC/SSO, REST API, GitOps, or auto-updates. If you need any of those, check out Arcane (GitOps + API), Dockhand (security scanning + auto-updates), or UsulNet (everything in one binary). My Arcane vs Dockhand comparison covers the differences between those two.

For monitoring your server resources alongside Dockge, take a look at server monitoring tools.

Prerequisites

Before you start:

• A Linux server (VPS or local). I use Hetzner for VPS hosting
• Docker 20+ and Docker Compose v2 installed
• Works on amd64, arm64, and armv7 (Raspberry Pi included)

Or use a Mini PC as home server.

Install Docker

If Docker isn’t installed yet:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release
sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  jammy stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin docker-compose

Full walkthrough: Install Docker & Docker-compose for Ubuntu.

Install Dockge with Docker Compose

Quick install

The fastest way to get Dockge running:

mkdir -p /opt/stacks /opt/dockge
cd /opt/dockge

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/louislam/dockge/master/compose.yaml --output compose.yaml

docker compose up -d

That downloads the compose file, creates the stack directory, and starts Dockge. Open http://your-server-ip:5001 to set up your admin account.

Custom install

If you want to change the port or stacks directory, use the generator URL:

mkdir -p /opt/stacks /opt/dockge
cd /opt/dockge

curl "https://dockge.kuma.pet/compose.yaml?port=5001&stacksPath=/opt/stacks" --output compose.yaml

docker compose up -d

Change port and stacksPath to whatever you need. Or just create the compose file manually:

services:
  dockge:
    image: louislam/dockge:1
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 5001:5001
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - ./data:/app/data
      - /opt/stacks:/opt/stacks
    environment:
      - DOCKGE_STACKS_DIR=/opt/stacks

First login

Open http://your-server-ip:5001 in your browser. Dockge prompts you to create your admin account on first visit. After that, you land on the main dashboard where you can start deploying compose stacks.

Updating Dockge

Pull the latest image and restart:

cd /opt/dockge
docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

Your data and stacks are preserved since they live in mounted volumes.

Reverse proxy setup

For SSL and a proper domain, put a reverse proxy in front of Dockge. WebSocket support is needed for the real-time updates and web terminal.

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name dockge.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5001;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

labels:
  - "traefik.enable=true"
  - "traefik.http.routers.dockge.rule=Host(`dockge.yourdomain.com`)"
  - "traefik.http.routers.dockge.entrypoints=websecure"
  - "traefik.http.routers.dockge.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt"
  - "traefik.http.services.dockge.loadbalancer.server.port=5001"

I also have a guide on setting up Dockge with CloudPanel if you’re using that panel.

Multi-agent setup

Since v1.4, Dockge can manage stacks on remote Docker hosts. You run a Dockge agent on each remote machine, and they all show up in the main Dockge UI.

On the remote machine, deploy the agent:

services:
  dockge-agent:
    image: louislam/dockge:1
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 5001:5001
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - ./data:/app/data
      - /opt/stacks:/opt/stacks
    environment:
      - DOCKGE_STACKS_DIR=/opt/stacks

Then in your main Dockge instance, go to the agents page and add the remote host by its address and port. Stacks from that host appear in your dashboard alongside your local stacks.

Dockge vs other Docker managers

I’ve tested a lot of Docker management tools. Here’s where Dockge fits:

Dockge is the right tool when you don’t need all the extras. I use it on my homelab where I just want to see my stacks, check logs, and restart things when they break. On production servers where I need GitOps and API access, I run Arcane instead.

For a full comparison of all the options, see my Portainer alternatives article.

Troubleshooting

/opt/stacks/
├── myapp/
│   └── compose.yaml
├── another-app/
│   └── compose.yaml

proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Related articles

• Best Portainer alternatives in 2026 - five Docker management UIs compared
• Install Arcane - Docker manager with GitOps and REST API
• Install Dockhand - security-focused Docker manager with scanning
• Arcane vs Dockhand - side-by-side comparison
• Install UsulNet - all-in-one Docker management platform
• Dockge with CloudPanel - using both tools together
• Best Docker containers for home server - what to run with Dockge
• Best self-hosted panels - server management panels compared
• Traefik reverse proxy for Docker - reverse proxy setup
• Traefik wildcard certificate - wildcard SSL with Traefik and Dockge
• Server monitoring tools - monitoring your Docker host