A self-hosted tool that watches running containers across Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes, Compose and Nomad, flags newer image versions, and can notify or auto-update them.
4.2K+55 this week163TypeScriptMITWell maintainedUpdated 23 hours ago
3 alternatives
3 best open-source alternatives to Watchtower (2026)
Looking for a free, open-source alternative to Watchtower? These 3 projects can replace it. Each one passed our quality screening and is explained in plain words, so you can compare stars, license and maintenance at a glance.
How to choose
Start by deciding how you want to work: watching containers across several orchestrators, running a command-line check when you choose, or managing updates from a web page. getwud/wud covers Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes, Compose and Nomad; mag37/dockcheck is a Bash CLI for Docker containers and is GPL-3.0 licensed (copyleft), which matters if you plan to build it into other software; Quenary/tugtainer gives you a web UI with scheduled or manual updates.
- wudBest for people running containers on Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes, Compose or Nomad who want one tool to flag new images and notify or auto-update.
- dockcheckBest for command-line users who want a Bash script to update Docker containers interactively or unattended, with notifications and image backups.
- tugtainerBest for people who want a web UI to update Docker containers on a schedule or by hand.
Quick comparison
| Project | Stars | License | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| getwud/wud | ★ 4.2K | MIT | 23 hours ago |
| mag37/dockcheck | ★ 2.5K | GPL-3.0 | 24 days ago |
| Quenary/tugtainer | ★ 1.5K | MIT | 8 days ago |
Bash CLI that checks Docker containers for newer images and updates them interactively or unattended, with notifications, image backups and autoprune.
2.5K+7 this week96ShellGPL-3.0Updated 24 days ago
A self-hosted Docker app with a web UI that checks for and applies updates to your containers on a schedule or manually.
1.5K+2 this week57PythonMITWell maintainedUpdated 8 days ago
FAQ
- Is there a free, open-source alternative to Watchtower?
- Yes. The most popular open-source alternatives to Watchtower on Repolode are wud, dockcheck, tugtainer.
- Which Watchtower alternative should I choose?
- wud has the most GitHub stars and is released under MIT. Compare the license and last commit of each option in the table above before choosing.
How this list is made: AI reads each project's documentation to match it with products it can replace, every project passes our quality screening, and the list is ranked by GitHub stars. Stars updated Nov 6, 2026. How Repolode works