Overview

kimbap is a self-hosted Go application for deploying and managing docker-compose projects on a single host. Think of it as a lean, Go-native alternative to Coolify, Dokploy, or CapRover: point it at a fresh Linux server, and it can install Docker itself, run a web UI for creating and managing projects, optionally front everything with an automatically-SSL'd Traefik reverse proxy, and expose an MCP server so an AI agent — Claude, ChatGPT, or anything else that speaks MCP — can manage the host directly. It also runs on macOS and Windows for local/desktop use — see Install for the platform differences.

What it does

• Project management. Create a project from a docker-compose.yml (and optional .env), stored directly on the filesystem — not hidden in a database. Deploy, stop, restart, view live container status, and tail logs, all from the web UI, the REST API, or an MCP tool call.
• User management. A small built-in login system — username/password accounts with admin/member roles, cookie-based sessions, and per-user API keys for scripted or MCP access. No external identity provider required.
• Docker lifecycle. kimbap detects whether Docker is installed and offers to install or update it via Docker's official get.docker.com script — confirmation-gated, never silent.
• Reverse proxy + SSL, if you want it. kimbap can provision and manage a Traefik instance in front of everything, with automatic Let's Encrypt certificates. Projects register domains through kimbap's UI/API/MCP tools; kimbap wires up the Traefik routing for you. Turn it on (KIMBAP_TRAEFIK_ENABLED=true) if you want that; by default kimbap just runs on its own address, for you to reach directly or front with your own reverse proxy/tunnel instead — see Domains & TLS.
• MCP server. A remote, API-key-authenticated MCP endpoint at /mcp lets any MCP-compatible AI agent — Claude Code, claude.ai, ChatGPT, or otherwise — manage the host directly: create and deploy projects, check status, read logs, manage domains, and (with an admin key) install Docker or provision Traefik.

Architecture, in one paragraph

kimbap runs as a native binary — never as a Docker container itself. This is deliberate: kimbap needs to be able to install Docker onto a host where Docker doesn't exist yet, and a containerized kimbap couldn't do that (it would need the very engine it's trying to install). On Linux it installs itself as a systemd service; on macOS and Windows you run the binary directly (kimbap run) instead — see Install. By default kimbap just listens on a plain local port and expects something else to front it (or nothing at all). Set KIMBAP_TRAEFIK_ENABLED=true and once Docker exists, kimbap manages a Traefik container in front of itself and every project it deploys instead: it reaches kimbap's own UI through a file provider route (since kimbap isn't a container Traefik's Docker provider can discover), and reaches project containers through the Docker provider (label-based auto-discovery). See Domains & TLS for the full mechanism.

Where things live on disk

On Linux this is /var/lib/kimbap/ (the systemd install's default state dir); on macOS/Windows it's whatever --state-dir you pass kimbap run. Same layout either way:

/var/lib/kimbap/
├── kimbap.db                 # sqlite: users, sessions, API keys, project registry, domains, audit log
├── projects/<slug>/
│   ├── docker-compose.yml               # yours — kimbap never rewrites this
│   ├── docker-compose.kimbap-labels.yml # auto-generated Traefik routing (only when the project has domains)
│   └── .env
└── traefik/                  # only present if KIMBAP_TRAEFIK_ENABLED=true
    ├── docker-compose.yml    # kimbap-managed Traefik service
    ├── traefik.yml           # static config
    ├── acme.json             # Let's Encrypt certificate storage
    └── dynamic/kimbap-ui.yml # routes kimbap's own UI

Next steps

• Install kimbap on a host.
• Walk through the quick start to deploy your first project.
• See every setting kimbap has in Configuration — including turning on Traefik.
• Point an AI agent at it via the MCP guide.