head to head · open source

compose vs devops-basics

compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. devops-basics has 1,875 stars, 213 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. compose leads on adoption by 1,957% (38,573 vs 1,875 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; devops-basics is written in Shell under Apache-2.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, devops-basics 11%. compose was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (docker), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.

Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.

compose ★ 39K devops-basics ★ 1.9K category Infrastructure & Operations

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Side by side

compose devops-basics
GitHub stars ★ 39K ★ 1.9K
License Apache-2.0 Apache-2.0
Written in Go Shell
Last push 2026-11-02 2026-09-13
Forks ⑂ 5.9K ⑂ 213
Self-hosting Yes Yes
Data ownership Your server Your server

pick compose if

  • You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
  • You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
  • Your stack matches Go
  • You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance

full compose profile →

pick devops-basics if

  • You want the devops-basics feature set and don't need the biggest community
  • You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
  • Your stack matches Shell
  • You evaluated both and devops-basics fits your workflow better

full devops-basics profile →

About compose

Table of Contents Docker Compose Where to get Docker Compose + Windows and macOS + Linux Quick Start Contributing Legacy Docker Compose Docker Compose is a tool for running multi container applications on Docker defined using the Compose file format. A Compose file is used to define how one or more containers that make up your application are configured. Once you have a Compose file, you can create and start your application with a single command: docker compose up . Note : About Docker Swarm Docker Swarm used to rely on the legacy compose file format but did not adopt the compose specification so is missing…

read the full compose overview →

About devops-basics

DevOps Basics 🚀 Practical and document place for DevOps toolchain 💝 With comprehensive documentation, basic hands on scripts, advanced examples, and additional resources for a variety of DevOps tools Introduction :wave: You are new to DevOps or want to learn some DevOps tools, or you are already a DevOps engineer, and you are looking for DevOps documents and a place to practice DevOps tools? This repository will assist you in enhancing your DevOps skills and serve as a bookmark for documents related to DevOps. Key features include: Wide range of topics : Explore 40+ important DevOps subjects like Docker…

read the full devops-basics overview →

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Frequently asked questions

Is compose or devops-basics more popular?

compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and devops-basics has 1,875. compose has the larger community by that measure.

Are compose and devops-basics free?

Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and devops-basics under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.

What is the difference between compose and devops-basics?

compose is written in Go and devops-basics in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.

Which should I choose, compose or devops-basics?

Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose devops-basics if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.