Self-hosted Netlify alternative for static sites and Docker apps

Netlify-style static deploys on a server you own Connect a repository, set a build command and a publish directory, and Levelrail builds the site and serves it from its own ingress. _redirects and _headers files work as written. Branches get stable URLs, forms land in an inbox, and a secret URL rebuilds the site when your CMS publishes. Get started | Migration guide

curl -fsSL https://levelrail.com/install.sh | sudo sh

What carries over

Static sites from git

A build command and a publish directory, run in a throwaway container. The published files are kept per deploy, so a rollback does not rebuild. See Static pages.

Your routing files

Redirects, rewrites, headers, single page app fallback, clean URLs and a custom 404 page, read from _redirects, _headers or app.yaml. See Static routing.

Forms, hooks and jobs

Forms with an inbox and a spam trap, build hooks, scheduled calls to your app, and a publish lock. Forms are beta, so read each page’s limits.

When to choose it, and when not to

Choose Levelrail if you already rent a server, you run more than static sites (databases, containers, workers) and want one place for all of it, or you want deploy data and logs to stay on your own machines. The software is free under Apache 2.0. Your cost is the servers. Stay on Netlify if you need a global edge network, Edge Functions, Netlify Identity or built-in analytics. Levelrail has none of them. The gaps are listed in the table below and in the runbook.

Comparison

	Netlify	Levelrail
Where it runs	A managed platform	Linux servers you own, one or many
Static build and publish	Build command and publish directory	The same two settings, built in a Node based container (`node:22-bookworm-slim` by default). Other toolchains need a custom build image
`_redirects` and `_headers`	Supported	Supported in Netlify syntax. Country, language, role and cookie conditions are skipped and reported. A `200` rewrite must point at a path on the same site
Deploy contexts	Production, deploy preview, branch deploy, per branch	`deploy-preview`, `branch-deploy` and `branch:<pattern>`, with env and static build overrides. See Deploy contexts
Branch deploys	Per branch URL	Per branch URL, off by default, capped per app. See Branch deploys
Forms	Detected from your HTML	Created explicitly, with a public endpoint, inbox, CSV export and notifications. Beta. See Forms
Build hooks	Supported	Supported, with a secret URL per hook. See Build hooks
Scheduled functions	Functions on a schedule	A cron call to a path on a container app. See Scheduled functions
Lock deploys	Lock publishing	Publish lock: builds finish and wait as held builds. See Publish lock
Split testing	Branch based	Container apps with a domain only. Static sites are not supported yet. See Split testing
Drop deploy	Drag a folder	Drag a folder or a zip, or `levelrail-cli deploy ./site --static`. See Drop deploy
Serverless functions	Netlify Functions	Functions: container apps that sleep when idle. Not an edge runtime
Edge Functions	Supported	Not offered, and a stated non-goal
Global CDN	Managed edge network	Not provided. Put your own CDN in front if you need one
Identity	Netlify Identity	Not offered
Blobs	Netlify Blobs	Not offered. Managed Postgres and Redis exist
Image CDN	Image transformation	Not offered
Visitor analytics	Netlify Analytics	Not offered. Request rate, errors and latency percentiles per app are built in
TLS	Automatic	Self-signed until you enable Let’s Encrypt. See Domains and ingress

Read the Netlify migration guide

Frequently asked questions

Is there an importer for Netlify?

No. Migration is manual. The guide maps each netlify.toml key to a Levelrail setting and marks the ones with no equivalent.

Do my _redirects and _headers files work?

Yes, in Netlify syntax, with the exceptions above. A bad line is skipped and reported in the deploy log, and levelrail-cli static-sites routes lint checks the files before you deploy.

Can I serve a site from a global edge network?

Not from Levelrail. Static files are served from the node or nodes you run. If you need edge caching, put a CDN in front.

What does it cost?

The software is free under Apache 2.0. Your cost is the servers you run it on.

Explanation

Compare and choose

Design proposals

Self-hosted Netlify alternative for static sites and Docker apps

What carries over

Static sites from git

Your routing files

Forms, hooks and jobs

When to choose it, and when not to

Comparison

Frequently asked questions

​What carries over

Static sites from git

Your routing files

Forms, hooks and jobs

​When to choose it, and when not to

​Comparison

​Frequently asked questions

​Related

What carries over

When to choose it, and when not to

Comparison

Frequently asked questions

Related