Duplicati
Duplicati turns Hyper-V and MSSQL backups into restorable, named sources.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Caddy vs Skipper
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Caddy and Skipper — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:tlsreverse-proxy
Caddy vs Skipper: at a glance
What is Caddy?
Caddy 2.11's betas add ECH key rotation and a release process without its founder.
Caddy's tracked entries are the two 2.11 betas from December 2025 and January 2026. Beta 1 was the first release cut by the maintainer team's automated process without the original author, and brought time-based log rolling, argon2id basic auth and named socket activation. Beta 2 added ECH key rotation, multiple intermediates in PKI signing chains and a fix for the ZeroSSL issuer.
What is Skipper?
Skipper patches a cache() filter security advisory amid routine maintenance tags.
Skipper tags a release for nearly every merge. v0.28.37 fixes security advisory GHSA-9hwf-c47m-j4pg in the cache() filter, and v0.28.38 removes a direct syscall dependency. Before that came test-certificate consolidation and five dependency builds. The last proxy changes, about ten days ago, were a fade-in path that stops copying endpoints per request and a fix for stale-while-revalidate refresh.
Caddy vs Skipper: editorial side-by-side
Caddy
0.0INFRA · APIS
Caddy 2.11's betas add ECH key rotation and a release process without its founder.
◆ Current state
Caddy's tracked entries are the two 2.11 betas from December 2025 and January 2026. Beta 1 was the first release cut by the maintainer team's automated process without the original author, and brought time-based log rolling, argon2id basic auth and named socket activation. Beta 2 added ECH key rotation, multiple intermediates in PKI signing chains and a fix for the ZeroSSL issuer.
◆ Where it's heading
Caddy is investing in privacy-preserving TLS through Encrypted ClientHello, and in project continuity through a team-run release pipeline. The rest of the betas are edge-case fixes, consistent with a mature server polishing details.
◆ Prediction
The beta notes point to a 2.11 stable release; no newer entries are tracked, so its timing isn't visible here.
Skipper
6.3INFRA · APIS
Skipper patches a cache() filter security advisory amid routine maintenance tags.
◆ Current state
Skipper tags a release for nearly every merge. v0.28.37 fixes security advisory GHSA-9hwf-c47m-j4pg in the cache() filter, and v0.28.38 removes a direct syscall dependency. Before that came test-certificate consolidation and five dependency builds. The last proxy changes, about ten days ago, were a fade-in path that stops copying endpoints per request and a fix for stale-while-revalidate refresh.
◆ Where it's heading
Skipper keeps taking on edge responsibilities, identity via token exchange and response caching, while tightening the hot path. The new cache() filter is now drawing security research, a sign it's getting real use. The certificate refactor points to more TLS work, possibly between Skipper instances.
◆ Prediction
Expect a TLS-related feature to build on the unified certificate test setup, plus further cache-filter fixes as it matures. Otherwise, more Dependabot tags.
Alternatives to Caddy and Skipper
Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Caddy or Skipper.
Payload CMS
Payload v4 enters beta: redesigned admin, TanStack Start support and agent instructions.
Tolgee
Tolgee adds task-aware filters as editor gains and billing plumbing alternate.
Cloudflare Tunnel
Cloudflare Tunnel keeps a steady release cadence, but its notes list checksums, not changes.
ToolJet
ToolJet's latest tags are maintenance; the AI Builder features still wait on beta.
Alwaysdata
Alwaysdata breaks its runtime-update rhythm with SSH key management in the admin panel.
See all Caddy alternatives → · See all Skipper alternatives →
Recent activity from Caddy and Skipper
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 8h agoSkipperRefactor removes direct syscall signal dependency
- 9h agoSkipperSecurity fix for cache() filter advisory GHSA-9hwf-c47m-j4pg
- 1d agoSkipperUnifies test certificate setup ahead of new TLS work
- 1d agoSkipperBumps the Amazon Linux base image used for fuzzing
- 1d agoSkipperBumps the OSS-Fuzz Go builder image
- 2d agoSkipperCI upload-artifact action bump
- 9mo agoCaddyCaddy 2.11 beta 2 adds ECH key rotation
- 10mo agoCaddyCaddy 2.11 beta 1: first team-run release, argon2id, log rolling
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Caddy and Skipper?
Both compete on the same themes — tls, reverse-proxy — within Infra & APIs. Skipper is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Caddy better than Skipper?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Skipper is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Caddy?
Top Caddy alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Caddy alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/caddy for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Skipper?
Top Skipper alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Skipper alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/skipper for the full list with editorial commentary on each.