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Caddy

Web server with automatic HTTPS

verified 2026-07-02Apache-2.0self-hostable
Arete score
5.0 / 5
Autonomy5
Return5
Efficiency5
Transparency5
ἀρετή “AH-reh-tay” — excellence: a thing being good at what it’s for. Mean of the four principle scores. How we score →
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Plain outbound link — no affiliate parameters, no tracking redirects.

✓ Verified by a human against the public rubric on 2026-07-02 · see the evidence ↓

Why it's listed

Written by the ValueIndex editor, from the verification pass of 2026-07-02.

Caddy made HTTPS-by-default real: certificates are provisioned and renewed automatically, and the config for a reverse proxy is two lines. A single memory-safe Go binary funded by sponsorship rather than an open-core bait-and-switch. We verified the auto-TLS claim and the absence of paywalled core features.

Facts

License
Apache-2.0
Pricing
Free / sponsor
Funding model
Sponsored OSS (ZeroSSL)
Self-hostable
Yes — deploy difficulty: easy
Replaces
nginx, Apache
Verification
Verified against the rubric on 2026-07-02

Evidence notes

Go single binary; auto-TLS by default; config is one file; memory-safe

Recorded during the rubric pass — every score must carry evidence a stranger could re-check.

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