ContainerNurseryvsDocker Engine
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| ContainerNursery | Docker Engine | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 47/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 5 in Docker Management | #1 of 11 in Container Orchestration |
| GitHub stars | 256 | 72 222 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +90 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 17 |
| Latest release | — | docker-v29.9.2 · 20 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Docker Engine scores 80/100 against 47/100 for ContainerNursery, so it is the safer default.
Docker Engine ships more often: 17 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for ContainerNursery.
If you want the quickest setup, ContainerNursery is easier to run; Docker Engine needs more configuration.
Docker Engine is growing faster right now (+90 stars in 30 days).
ContainerNursery details →Docker Engine details →