head to head · open source
ansible vs process-compose
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars, 24,474 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. process-compose has 2,914 stars, 160 forks, 26 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ansible leads on adoption by 2,344% (71,204 vs 2,914 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; process-compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, process-compose 5%. 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 | process-compose | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 160 |
| 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 process-compose if
- You want the process-compose 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 process-compose 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 process-compose
Process Compose Process Compose is a simple and flexible scheduler and orchestrator to manage non containerized applications. Why? Because sometimes you just don't want to deal with docker files, volume definitions, networks and docker registries. Since it's written in Go, Process Compose is a single binary file and has no other dependencies. Once installed, you just need to describe your workflow using a simple YAML schema in a file called process compose.yaml : And start it by running process compose from your terminal. Check the Documentation for more advanced use cases. Features Processes execution (in…
read the full process-compose overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or process-compose more popular?
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars and process-compose has 2,914. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and process-compose free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and process-compose under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and process-compose?
ansible is written in Python and process-compose 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 process-compose?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (71,204 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose process-compose if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.