head to head · open source
ansible vs obelisk
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars, 24,333 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. obelisk has 755 stars, 19 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ansible leads on adoption by 9,267% (70,721 vs 755 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; obelisk is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, obelisk 3%. 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 | obelisk | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 755 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 19 |
| 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 obelisk if
- You want the obelisk feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and obelisk fits your workflow better
About ansible
Ansible is a radically simple, agentless IT automation platform, written in Python and licensed under GPL 3.0, that handles configuration management, application deployment, cloud provisioning, ad hoc task execution, network automation, and multi node orchestration for operators, developers, and network and cloud teams who manage machines over plain SSH.
read the full ansible overview →
About obelisk
Obelisk is a durable and deterministic workflow engine written in Rust and built on the WASM Component Model, aimed at developers who need replayable, crash resilient background jobs, periodic tasks, batch work, and webhook driven pipelines.
read the full obelisk overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or obelisk more popular?
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars and obelisk has 755. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and obelisk free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and obelisk under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and obelisk?
ansible is written in Python and obelisk in Rust. 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 obelisk?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (70,721 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose obelisk if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.