head to head · open source
ansible vs Bacalhau
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars, 24,474 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Bacalhau has 876 stars, 105 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ansible leads on adoption by 8,028% (71,204 vs 876 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Bacalhau is written in Go under Apache-2.0. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, Bacalhau 12%. ansible was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| ansible | Bacalhau | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 876 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 105 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ansible if
- You weight community size — 71K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Bacalhau if
- You want the Bacalhau feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Bacalhau fits your workflow better
About ansible
[ ][copying] Ansible Ansible is a radically simple IT automation system. It handles configuration management, application deployment, cloud provisioning, ad hoc task execution, network automation, and multi node orchestration. Ansible makes complex changes like zero downtime rolling updates with load balancers easy. More information on the Ansible website. Design Principles Have an extremely simple setup process with a minimal learning curve. Manage machines quickly and in parallel. Avoid custom agents and additional open ports, be agentless by leveraging the existing SSH daemon. Describe infrastructure in a…
read the full ansible overview →
About Bacalhau
Globally Distributed Compute Orchestrator ⚡ Compute Over Data (CoD) What is Bacalhau? Bacalhau is an open source distributed compute orchestration framework designed to bring compute to the data. Instead of moving large datasets around networks, Bacalhau makes it easy to execute jobs close to the data's location, drastically reducing latency and resource overhead. Why Bacalhau? ⚡ Fast job processing : Jobs in Bacalhau are processed where the data was created and all jobs are parallel by default 💰 Low cost : Reduce (or eliminate) ingress/egress costs since jobs are processed closer to the source 🔒 Secure : Data…
read the full Bacalhau overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or Bacalhau more popular?
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars and Bacalhau has 876. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and Bacalhau free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Bacalhau under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and Bacalhau?
ansible is written in Python and Bacalhau in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ansible or Bacalhau?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (71,204 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Bacalhau if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.