What is Basepod?

Basepod is a lightweight, self-hosted Platform as a Service (PaaS) for deploying containerized apps, hosting websites, and running local LLMs. Works on both macOS and Linux.

Platform Support

Platform	Apps & Containers	Local LLMs
macOS (M series)	Yes	Yes (MLX)
macOS (Intel)	Yes	No
Linux (VPS)	Yes	No

Linux VPS: Deploy Basepod on Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Linode, or any Linux server for app hosting. LLM features are disabled but everything else works.

macOS: Full feature set including local LLMs via MLX on Apple Silicon.

Why Basepod?

For Developers

• Deploy side projects without paying for cloud hosting
• Run your own Git server, CI/CD, databases
• Works on Linux VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean) or Mac Mini

For AI Enthusiasts

• Run LLMs locally on Apple Silicon (macOS only)
• OpenAI-compatible API for easy integration
• No data leaves your machine

For Self-Hosters

• Replace multiple services with one platform
• Automatic SSL certificates
• Simple backup and migration

How It Works

┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   bp CLI    │────▶│   Basepod   │────▶│   Podman    │
└─────────────┘     │   Server    │     │  Containers │
                    └──────┬──────┘     └─────────────┘
                           │
                    ┌──────▼──────┐
                    │    Caddy    │
                    │   (Proxy)   │
                    └─────────────┘

1. bp CLI - Command-line tool for deploying apps
2. Basepod Server - Manages containers, routing, and LLMs
3. Podman - Runs containers (rootless, no Docker daemon)
4. Caddy - Reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS

Key Features

Feature	Description
Container Deployment	Deploy from Docker images or Dockerfiles
Source Deployment	Push local code directly
LLM Support	Run MLX models with OpenAI API
Auto SSL	Caddy handles certificates automatically
Web UI	Dashboard for managing everything
Templates	One-click apps for common services

Comparison

	Basepod	CapRover	Coolify
Container Runtime	Podman	Docker	Docker
Rootless	Yes	No	No
Local LLMs	Yes	No	No
Reverse Proxy	Caddy	Nginx	Traefik
Language	Go	Node.js	PHP/Node

Next Steps

Ready to get started? Head to the Getting Started guide.