# CapRover — Automated Docker Deployment PaaS with Web UI

> CapRover is an open-source PaaS (Heroku on Steroids) with a beautiful web UI, one-click apps, automatic HTTPS, and Docker Swarm support. Deploy any app in seconds.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

## Quick Use

```bash
# Install on any VPS with Docker
docker run -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -p 3000:3000 
  -e ACCEPTED_TERMS=true 
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock 
  -v captain-data:/captain 
  caprover/caprover
```

Open `http://your-server-ip:3000` — set your password and root domain to start deploying.

## Intro

**CapRover** is an extremely easy-to-use PaaS (Platform as a Service) that automates Docker deployment with a beautiful web interface. It provides one-click app deployment, automatic HTTPS via Let's Encrypt, a built-in app store with 100+ pre-configured applications, and Docker Swarm support for horizontal scaling.

With 15K+ GitHub stars and Apache-2.0 license, CapRover markets itself as "Heroku on Steroids" — offering all the simplicity of Heroku with the power and flexibility of Docker, at just the cost of your VPS.

## What CapRover Does

- **Web Dashboard**: Beautiful web UI for managing all deployments and settings
- **One-Click Apps**: 100+ pre-configured apps (WordPress, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Ghost, etc.)
- **Git Push Deploy**: Deploy via git push, CI/CD webhook, or Docker image
- **Automatic HTTPS**: Let's Encrypt certificates for all apps, auto-renewed
- **Docker Swarm**: Built-in cluster support for high availability and scaling
- **Dockerfile/Docker Compose**: Deploy any Dockerfile or docker-compose.yml
- **CLI Tool**: Command-line tool for deployment from CI/CD pipelines
- **Persistent Storage**: Managed volumes for databases and stateful apps
- **Custom Nginx**: Full nginx configuration per app for advanced routing

## Architecture

```
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│  CapRover Server                     │
│  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐  │
│  │ Captain  │  │  Docker Swarm    │  │
│  │ (Web UI) │  │  ┌────┐ ┌────┐  │  │
│  │ (Node.js)│  │  │App1│ │App2│  │  │
│  └──────────┘  │  └────┘ └────┘  │  │
│  ┌──────────┐  │  ┌────┐ ┌────┐  │  │
│  │  Nginx   │  │  │ DB │ │Cache│  │  │
│  │ (Proxy)  │  │  └────┘ └────┘  │  │
│  └──────────┘  └──────────────────┘  │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
```

## Getting Started

### 1. Install CapRover

```bash
# On a VPS with Docker installed
docker run -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -p 3000:3000 
  -e ACCEPTED_TERMS=true 
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock 
  -v captain-data:/captain 
  caprover/caprover
```

### 2. Configure Domain

```
Point *.apps.yourdomain.com to your server IP (A record)
Open http://your-ip:3000
Set root domain: apps.yourdomain.com
Enable HTTPS for dashboard
```

### 3. Deploy an App

**Via Web UI:**
1. Click "Apps" → "Create New App"
2. Enter app name → "Create"
3. Upload source code or Docker image
4. App is live at `https://app-name.apps.yourdomain.com`

**Via CLI:**
```bash
npm install -g caprover
caprover login
# In your project directory:
caprover deploy
```

**Via captain-definition file:**
```json
{
  "schemaVersion": 2,
  "dockerfilePath": "./Dockerfile"
}
```

### 4. One-Click Apps

From the web UI, deploy pre-configured apps with one click:
- **Databases**: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, ClickHouse
- **CMS**: WordPress, Ghost, Strapi, Directus
- **Dev Tools**: Gitea, Drone CI, Portainer, Adminer
- **Monitoring**: Grafana, Prometheus, Netdata
- **Communication**: Rocket.Chat, Mattermost
- **And 100+ more**

## Key Features

### App Configuration (Web UI)

```
App: my-api
├── HTTP Settings
│   ├── Enable HTTPS ✅ (auto Let's Encrypt)
│   ├── Force HTTPS ✅
│   ├── Container Port: 8080
│   └── Custom domain: api.mysite.com
├── App Configs (Environment Variables)
│   ├── DATABASE_URL: postgres://...
│   ├── REDIS_URL: redis://...
│   └── SECRET_KEY: ***
├── Deployment
│   ├── Instance Count: 3 (horizontal scaling)
│   ├── Deploy via: Git, Tarball, Docker Image
│   └── Captain Definition file
└── Persistent Directories
    └── /app/data → managed volume
```

### Docker Compose Deployment

```yaml
# captain-definition
{
  "schemaVersion": 2,
  "dockerComposeFileContent": "version: '3'
services:
  web:
    image: nginx
    ports:
      - 80:80"
}
```

### CI/CD Integration

```yaml
# GitHub Actions
- name: Deploy to CapRover
  uses: caprover/deploy-from-github@v1
  with:
    server: https://captain.apps.yourdomain.com
    app: my-app
    token: ${{ secrets.CAPROVER_TOKEN }}
```

## CapRover vs Alternatives

| Feature | CapRover | Dokku | Coolify | Heroku |
|---------|----------|-------|---------|--------|
| Web UI | Beautiful | No (CLI) | Modern | Yes |
| One-click apps | 100+ | Plugins | 100+ | Marketplace |
| Cluster support | Docker Swarm | Single server | Yes | Dynos |
| Deploy method | Git/UI/CLI/Image | Git push | Git/UI | Git push |
| Configuration | Web UI | CLI | Web UI | Web/CLI |
| Learning curve | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
| Best for | Visual management | CLI users | Modern UI | SaaS |

## 常见问题

**Q: CapRover 和 Dokku 怎么选？**
A: CapRover 有漂亮的 Web UI 和一键应用商店，适合喜欢图形界面的用户。Dokku 是纯命令行，更贴近 Heroku 体验，适合 DevOps 工程师。功能上两者相当。

**Q: 一台服务器够用吗？**
A: 对于小型项目完全够用。CapRover 支持 Docker Swarm，需要扩展时可以添加工作节点形成集群。单台 2GB RAM VPS 可以运行 3-5 个小型应用。

**Q: 如何备份 CapRover？**
A: 备份 `/captain` volume（包含配置和 nginx 设置）。数据库需要单独备份（pg_dump 等）。应用代码在 Git 仓库中已有备份。

## 来源与致谢

- GitHub: [caprover/caprover](https://github.com/caprover/caprover) — 15K+ ⭐ | Apache-2.0
- 官网: [caprover.com](https://caprover.com)

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/ed45050b-34d8-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: Script Depot