Cobbler

5.3easy start · #60 of 70
in IT Automation Software

Free to practise onnot on record
Free trialnot on record
Well documentednot on record
Runs where you worknot on record

Runs on api, Linux, self-hosted.

Cobbler is ranked #60 of 70 in IT automation software on The Geeks Club. It runs on API, Linux, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

Cobbler plans and pricing

All plans

Cobbler Free Linux server software · self-hosted github.com · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on IT automation software

Free plan: Yes
API access: Yes

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The record

Purpose: Cobbler is a Linux installation server for setting up and automating network installation environments.
Provisioning: It supports PXE deployments, virtualization with Xen, QEMU/KVM or VMware, and reinstallation of existing Linux systems.
Automation: Cobbler can help manage DNS, DHCP, package updates, power management and configuration management orchestration.
Interfaces: Cobbler provides a command line interface, a WebUI and Python and XML-RPC APIs.
Autoinstall: It supports AutoYaST for SUSE and openSUSE, Kickstart, and Preseed for Debian and Ubuntu automated installations.
Integrations: Cobbler can integrate with external configuration management systems including cfengine3, Puppet, bcfg2 and Chef, and also has an internal lightweight system.
Templates: Templates and reusable snippets can be used to generate automated installation files and manage services such as DNS and DHCP.
Install options: Cobbler can be installed through Linux distribution packaging systems or from source; the documentation also describes pip installation as not recommended.
Supported distributions: The install guide lists Fedora, CentOS Stream, AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux, openSUSE Leap and Tumbleweed among distributions with known packages.
Requirements: Cobbler requires Python 3 and its server setup requires knowledge of Apache configuration, certificates and server administration.
Support: The project directs users to its mailing list, GitHub issues and community chat for help.
Security: The security policy says Cobbler has no SELinux or AppArmor profile and advises protecting it because it manages DHCP and TFTP and has broad network control.
Maintenance limits: The security policy says only the most current version can be supported, and lists Cobbler 3.3.x as security-only support while older listed versions are end of life.
Operational limit: The limitations guide says imported or manually added distributions require their kernel and initrd sources to remain available or the Cobbler daemon will not start.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best IT Automation Software in 2026#60 of 70
Best Bare Metal Provisioning Software in 2026#22 of 29
Best OS Deployment Software in 2026#24 of 27

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Sources

cobbler.github.io· checked 5 Oct 2026
cobbler.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html· checked 5 Oct 2026
cobbler.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user-guide/automatic-installa· checked 5 Oct 2026
cobbler.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user-guide/configuration-mana· checked 5 Oct 2026
cobbler.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation-guide.html· checked 5 Oct 2026
cobbler.github.io/community.html· checked 5 Oct 2026
github.com/cobbler/cobbler/security/policy· checked 5 Oct 2026
cobbler.readthedocs.io/en/latest/limitations.html· checked 5 Oct 2026
cobbler.github.io/about.html· checked 5 Oct 2026
github.com/cobbler/cobbler· checked 5 Oct 2026