Spug — Self-Hosted Lightweight DevOps Platform

Introduction

Spug is a self-hosted, agentless DevOps platform built with Django and React. It targets teams that need host management, application deployment, job scheduling, and basic monitoring without the complexity of enterprise-grade tools like Ansible Tower or Jenkins. Everything runs through a clean web UI with no agents required on managed hosts.

What Spug Does

• Manages hosts and groups with SSH-based remote execution requiring no agent installation
• Deploys applications via configurable pipelines with rollback support
• Schedules cron-like tasks across multiple hosts with centralized logging
• Monitors host metrics and application health with configurable alert rules
• Provides a web terminal for interactive SSH sessions from the browser

Architecture Overview

Spug runs as a Python Django backend with a React frontend, both packaged into a single Docker image. The backend connects to managed hosts over SSH to execute commands, transfer files, and collect output. Task scheduling uses a built-in scheduler backed by a Redis queue. Configuration and state are stored in a MySQL or SQLite database. The web terminal proxies SSH sessions through WebSocket connections.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Run the official Docker image with a single command; bind port 80 and optionally mount volumes for persistent data
• Configure the database connection in the settings file; defaults to SQLite for quick setup
• Add hosts by providing SSH credentials or key-based authentication in the web UI
• Set up deployment pipelines by defining build steps, transfer methods, and post-deploy hooks
• Configure alert channels including email, DingTalk, and webhook notifications

Key Features

• Agentless architecture using standard SSH for all remote operations
• Built-in web terminal for direct browser-based SSH access to any managed host
• Role-based access control with audit logging for all operations
• Application deployment with version history and one-click rollback
• File distribution across host groups with progress tracking

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Ansible + AWX — more powerful automation with a large module ecosystem, but significantly heavier to deploy and operate
• Rundeck — mature runbook automation with plugin architecture; Spug is lighter and simpler for smaller teams
• Semaphore — modern Ansible UI that focuses on playbook execution; Spug bundles more features like monitoring and scheduling natively
• StackStorm — event-driven automation suited for complex workflows; Spug focuses on operational simplicity

FAQ

Q: Does Spug require agents on managed hosts? A: No. All operations use SSH connections initiated from the Spug server. Managed hosts only need an accessible SSH service.

Q: What languages are supported in the interface? A: The UI is available in Chinese and English.

Q: Can Spug manage cloud instances? A: Yes. Any host reachable via SSH can be managed, whether on-premises, cloud VMs, or containers with SSH access.

Q: How does Spug handle secrets? A: SSH keys and passwords are encrypted at rest in the database. Environment variables for deployments can be stored as encrypted configuration entries.

Sources

• https://github.com/openspug/spug
• https://spug.cc