⚠️ Why Consider Alternatives?
Cherokee is unmaintained since December 2013 with known security vulnerabilities:
- No security patches for 10+ years
- OpenSSL 3 incompatibility
- Python 2.7 dependency (EOL)
- Not available in modern Linux repositories
For new deployments, use actively maintained alternatives listed below.
| Web Server | Latest Version | License | Best For | Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee | 1.2.103 (2013) | GPL-2.0 | Legacy only | ❌ No |
| Nginx | 1.26+ (2026) | BSD-2 | High performance, reverse proxy | ✅ Yes |
| Caddy | 2.9+ (2026) | Apache-2.0 | Easy setup, auto HTTPS | ✅ Yes |
| Apache | 2.4+ (2026) | Apache-2.0 | .htaccess, modules | ✅ Yes |
| Lighttpd | 1.4+ (2026) | BSD | Low memory usage | ✅ Yes |
| HAProxy | 3.0+ (2026) | GPL-2.0 | Load balancing | ✅ Yes |
| OpenLiteSpeed | 1.7+ (2026) | GPL-3.0 | PHP performance | ✅ Yes |
| H2O | 2.3+ (2026) | MIT | HTTP/2, HTTP/3 | ✅ Yes |
| uWSGI | 2.0+ (2026) | GPL-2.0 | Python apps | ✅ Yes |
Best for: High-performance web serving, reverse proxy, load balancing
👉 See Nginx documentation
Best for: Easy setup, automatic HTTPS, modern deployments
👉 See Caddy documentation
Best for: .htaccess support, module ecosystem, shared hosting
👉 See Apache documentation
Best for: Low-memory environments, simple deployments
👉 See Lighttpd documentation
Best for: Load balancing, TCP/HTTP proxy
👉 See HAProxy documentation
Best for: PHP applications, WordPress
👉 See OpenLiteSpeed documentation
Best for: HTTP/2, HTTP/3 features
👉 See H2O documentation
Best for: Python application serving
👉 See uWSGI documentation
If you’re migrating from Cherokee, consider these factors:
| Cherokee Feature | Nginx Equivalent | Caddy Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
cherokee-admin UI |
Manual config / Webmin | Caddyfile |
| Virtual hosts | server blocks |
Site blocks |
| Reverse proxy | proxy_pass |
reverse_proxy |
| Load balancing | upstream |
reverse_proxy with multiple targets |
| URL rewriting | rewrite / return |
rewrite / redir |
| TLS/SSL | ssl_certificate |
Automatic HTTPS |
Document current Cherokee configuration
Choose alternative
Test in staging
Migrate DNS
Monitor and validate
| Factor | Cherokee | Modern Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Security Updates | ❌ None since 2013 | ✅ Regular patches |
| TLS Support | ❌ OpenSSL 1.x only | ✅ TLS 1.3, modern ciphers |
| HTTP/2 | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (all listed) |
| HTTP/3 | ❌ No | ✅ Caddy, H2O, OpenLiteSpeed |
| Container Support | ❌ No official image | ✅ Official Docker images |
| Package Availability | ❌ Removed from repos | ✅ In all major repos |
| Community Support | ❌ Minimal | ✅ Active communities |
| Documentation | ⚠️ Outdated | ✅ Current, extensive |
Any questions?
Feel free to contact us. Find all contact information on our contact page.