# Introduction

> Fleetdock is an open-source control plane for managing self-hosted database infrastructure across multiple servers.

Source: https://fleetdock.dev/docs


Fleetdock is an open-source control plane for your database fleet. It gives teams a
single dashboard and API to provision, monitor, back up, restore, and migrate
self-hosted database instances across many servers — instead of managing each one by
hand over SSH.

## What Fleetdock is [#what-fleetdock-is]

Fleetdock manages **databases** as the product. You connect your servers with a
lightweight agent, and Fleetdock standardizes the operations that keep those databases
healthy:

<Screenshot name="overview" />

* Provision new database instances with consistent configuration.
* Monitor node availability and resource usage from regular heartbeats.
* Run manual and scheduled backups to object storage.
* Restore and move databases through controlled, tracked workflows.
* Manage database users, grants, and credentials from one place.

It follows a **Manager and Agent** architecture: the Fleetdock Manager is the central
control plane, and a Fleetdock Agent runs on each database node to execute approved
operations locally.

## Database engine support [#database-engine-support]

Fleetdock supports **MariaDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL** today, as first-class engines:

* **Provisioning** launches new MariaDB, MySQL, or PostgreSQL instances as isolated Docker
  containers on a connected server.
* **Registered and external instances** — databases you already run — are supported for all
  three engines.
* **Live administration, backups, restores, and migrations** work across all three, using
  each engine's native tools (for example `pg_dump` for PostgreSQL and `mariadb-dump` for
  MariaDB/MySQL).

More engines can be added through a pluggable engine layer.

<Callout type="info">
  Engine support reflects what the current release implements. Engines such as Redis are not
  supported yet; see the
  [roadmap](https://github.com/Fleetdock/fleetdock/blob/main/ROADMAP.md) for what is planned.
</Callout>

## Who it is for [#who-it-is-for]

Fleetdock is built for teams that operate many isolated database instances across
multiple servers, including:

* SaaS platforms with one database per customer
* ERP and CRM platforms with isolated tenant databases
* Hosting providers and agencies managing client databases
* Self-hosted software vendors offering managed database operations
* Infrastructure teams replacing internal scripts and manual SSH workflows

## What Fleetdock is not [#what-fleetdock-is-not]

* It is **not** a generic Docker or container management platform. Docker is an internal
  execution layer used to run provisioned instances — databases are the product.
* It is **not** an application deployment platform or a Kubernetes replacement.
* It does **not** provide automatic failover or high availability. Those are not
  implemented in the current release.

## High-level architecture [#high-level-architecture]

```text
Fleetdock Manager  (control plane: UI, API, worker, Postgres metadata)
        │
        ├── Fleetdock Agent ── Database Node 1 ── MariaDB, PostgreSQL
        ├── Fleetdock Agent ── Database Node 2 ── MySQL, MariaDB
        └── Fleetdock Agent ── Database Node 3 ── PostgreSQL
```

The Manager stores metadata (users, servers, encrypted credentials, and job history) in
PostgreSQL and never touches a node except through its agent. Agents enroll over a
single outbound connection, heartbeat their health, and execute only approved
operations.

## Next steps [#next-steps]

* Follow [Getting started](/docs/getting-started) to go from zero to your first managed
  database instance.
* Just want it on your own computer? [Install on your computer](/docs/local) — macOS,
  Linux or Windows, private to that machine.
* Learn the vocabulary in [Core concepts](/docs/concepts).
* Browse the [API reference](/docs/api) for every Manager endpoint, with request/response
  schemas and an interactive playground.
* Read the [Security](/docs/security) model before exposing the control plane.