head to head · open source
compose vs Dyrector
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Dyrector has 1,845 stars, 132 forks, 26 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. compose leads on adoption by 1,991% (38,573 vs 1,845 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Dyrector is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Dyrector 7%. compose was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (docker, golang), 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.
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Side by side
| compose | Dyrector | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 132 |
| 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
pick Dyrector if
- You want the Dyrector feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Dyrector fits your workflow better
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 Dyrector
dyrector.io is a self hosted continuous delivery & deployment platform with version management. dyrector.io helps engineers & DevOps teams and individual developers to shift their focus from maintaining and setting up their containerized applications to developing their software. The platform achieves this by offering continuous delivery and version management capabilities to your OCI containers. Join our Discord and connect with other members to share and learn together. If you like the project, give us a Star. dyrector.io is also available as a fully managed SaaS dyrector.io Platform ⛅ including a free tier…
read the full Dyrector overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or Dyrector more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and Dyrector has 1,845. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and Dyrector free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Dyrector under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and Dyrector?
compose is written in Go and Dyrector in TypeScript. 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 Dyrector?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Dyrector if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.