⚠️ PROJECT STATUS: UNMAINTAINED
Cherokee is no longer actively developed. The last official release (v1.2.103) was in December 2013 — over 10 years ago. The project has known security issues (including OpenSSL 3 incompatibility) that are not being addressed. For new deployments, consider modern alternatives like Nginx, Caddy, or Apache.
Cherokee is an open-source cross-platform web server that was known for its speed and ease of use. It supports a wide range of technologies and protocols, and was a versatile choice for many web hosting needs during its active development (2008-2013).
Cherokee-Admin that simplifies server management.⚠️ Package Availability Warning: Cherokee is NOT available in modern Linux distribution repositories:
- Not in Debian 12 (Bookworm) or Debian 13 (Trixie)
- Not in Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04
- Not in RHEL 8/9 or Fedora 38/39/40
- The PPA
ppa:cherokee-webserveris unmaintained (last update 2016)Installation options:
- Build from source (see Setup)
- Use community Docker image (see Docker Setup)
git clone https://github.com/cherokee/webserver.git
cd webserver
./configure --prefix=/usr --localstatedir=/var --sysconfdir=/etc
make
sudo make install
Note: You may need to install build dependencies including
libtool,libssl-dev,libpcre3-dev, and Python 2.7 (which is itself EOL). Build failures on modern systems are common due to OpenSSL 3 incompatibility.
After installation, you can start the Cherokee web server and access the Cherokee-Admin interface:
sudo service cherokee start
cherokee-admin -b
Open your web browser and navigate to the Cherokee admin endpoint to access the admin interface. The default login credentials will be displayed in the terminal.
⚠️ Support Warning: Official documentation is available but may be outdated. Community support is limited due to the project’s unmaintained status.
For more detailed information and support, you can refer to the following resources:
Cherokee was a powerful and flexible web server during its active development. Its ease of use and robust feature set made it a great choice for both beginners and experienced administrators. However, for new deployments, modern alternatives are strongly recommended.
ghcr.io/managedkaos/cherokee:main