head to head · open source
Dokku vs xmake
Dokku has 32,222 GitHub stars, 2,098 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped yesterday. xmake has 12,286 stars, 965 forks, 255 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Dokku leads on adoption by 162% (32,222 vs 12,286 stars). Dokku is written in Go under MIT; xmake is written in Lua under Apache-2.0. Dokku has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, xmake 8%. Dokku was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Dokku | xmake | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 12K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 965 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Dokku if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick xmake if
- You want the xmake feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and xmake fits your workflow better
About Dokku
Dokku Docker powered mini Heroku. The smallest PaaS implementation you've ever seen. Sponsors Become a sponsor and get your logo on our README on GitHub with a link to your site. [Become a sponsor] Backers Support us with a monthly donation and help us continue our activities. [Become a backer] [ ](
read the full Dokku overview →
About xmake
xmake A cross platform build utility based on Lua Modern C/C++ build tool: Simple, Fast, Powerful dependency package integration Support this project Support this project by becoming a sponsor. Your logo will show up here with a link to your website. 🙏 Introduction (中文) What is Xmake? 1. Xmake is a cross platform build utility based on the Lua scripting language. 2. Xmake is very lightweight and has no dependencies outside of the standard library. 3. Uses the xmake.lua file to maintain project builds with a simple and readable syntax. Xmake can be used to directly build source code (like with Make or Ninja), or…
read the full xmake overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Dokku or xmake more popular?
Dokku has 32,222 GitHub stars and xmake has 12,286. Dokku has the larger community by that measure.
Are Dokku and xmake free?
Both are open source. Dokku is licensed under MIT and xmake under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Dokku and xmake?
Dokku is written in Go and xmake in Lua. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Dokku or xmake?
Choose Dokku if you want the larger community (32,222 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose xmake if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.