Coolify (opens in a new tab) and Dokploy (opens in a new tab) are open-source panels you run from a dashboard. OpsCrew is a crew of AI agents that writes plain files into your repository and asks before each change. Their facts checked on their own sites on 6 November 2026.
OpsCrew is alpha software. It is tested live on Hetzner Cloud (opens in a new tab), Contabo (opens in a new tab), a server you already own and an existing Portainer (opens in a new tab); expect breaking changes before 1.0.
| Topic | OpsCrew | Coolify and Dokploy |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | Run one command in your app’s repository and answer a few questions. In OpsCrew’s own test, a first deploy took about ten minutes, plus the time to review. | Install the panel (or sign up for their cloud), connect your servers and your repository, then set your apps up in the dashboard. |
| Your servers | Creates them at Hetzner Cloud or DigitalOcean (opens in a new tab) from a plan you approve, or uses a server or a Portainer you already have. | Connect servers you already have. Coolify deploys to any server it reaches over SSH; its cloud plan asks you to bring your own servers. |
| On the server | Your app’s containers, Docker (opens in a new tab), Caddy (opens in a new tab) or nginx (opens in a new tab) in front, and a small proxy that switches versions without downtime. No OpsCrew dashboard runs there. | Your apps, and the panel itself when you host it. Dokploy fronts apps with Traefik (opens in a new tab), whose settings you edit in its file editor. |
| Leaving later | Everything OpsCrew wrote stays in your repository as plain files. Delete OpsCrew and the deployment keeps working. | Coolify saves all its settings on your own servers, so in its words you keep oversight if you stop using it. Dokploy’s site does not say. |
| Hardening | A deploy user with key-only SSH, a firewall, fail2ban and automatic security updates, then the secure, verify and drift checks whenever you ask. | Their sites list free certificates (Coolify, from Let’s Encrypt (opens in a new tab)) and, on Dokploy’s paid plans, two-factor sign-in. Neither home page lists hardening the server itself. |
| Previews | Each pull request gets its own copy at its own address, on a small server of its own, removed when the pull request closes. | Coolify deploys new commits and pull requests separately. Dokploy’s home page does not list previews. |
| Backups | Hetzner’s and DigitalOcean’s server backups at their price, plus a database snapshot before each release outside prod. | Coolify backs databases up to any S3-compatible storage. Dokploy backs up databases and volumes; its Hobby plan includes one backup per database. |
| AI | Built around it: agents on Claude (opens in a new tab) that read your app, price the options and prepare the changes. A model is optional. | Coolify has an MCP server, so Claude, Cursor (opens in a new tab) or another MCP client can list, deploy and troubleshoot through it. |
| Maturity | Alpha. First released on 23 October 2026. | Coolify’s repository started in January 2021 and lists 412 contributors; Dokploy’s started in April 2024 and lists 390. Both released new versions this month. |
From each project’s own pricing page, checked on 6 November 2026, in US dollars. In every case your servers are billed by your provider.
Run npx opscrew init in your app’s repository. Nothing is created until you approve a plan and its monthly cost.
