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Watchtower vs Shepherd: catalog facts
Watchtower	Shepherd
Free Free and open source.	Free Free to run from its public GitHub repository.
Linux, Self-hosted	Linux, Self-hosted
Keeps running containers updated without manual pulls Actively maintained continuation of the original Watchtower	Automatic service updates when images change Deploys as a single Swarm service
Automatic updates can introduce breaking changes without warning Not designed for controlled rollouts in larger production environments	Works only with Docker Swarm, not standalone containers Must run on a manager node with access to the Docker socket
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Closed source
License: Apache-2.0	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.