Arcane

Arcane is an open source web dashboard for managing Docker and Podman hosts, for self-hosters and small teams who run Compose projects on their own servers.

Arcane puts the containers, images and Compose projects of a server behind one browser window, so routine Docker work no longer needs a terminal session. It runs alongside an engine the host already has, Docker or Podman, and manages that engine rather than replacing it. The project is maintained in the open by the getarcaneapp organization on GitHub under the BSD 3-Clause license. Its first release came out in April 2025. Projects are the core unit: a folder holding a Compose file that Arcane deploys and manages as one app. Git Sync and GitOps Lifecycle Hooks keep a project tied to its repository. The Containers, Images, Volumes and Networks pages cover the everyday objects, with Templates, Variables, Backups and Auto Updates beside them. Image Builds turns a Dockerfile into an image on the local Docker host or on Depot, a hosted remote build service. Vulnerability Scans checks images for known CVEs with Trivy, and on Podman hosts Arcane also handles pods, Quadlets and Podman secrets. The people Arcane is built for run their own servers: homelab owners, self-hosters and small teams with a handful of Docker or Podman hosts. The software is free and open source, installed on hardware its users already run. Remote Environments connect further hosts through agents, and Docker Swarm clusters can be initialized, joined, unlocked and updated from the same dashboard. For a shared setup, OIDC single sign-on, passkeys and Roles & Permissions decide who can change what. A typical job is redeploying a Compose project after its repository changes, with Git Sync bringing the new files into Arcane. Another is building an image from a Dockerfile and sending the build to Depot when the local machine is too slow for it. Before an image goes live, a Trivy scan from the Security section lists its known CVEs. Arcane Mobile lets an owner check a server from an iPhone, iPad or Android device, and a documented REST API is there for automation. It fits the person who looks after a few servers at home or at work and wants to manage all of them from one browser tab.