{"data":{"slug":"kamal","name":"Kamal","tagline":"Deploy Docker containers to your own VMs with one CLI","category":"devops","categoryName":"DevOps","url":"https://kamal-deploy.org","github":"https://github.com/basecamp/kamal","pricing":"open-source","hook":"Kamal is Capistrano for Docker, from the people who still run their own hardware.","whatsGood":"MIT (MIT-LICENSE). kamal setup / kamal deploy from a laptop to a VM. Traefik or Kamal Proxy, accessories, secrets, rolling deploys. You keep the servers; you skip Kubernetes. Built at 37signals for HEY and Basecamp.","theCatch":"You still run Docker hosts. This is not a PaaS. Networking, disks, and what-if-the-VM-dies remain your problem. Kamal 2 changed proxy defaults — read the current docs, not a 2024 blog post.","verdict":"The honest alternative to a PaaS when you already have VMs.","addedAt":"2026-09-03","featured":false,"domain":"DevOps","subSpecialty":"Containers","capabilities":["deploy","docker","cli"],"surfaces":["CLI","Self-host"],"ecosystem":["Multi-platform"],"licenseModel":"OSS/MIT","githubStars":14558},"related":[{"slug":"github-actions","name":"GitHub Actions","tagline":"CI/CD that lives where your code does"},{"slug":"docker","name":"Docker","tagline":"Container runtime that changed deployment"},{"slug":"kubernetes","name":"Kubernetes","tagline":"Container orchestration at scale"},{"slug":"terraform","name":"Terraform","tagline":"Infrastructure as code that actually works"},{"slug":"pulumi","name":"Pulumi","tagline":"Infrastructure as code in real languages"}],"links":{"self":"/api/gems/kamal","html":"/gems/kamal","markdown":"/gems/kamal.md","category":"/api/gems?category=devops","categoryPage":"/stacks/devops"}}