head to head · open source
ansible vs nuke
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars, 24,474 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nuke has 3,751 stars, 455 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 11 months ago. ansible leads on adoption by 1,798% (71,204 vs 3,751 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; nuke is written in C# under MIT. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, nuke 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 | nuke | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2025-12-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 455 |
| 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 nuke if
- You want the nuke feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and nuke 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 nuke
The AKEless Build System for C /.NET Table of Contents Elevator Pitch Example Build Status Technology Sponsors Elevator Pitch Solid and scalable CI/CD pipelines are an essential pillar for being competitive and creating a great product. But why are most of us a little afraid of touching YAML files and don't even dare to look at build scripts? Much of this is because C developers are spoiled with a great language and smart IDEs, and they don't like missing their buddy for code completion, ease of debugging, refactorings, and code formatting. NUKE brings your build automation to an even level with every other .NET…
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or nuke more popular?
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars and nuke has 3,751. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and nuke free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and nuke under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and nuke?
ansible is written in Python and nuke in C#. 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 nuke?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (71,204 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose nuke if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.