head to head · open source
caddy vs docktail
caddy has 78,031 GitHub stars, 5,145 forks, 286 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. docktail has 1,282 stars, 48 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. caddy leads on adoption by 5,987% (78,031 vs 1,282 stars). caddy is written in Go under Apache-2.0; docktail is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. caddy has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, docktail 4%. docktail was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (golang, reverse-proxy), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| caddy | docktail | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 78K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 48 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick caddy if
- You weight community size — 78K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick docktail if
- You want the docktail feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and docktail fits your workflow better
About caddy
Caddy is a Go based, Apache 2.0 licensed HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3 web server and reverse proxy that obtains and renews TLS certificates automatically by default, built for operators and teams who want every site on HTTPS without maintaining a separate certificate workflow.
read the full caddy overview →
About docktail
DockTail is an AGPL 3.0, Go based tool that watches Docker containers, reads their docktail. labels, and exposes matching containers as native Tailscale Services, for self hosters and infrastructure teams that want tailnet reachable services without a Tailscale device per application.
read the full docktail overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is caddy or docktail more popular?
caddy has 78,031 GitHub stars and docktail has 1,282. caddy has the larger community by that measure.
Are caddy and docktail free?
Both are open source. caddy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and docktail under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between caddy and docktail?
caddy is written in Go and docktail in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, caddy or docktail?
Choose caddy if you want the larger community (78,031 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose docktail if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.