GitKraken On-Prem in 2026 — what do I need to change?
Choose between GitKraken's self-hosted-server and serverless on-prem licensing paths when air-gapped Git and private AI usage are mandatory.
Blockers
- requires_version: package/gitkraken-onprem-self-hosted-server → runtime/linux
- requires_version: package/gitkraken-onprem-self-hosted-server → package/docker-ce
- requires_version: package/gitkraken-onprem-self-hosted-server → package/docker-compose
- Lock-in via format/dat-license-file
Who this is for
- enterprise
- compliance
- low-ops
Candidates
GitKraken On-Prem Self-Hosted Server
As of 2026-03-28, GitKraken prices the Self-Hosted Server option at "$24 per user/month paid annually" with a 10-user minimum and unlimited maximum users. It is the on-prem path with a self-hosted license server, LDAP support, and automatic license tracking, and GitKraken positions it for high-security environments and scale. GitKraken's on-prem product page says the same desktop AI features run inside your network and can connect to approved Azure, Anthropic, OpenAI-compatible, or local models such as Ollama. The current install docs were last updated in March 2026 and require a Linux host or VM with Docker CE and Docker Compose.
When to choose
Use this when air-gapping is mandatory and you want centralized control over seats, upgrades, and directory-backed identity inside your network. It is the better fit when manual annual license reconciliation is a governance risk or when team size and turnover make automatic license tracking decisive.
Tradeoffs
Best central control and compliance posture, plus LDAP-backed administration and automatic license accounting. The cost is added operational overhead because you must run and maintain a Linux Docker-based license server.
Cautions
This is sold separately from standard GitKraken subscriptions and separately from Serverless. The documented install flow depends on a Linux Docker host and offline deployment requires transferring installation artifacts into the environment before startup.
GitKraken On-Prem Serverless
As of 2026-03-28, GitKraken prices the Serverless on-prem option at "$24 per user/month paid annually" with the same 10-user minimum and unlimited maximum users. GitKraken positions it for high-security air-gapped or low-connectivity environments where teams cannot or do not want to host a license server. The March 2026 setup docs say it requires no server installation, no internet account creation, and activates with a local ".dat" license file. GitKraken's on-prem product page also says the same private AI workflows stay inside your network and can use approved Azure, Anthropic, OpenAI-compatible, or local LLM endpoints.
When to choose
Use this when air-gapping is mandatory but you want the lowest operational burden and can tolerate manual license administration. It is the better fit for tightly controlled offline environments where standing up even a small internal license server is harder than distributing license files and doing annual true-up.
Tradeoffs
Lowest ops footprint because there is no license server to run. The tradeoff is manual license distribution and annual true-up, which adds administrative work and weaker real-time control over seat allocation.
Cautions
License activation and renewals are manual: the docs require loading and later replacing or updating the local ".dat" license file. GitKraken explicitly sells this separately from both standard subscriptions and the Self-Hosted Server option, so it is not a toggle inside the normal cloud plan.
Try with your AI agent
$ npm install -g pocketlantern $ pocketlantern init # Restart Claude Code, Cursor, or your MCP client, then ask: # "GitKraken On-Prem in 2026 — what do I need to change?"