Fleet: Open Source Device Management Platform
fleetdm/fleet
Fleet is a solid choice if you want MDM, patching, and compliance reporting driven by GitOps instead of a point-and-click console. It sits directly on osquery, so its data model will feel familiar if you already trust osquery. Reach for it when you run a mixed fleet of Linux, macOS, and Windows machines and don't mind self-hosting the server. Skip it if you want a turnkey SaaS MDM with no infrastructure of your own to run.
What is Fleet for Device Management?
Fleet is an open source device management platform giving IT and security teams one system to secure computers running Linux, macOS, Windows, Chromebooks, and mobile OSes. It works directly with native OS data and events, down to the bare metal, using osquery alongside nanoMDM, Nudge, and swiftDialog. Teams use it to push MDM profiles, patch software, run compliance checks, and pull audit evidence from devices, all from one place.
Core Capabilities of Fleet
- ✓GitOps-based configuration: define device policies and settings in YAML files and manage them the same way you manage infrastructure code.
- ✓The fleetctl CLI plus a REST API and webhook events for scripting and wiring device management into other systems.
- ✓For BYOD or corporate-owned devices, this cross-platform MDM covers Android, iOS, Chromebooks, Windows, macOS, and Linux (all major distros).
- ✓CIS benchmark checks built in for macOS and Windows, alongside a documented table reference for the hundreds of device attributes Fleet can report.
- ✓Runs on osquery, nanoMDM, Nudge, and swiftDialog rather than a proprietary agent stack.
- ✓Modular design: run MDM without turning on the security features, or the reverse, and disable whatever you don't use.
- ✓Ready-made integrations with Snowflake, Splunk, GitHub Actions, Vanta, Elastic, Jira, and Zendesk, plus compatibility with Munki, Chef, Puppet, Ansible, CrowdStrike, and SentinelOne.
Who Uses Fleet and For What?
- •IT teams standardizing device configuration across Linux, macOS, and Windows fleets from one console instead of three.
- •Security teams collecting compliance evidence and running CIS benchmark checks for audits.
- •Organizations managing devices across cloud environments like AWS, GCP, and Azure, plus data centers, containers, and Linux-based IoT hardware, per the README.
- •Platform teams that prefer defining device policy in YAML and pushing it through GitOps rather than clicking through an admin console.
Advantages of Using Fleet
- ✓Same tool covers MDM, patching, and vulnerability visibility instead of stitching together three vendors.
- ✓Config lives in YAML and syncs through GitOps, so device policy changes go through the same review process as any other infrastructure change.
- ✓Built on osquery, so the data model is inspectable rather than a black box - the README states Fleet only collects what's needed to manage and secure devices, not keystrokes, emails, or webcam data.
- ✓MIT-licensed free tier that the README says will always stay free, not a time-limited trial.
- ✓Modular: turn off the security half if you only want MDM, or the reverse.
Considerations When Using Fleet
- △The README doesn't spell out installation steps beyond pointing to fleetdm.com for pricing and the fleetctl download - actual self-hosting instructions aren't in this document.
- △Full CIS benchmark support is listed for macOS and Windows only, not Linux, even though Linux gets first-class device management support otherwise.
- △You're running a server yourself, or paying for a hosted one, which is real operational overhead compared to a SaaS-only MDM with nothing to patch on your side.
- △The commercial license is required for paid features, and the README doesn't detail which capabilities sit behind that versus the free MIT tier.
Exploring Alternatives to Fleet
Frequently Asked Questions about Fleet
Fleet is open source - the free version ships under the MIT license, and the project's company handbook and much of its roadmap are public on GitHub too.
Fleet supports Linux across all major distros, macOS, Windows, Chromebooks, and iOS and Android for BYOD or corporate-owned phones, per the project's README.
Fleet collects only what it needs to manage and secure a device - hardware, OS, and software data - and the README states it excludes private activity like keystrokes, emails, or webcam access.
Fleet's free version is MIT-licensed. A separate commercial license covers paid features, and contributors under compatible employment agreements can still contribute to those paid parts.
Fleet does mobile device management for iOS and Android, covering both BYOD and corporate-owned phones, on top of its desktop and laptop MDM support.
Fleet integrates with Snowflake, Splunk, GitHub Actions, Vanta, Elastic, Jira, and Zendesk out of the box, and works alongside Munki, Chef, Puppet, Ansible, CrowdStrike, and SentinelOne, per the README.
The problem it solves
Most MDM tools bundle Apple-first device management with a closed agent that won't tell you exactly what it collects, which is a hard sell for security teams that also need Linux and Windows coverage. Fleet's specific fix is building the whole stack on osquery, an open, inspectable data source, and exposing every setting as YAML so device policy can live in git next to the rest of your infrastructure code instead of a vendor's private console.
How to install / try
The README doesn't include install commands. It points to fleetdm.com/pricing to try Fleet, or fleetdm.com/download for the fleetctl command-line tool, and offers time with a maintainer if you want a walkthrough. Concrete self-hosting steps aren't clearly documented in the repo itself.
Who should try it — and who should skip
Try Fleet if you're an IT or security team managing a mix of Linux, macOS, and Windows devices and want MDM, patching, and compliance checks driven by YAML and GitOps rather than a closed console. Skip it if you're a small shop with a handful of Macs - a lighter, Apple-only MDM will get you there faster, and running your own Fleet server is more infrastructure than you need.