What is Mist?

Mist is a self-hostable Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that allows you to deploy and manage Docker-based applications on your own infrastructure. Think of it as your own private Heroku, but with more control and zero vendor lock-in.

Overview

Mist simplifies the deployment workflow by providing:

• Automated Deployments - Push to Git and deploy automatically
• Container Management - Docker-based isolation for applications
• Real-time Monitoring - WebSocket-powered live logs and metrics
• Team Collaboration - Projects with multi-user access
• Domain Management - Custom domains with automatic SSL and wildcard domain support

Architecture

Mist is built with a monolithic Go backend and a React + Vite frontend, designed to run efficiently on a single VPS with minimal resources.

Core Components

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           Frontend (React + Vite)            │
│         Modern UI with Real-time Updates     │
└──────────────────┬──────────────────────────┘
                   │ REST API + WebSocket
┌──────────────────▼──────────────────────────┐
│          Backend API (Go)                    │
│  • Authentication & Authorization            │
│  • Project & Application Management          │
│  • Deployment Queue & Workers                │
│  • Real-time Log Streaming                   │
└──────────┬────────────────┬──────────────────┘
           │                │
           │                │
┌──────────▼────────┐  ┌────▼──────────────────┐
│  SQLite Database  │  │   Docker Engine       │
│  • Users          │  │  • Build Images       │
│  • Projects       │  │  • Run Containers     │
│  • Apps           │  │  • Manage Networks    │
│  • Deployments    │  │                       │
└───────────────────┘  └───────────────────────┘
                              │
                    ┌─────────▼─────────┐
                    │   Traefik Proxy    │
                    │  • Route Traffic   │
                    │  • SSL/TLS         │
                    └────────────────────┘

Learn more about architecture →

Key Features

Deployment Workflow

1. Connect Repository - Link your GitHub repository
2. Configure Build - Set build and start commands
3. Add Environment Variables - Configure runtime environment
4. Deploy - Push to Git or manually trigger deployment
5. Monitor - Watch real-time logs and metrics

Technology Stack

Backend:

• Go (1.21+) - Fast, compiled language
• SQLite - Embedded database
• Traefik - Reverse proxy and load balancer
• Docker - Container runtime

Frontend:

• React 18 - UI framework
• Vite - Build tool and dev server
• Tailwind CSS - Styling
• Shadcn/ui - Component library

Why Choose Mist?

🪶 Ultra Lightweight

• Single Binary - No complex installation process
• No External Database - SQLite embedded
• Minimal Dependencies - Just Docker required
• Low Resource Usage - Runs on basic VPS ($5-10/month)

⚡ Real-time Experience

• WebSocket-First - Instant feedback for all operations
• Live Logs - Stream container and system logs in real-time
• Live Metrics - CPU, RAM, and disk usage updated every second
• Deployment Status - Watch builds progress in real-time
• System Monitoring - View Mist backend logs via journalctl integration

🔧 Developer Friendly

• Simple Setup - One-line installation script
• Intuitive UI - Clean, modern dashboard
• Comprehensive API - RESTful endpoints for automation
• CLI Tool - (Coming Soon) Deploy from terminal

🔐 Secure

• JWT Authentication - Secure token-based auth
• HTTP-Only Cookies - Protection against XSS
• Audit Logging - Track all user actions
• Role-Based Access - Admin and user roles
• Environment Encryption - (Coming Soon) Secrets at rest

Use Cases

Personal Projects

Host your side projects, portfolios, and experimental apps without paying for expensive hosting.

Small Teams

Collaborate with team members on multiple projects with organized workspaces and access control.

Staging Environments

Run isolated staging environments alongside production apps for testing before deployment.

Microservices

Deploy and manage multiple microservices with custom domains and networking.

Comparison with Other PaaS

Feature	Mist	Coolify	Dokploy	CapRover	Heroku
Self-hosted	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Open Source	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Real-time Monitoring	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
No External DB	✅ (SQLite)	❌ (Postgres)	❌ (Postgres)	❌ (Mongo)	N/A
Go Backend	✅	❌ (Node)	❌ (Node)	❌ (Node)	N/A
Single Binary	✅	❌	❌	❌	N/A
Git Integration	✅ GitHub	✅ Multiple	✅ Multiple	✅ Multiple	✅ Multiple
Managed Databases	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
SSL Automation	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Auto Domain Generation	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅

Getting Started

Ready to deploy your first application with Mist?

Get Started →