⚠️ CRITICAL WARNING: UNMAINTAINED PROJECT
Cherokee is no longer actively developed. The last official release was in December 2013 (v1.2.103). Known issues include:
- OpenSSL 3 incompatibility (unresolved security issue)
- Not available in modern Linux repositories (Debian 12+, Ubuntu 22.04+, RHEL 8/9, Fedora 38+)
- Python 2.7 dependency (EOL since 2020)
- Build failures common on modern systems
For new deployments, use modern alternatives: Nginx, Caddy, or Apache.
Cherokee packages are not available in current Linux distribution repositories. You have two installation options:
ghcr.io/managedkaos/cherokee:main)gcc, make, libtool, autoconf, automakelibssl-dev (OpenSSL 1.x required), libpcre3-dev, zlib1g-devDebian/Ubuntu (older versions only):
sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential libtool libssl-dev libpcre3-dev zlib1g-dev python2.7
Note: On Debian 12+/Ubuntu 24.04+, Python 2.7 and OpenSSL 1.x may not be available. You may need to:
git clone https://github.com/cherokee/webserver.git
cd webserver
./configure --prefix=/usr --localstatedir=/var --sysconfdir=/etc
make
sudo make install
# Start the web server
sudo cherokee
# Start the admin interface
cherokee-admin -b
# UFW
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw allow 9090/tcp # Admin UI
# firewalld
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=9090/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
Open http://SERVER_IP:9090 to access the Cherokee-Admin interface.
See Cherokee Docker Setup for containerized deployment using the community-maintained image.
See Cherokee Ansible Setup for automated deployment (note: requires source build on modern systems).
| Issue | Impact | Workaround |
|---|---|---|
| OpenSSL 3 incompatibility | Build fails, TLS broken | Use OpenSSL 1.x or container |
| Python 2.7 EOL | Admin UI may not work | Use Python 2.7 from source |
| Missing packages | Cannot install via apt/dnf | Build from source or use Docker |
| libcherokee-base.so.0 errors | Runtime failure | Check LD_LIBRARY_PATH |
⚠️ Security Warning: Cherokee has known unresolved security vulnerabilities due to its unmaintained status.
See Cherokee Security and Cherokee Hardening for security guidance.
See Cherokee Configuration for configuration details.
Stuck on a step or need custom configuration? We provide paid consulting for Cherokee deployments, from single-instance setups to distributed clusters.