12 picks · data-backed ranking
Best MIT-licensed self-hosted apps
The best MIT-licensed self-hosted apps are Ollama, Langflow and Uptime Kuma. Ollama leads with 182,289 GitHub stars. Candidates: the 347 apps whose declared license is exactly MIT (dual- or multi-licensed apps are left out).
The MIT license is one of the most permissive open-source licenses: you can use, modify and embed the code, commercially too, as long as you keep the copyright notice.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Ollama
ollama/ollama
Get up and running with Llama 3.3, DeepSeek-R1, Phi-4, Gemma 3, and other large language models.
AI & LLM ToolsGoDockerAI-nativeOllama has 182,289 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,083 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT.
- Rank 2:
Langflow
langflow-ai/langflow
Visual framework for building and deploying AI agents and RAG workflows.
AI & LLM ToolsPythonDockerAI-nativeLangflow has 155,530 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,486 commits in the last year.
- Rank 3:
Uptime Kuma
louislam/uptime-kuma
Easy-to-use self-hosted uptime monitor with status pages and 90+ notification channels.
Monitoring & Status PagesJavaScriptDockerUptime Kuma has 92,149 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,359 commits in the last year; it replaces Datadog and Uptime Robot.
Full ranking
All 12 picks, ranked
Ranked by GitHub stars and recent activity. Open any pick for live stats and licence details.
- 1
Ollama
Get up and running with Llama 3.3, DeepSeek-R1, Phi-4, Gemma 3, and other large language models.
AI & LLM ToolsDockerAI-nativeOllama has 182,289 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,083 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT.
- 2
Langflow
Visual framework for building and deploying AI agents and RAG workflows.
AI & LLM ToolsDockerAI-nativeLangflow has 155,530 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,486 commits in the last year.
- 3
Uptime Kuma
Easy-to-use self-hosted uptime monitor with status pages and 90+ notification channels.
Monitoring & Status PagesDockerUptime Kuma has 92,149 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,359 commits in the last year; it replaces Datadog and Uptime Robot.
- 4
OpenHands
Platform for AI software development agents that write code and run commands.
AI & LLM ToolsDockerAI-nativeOpenHands has 90,074 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 3,155 commits in the last year.
- 5
Excalidraw
Virtual hand-drawn style whiteboard for diagrams and sketches.
UtilitiesDockerExcalidraw has 133,574 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 272 commits in the last year; it replaces Figma and Lucidchart.
- 6
AnythingLLM
All-in-one desktop & Docker AI application with built-in RAG, AI agents, No-code agent builder, MCP compatibility, and more.
AI & LLM ToolsDockerAI-nativeAnythingLLM has 66,738 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 887 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT.
- 7
Memos
Knowledge base that works with a SQLite db file.
Note-taking & EditorsDockerMemos has 63,545 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 928 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Google Keep.
- 8
Traefik
HTTP reverse proxy and load balancer that makes deploying microservices easy.
Web Servers & Reverse ProxiesDockerTraefik has 65,081 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 846 commits in the last year; it replaces ngrok.
- 9
MeiliSearch
Ultra relevant, instant and typo-tolerant full-text search API.
Search EnginesDockerMeiliSearch has 59,497 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,966 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia.
- 10
Gitea
Git with a cup of tea! Painless self-hosted all-in-one software development service, including Git hosting, code review, team collaboration, package registry and CI/CD.
Project ManagementDockerGitea has 58,319 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,696 commits in the last year; it replaces GitHub and GitLab.
- 11
Hoppscotch Community Edition
Fast and beautiful API request builder.
API ManagementDockerHoppscotch Community Edition has 80,572 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 295 commits in the last year; it replaces Postman.
- 12
code-server
VS Code in the browser, hosted on a remote server.
Developer ToolsDockercode-server has 79,549 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 296 commits in the last year.
What are the best MIT-licensed self-hosted apps?
The best MIT-licensed self-hosted apps are Ollama, Langflow and Uptime Kuma. Ollama leads with 182,289 GitHub stars. Candidates: the 347 apps whose declared license is exactly MIT (dual- or multi-licensed apps are left out).
Is Ollama free?
Yes. Ollama is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I self-host these apps with Docker?
Yes, all of them. Ollama, Langflow and Uptime Kuma publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose.
Are all of these apps open source?
All 12 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.
Which of these apps is the most actively developed?
OpenHands, with 3,155 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v1.25.0, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
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