head to head · open source
compose vs nuke
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nuke has 3,751 stars, 455 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 11 months ago. compose leads on adoption by 928% (38,573 vs 3,751 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; nuke is written in C# under MIT. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, nuke 12%. compose was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (orchestration), 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 | nuke | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2025-12-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 455 |
| 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 nuke if
- You want the nuke feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and nuke 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 nuke
The AKEless Build System for C /.NET Table of Contents Elevator Pitch Example Build Status Technology Sponsors Elevator Pitch Solid and scalable CI/CD pipelines are an essential pillar for being competitive and creating a great product. But why are most of us a little afraid of touching YAML files and don't even dare to look at build scripts? Much of this is because C developers are spoiled with a great language and smart IDEs, and they don't like missing their buddy for code completion, ease of debugging, refactorings, and code formatting. NUKE brings your build automation to an even level with every other .NET…
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or nuke more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and nuke has 3,751. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and nuke free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and nuke under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and nuke?
compose is written in Go and nuke in C#. 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 nuke?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose nuke if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.