---
url: /guide.md
description: Decide whether DockIY fits your deployment needs.
---

# What is DockIY?

DockIY is a minimal DIY Docker setup meant for deploying several web apps to a single server. It consists mostly of a set of repos and a CLI tool:

* The main server repo is mainly a docker compose, infrastructure-as-code, setup for the reverse proxy, analytics and monitoring.
* Template repos are setup for deployment with DockIY: reverse proxy labels, local Docker builds and deployment scripts.
* The CLI help setup the server, initialize from templates and orchestrates build, deployments and git tags.

DockIY also uses [SOPS](https://getsops.io/docs/) for secrets encryption.

## The base stack

* **Traefik** for reverse proxy and SSL
* **Umami** for analytics
* **Dozzle** for looking at logs
* **Beszel** for monitoring and notifications
* A private registry for application images

You own 100% of the code, no black magic, fully extensible and customizable.

## Philosophy

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

DockIY is meant to:

* be as simple as possible
* enable you to develop, build and deploy apps without relying on any third party services or platforms
* be able to run on any server (you only need Docker and rsync for deployments)
* give you full control of the code
* be as close to "infrastructure as code" as possible
* still provide all the basic features you need to run a server

Here are some examples of what that means:

* using beszel for monitoring instead of a complex cadvisor, prometheus and grafana setup
* unlike Coolify or Dockploy (amazing services btw), you own 100% of the code and can modify it to your needs
* deploying using a few small scripts from a local build instead of relying on GitHub Actions or similar (you can always add your own CI/CD pipeline with an external service if your prefer)

## Next steps

* [Get started](/guide/get-started)
* [Install DockIY](/guide/installation)
* [Understand application deployments](/guide/deploying-apps)
* [Manage a server](/guide/managing-servers)
* [Use the React template](/templates/react)
* [Use the Nuxt Better Auth template](/templates/nuxt-betterauth)
* [Use the VitePress template](/templates/vitepress)
* [Create your own template](/templates/create-your-own)