head to head · open source
ansible vs obelisk
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars, 24,474 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. obelisk has 766 stars, 19 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ansible leads on adoption by 9,196% (71,204 vs 766 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 2%. 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 | ★ 766 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| 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
[ ][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 obelisk
Obelisk A deterministic workflow engine built on the WASM Component Model. [!WARNING] Pre release : Expect changes in CLI, gRPC, WIT, and database schema. Obelisk in Action The Stargazers app features: A webhook listening to GitHub star events. Activities for interacting with Turso DB, OpenAI, and GitHub. A workflow orchestrating the activities. Obelisk fly.io deployment tool features: A complete workflow for deploying Obelisk apps on fly.io Cleanup / compensating actions on failure What's Included Obelisk Runtime : A single binary executing deterministic workflows, activities, and webhook endpoints, persisting…
read the full obelisk overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or obelisk more popular?
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars and obelisk has 766. 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 (71,204 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.