Sidekick is a deployment tool that provisions a VPS to function like a managed platform-as-a-service, enabling you to deploy containerized applications with zero downtime and automatic SSL certificate management.
The tool addresses the complexity of self-hosting by automating the entire infrastructure setup process. It takes a bare Ubuntu VPS and configures Docker, Traefik for reverse proxying, SOPS for secrets management, and age for encryption in approximately two minutes. Once initialized, you can deploy any application packaged as a Dockerfile and achieve zero downtime deployments with built-in load balancing and high availability features. SSL certificates are provisioned automatically, and you can connect custom domains or use sslip.io immediately without additional configuration.
Sidekick suits developers who want to escape vendor lock-in and reduce hosting costs by running applications on affordable VPS instances rather than managed platforms. It works best for side projects and applications where a single VPS instance or small cluster is sufficient. The tool is designed for those comfortable with command-line workflows and who have basic infrastructure knowledge, as it still requires you to provision the initial VPS and manage SSH keys. Unlike managed platforms that abstract away infrastructure entirely, Sidekick gives you control over your own hardware while removing the manual configuration burden.
The project shows active development with regular updates and maintains clear documentation. The codebase is written in Go and includes comprehensive setup automation that handles security hardening, user management, and service orchestration. The tool integrates established open-source components rather than building proprietary infrastructure, which keeps the approach transparent and maintainable.
