lazydocker vs Smocker

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeaturelazydockerSmocker
CategoryDeveloper Tools & GitDeveloper Tools & Git
LicenseMITMIT
LanguageGoTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM64 MB128 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcedocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 52,348★ 1,284
First released20192019
ReplacesDocker DesktopWireMock, Mockoon

Why pick each one

Choose lazydocker if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Mature project with 52.3k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
lazydocker details

Choose Smocker if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
Smocker details

Frequently asked questions

Is lazydocker or Smocker better?

Neither is universally better. lazydocker has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are lazydocker and Smocker free and open-source?

Yes. lazydocker is licensed under MIT and Smocker under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run lazydocker and Smocker with Docker?

lazydocker: check the project docs for container support. Smocker: yes.

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