ReDock compared with XAMPP
XAMPP is "the most popular PHP development environment" by its own headline, and it earned that: a completely free Apache, MariaDB, PHP and Perl package for Windows, Linux and OS X, with phpMyAdmin in every installer and a community more than ten years deep. It is one stack in one folder, with one PHP version per installer, Apache on ports 80 and 443, and a FAQ in place of a manual. Its pages describe no share link, no custom domain, no deploy, no per-site versions, no agent and no MCP server, and none of that is a criticism of a tool that never claimed them. ReDock is the other shape: a site is a noun with an address, PHP and Node are chosen per site, the certificate is trusted from the first launch, and the agent and the MCP server come with it. If you want a plain Apache folder you can drive by hand, XAMPP still does exactly that, on Linux too.
- https://www.apachefriends.org/ what XAMPP is, that it is free, and the current version per platform
- https://www.apachefriends.org/download.html what each installer includes, and the requirements per platform
- https://www.apachefriends.org/faq_windows.html the Windows FAQ: the ports Apache uses, including 443 for HTTPS
| ReDock | XAMPP | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS 12 or later on Apple silicon, and 64-bit Windows 10 or later. Neither build is signed yet, so the first open takes one extra click on each. The Studio, for docs, video and images, runs on macOS only; sites, the agent, sharing and the MCP server are the same on both. | Windows, Linux and OS X. The download page's Windows line still reads "Windows 2008, 2012, Vista, 7, 8 (Important: XP or 2003 not supported)", the Linux line names Debian, RedHat, CentOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, Arch and SUSE, and the OS X native installer "supports intel (x64) or Apple M1 (arm64) CPUs". |
| WordPress sites | One click makes a WordPress site with PHP, MySQL, core, config and a trusted certificate at https://name.test, in about a minute, with wp-admin one click away through a single-use login. ReDock Blocks is installed so the agent edits in real blocks, and ReDock for Elementor where Elementor is active. | Not stated on their site |
| Other stacks | Headless WordPress with an Astro or Next.js front end, Astro, Next.js, Node, Bun, PHP, n8n and Remotion, each a site type with its own https://name.test address. | "an easy to install Apache distribution containing MariaDB, PHP, and Perl". The Windows package adds Tomcat, FileZilla FTP Server, Mercury Mail and Webalizer. WordPress, Node and automation tools are not on the pages read. |
| PHP and Node per site | Chosen per site from a dropdown in Setup. Versions install side by side into ReDock's own folder, nothing goes into the system, and two sites on different versions is ordinary. | One PHP version per installer: separate downloads for PHP 8.0.30, 8.1.25 and 8.2.12 on Windows, and 8.2.4 at most on OS X. A PHP version per site, and Node, are not on the pages read. |
| Databases | MySQL, created with every WordPress site, plus PostgreSQL and Redis as supervised services, all inside ReDock's own folder and removed with it. | MariaDB 10.4.32 in the current Windows and Linux installers, with phpMyAdmin 5.2.1 alongside it. |
| Trusted local HTTPS | Every site gets https://name.test with a certificate the browser trusts, issued by a private certificate authority created on your computer. One password prompt, once, at first launch; the padlock is real from then on, and the certificates renew themselves. | Apache listens on 443, "Apache (HTTPS): Port 443", and OpenSSL ships in the package. A certificate the browser trusts, made for you, is not on the pages read. |
| A share link | Unlimited unlisted quick links, and three named subdomains under redock.xyz, over Cloudflare tunnels. The site keeps running on your computer; stop is one click and the link goes dark. | Not stated on their site |
| A custom domain | One at a time, on every plan: a domain you own pointed at a shared site with two DNS records the app walks you through, through your own Cloudflare account. | Not stated on their site |
| Deploys | One-click deploys of built sites to Cloudflare, with a token scoped to exactly what it needs and the custom domain attached from inside the app. | Not stated on their site |
| An AI agent | Built in. It lists its steps before it runs, keeps a receipt for every change and offers an undo, behind per-site permissions in plain words. Bring a Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, OpenRouter or Groq key, or run a local model from the catalogue. | Not stated on their site |
| An MCP server | At 127.0.0.1:47200, for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client, behind the same per-site permissions as the built-in agent. It never listens to the network. | Not stated on their site |
| A database browser | Built in. Databases, tables and rows for MySQL, PostgreSQL and Redis, a SQL console and export, with a two-second honest answer when an engine is down. | phpMyAdmin 5.2.1 is included in every installer listed. |
| Free or paid | Free. The whole desktop app, on every plan, with nothing held back. | "XAMPP is a completely free, easy to install Apache distribution containing MariaDB, PHP, and Perl." |
| An account needed | No account to install or use the app. A named share link is the one place you sign in, once, so the name stays yours; a quick link needs no account at all. | None is asked for. The download page links straight to the installers, with checksums beside them. |
What they have that we do not
- Linux, Intel Macs, and older Windows. ReDock runs on Apple silicon and 64-bit Windows 10 or later.
- Perl, Tomcat, an FTP server and a mail transport, in the same package.
- Apache itself, with its configuration files yours to edit. ReDock serves sites through Caddy, and lists Apache and Nginx as services you can switch on.
- A browser edition, "XAMPP for Browsers", that runs in Chrome.
- More than ten years of community, forums and answers on Stack Overflow.
What we have that they do not
- A site is a thing with an address: one click makes WordPress, n8n, a Node or Bun service, an Astro or Next.js front end or a headless pair at https://name.test.
- PHP and Node versions chosen per site, installed side by side, with nothing put into the system.
- A certificate the browser trusts on every site, from the first launch, with no Apache configuration to edit.
- Share links over a tunnel, three named subdomains, a custom domain and one-click Cloudflare deploys.
- A built-in agent with steps, receipts and undo, and an MCP server for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP client.
- Logs that arrive with their fix, and a database browser for MySQL, PostgreSQL and Redis in the same window.
Their home page says "XAMPP is a completely free, easy to install Apache distribution containing MariaDB, PHP, and Perl." There is nothing to buy on the pages read.
Read on 11 September 2026 at https://www.apachefriends.org/Can ReDock open a site I built in XAMPP's htdocs folder?
You can point a new ReDock site at a folder of code you already have, and ReDock detects the stack. The database stays in XAMPP's MariaDB until you move it: phpMyAdmin exports it, and ReDock's database browser has a SQL console. Nothing reads XAMPP's folder automatically.
Does ReDock use Apache?
No. Sites are served by Caddy, supervised by the app, which is what makes the trusted certificates automatic. Apache and Nginx appear on the System screen as services you can switch on if something you run needs them.
Is XAMPP still a reasonable choice?
Yes, if what you want is a plain Apache, MariaDB and PHP folder you configure by hand, on Linux or Windows, and you do not need a share link, per-site versions, a trusted certificate or an agent. The rows on this page are where the two differ, not a verdict on the tool.
Judge it on one download.
The desktop app is free on macOS and Windows, with no account. Make a site and see whether the rows this page says we do well are the ones you needed.
Free on macOS and Windows · no account · the same app on every plan