Uncloud – Uncomplicated container orchestration without control plane
Hey HN, I'm building Uncloud — a lightweight clustering and container orchestration tool that lets you deploy and manage web apps across cloud VMs and bare metal with minimal cluster management overhead. After several years of managing and extending Kubernetes at a unicorn, I realised that I desperately needed a change. All those abstraction layers, unnecessary complexity, boilerplate… I wanted container orchestration to bring me joy again, the way Ansible did when I first tried it a decade ago, or Docker after that. That’s when I decided to start an experiment that is now called Uncloud.…
In plain words
Uncloud is a lightweight container orchestration tool for deploying and managing web applications across cloud VMs and bare metal servers. It eliminates the control plane architecture found in traditional orchestrators, instead using peer-to-peer state synchronization across equal nodes. Designed for developers who find Kubernetes overly complex, Uncloud emphasizes imperative operations and minimal cluster management overhead, aiming to restore simplicity to container orchestration.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hey HN, I'm building Uncloud — a lightweight clustering and container orchestration tool that lets you deploy and manage web apps across cloud VMs and bare metal with minimal cluster management overhead. After several years of managing and extending Kubernetes at a unicorn, I realised that I desperately needed a change. All those abstraction layers, unnecessary complexity, boilerplate… I wanted container orchestration to bring me joy again, the way Ansible did when I first tried it a decade ago, or Docker after that. That’s when I decided to start an experiment that is now called Uncloud. The core design principles I’ve focused on intentionally differ from the traditional container orchestrators like Kubernetes or Docker Swarm: - No control plane or master nodes – all machines are equal - P2P state synchronisation - Imperative operations over state reconciliation (fast feedback, easier troubleshooting) - Graceful handling of network partitions at the cost of eventual consistency - No advanced auto-healing or auto-scaling magic – predictable behavior instead I want well-designed building blocks that just work together. When a service needs high availability, I should be able to scale it across machines and know that if any machine goes down the remaining ones will continue serving traffic. When I deploy, I want immediate feedback, not wondering whether the reconciliation loop will eventually catch up. GitHub with more technical details and a demo: https://github.com/psviderski/uncloud It's not ready for production use yet, and I'd really love your feedback: 1. Am I alone in wanting a middle ground: something more sophisticated than basic Docker/Compose but without the operational complexity of Kubernetes? 2. If you've moved from platforms like EKS/Heroku/Render/Fly to self-hosting: what was the breaking point and what did you lose or gain in the transition? 3. If you're using tools like Kamal, Dokku, Coolify, or Dokploy, what are your biggest pain points?
Does the same job
all alternatives →- IVI've built a nice home server OSApr 2026 · lightwhale.asklandd.dk · ▲194
ohai! I've released Lightwhale 3, which is possibly the easiest way to self-host Docker containers. It's a free, immutable Linux system purpose-built to live-boot straight into a working Docker Engine, thereby shortcutting the need for installation, configuration, and maintenance. Its simple design makes it easy to learn, and its low memory footprint should make it especially attractive during these times of RAMageddon. If this has piqued your interest, do check it out, along with its easy-to-follow Getting Started guide. In any event, have a nice day! =)
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