head to head · open source
compose vs workflow
compose has 38,175 GitHub stars, 5,817 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. workflow has 2,416 stars, 361 forks, 360 open issues and last shipped yesterday. compose leads on adoption by 1,480% (38,175 vs 2,416 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; workflow is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, workflow 15%. workflow 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 | workflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 361 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick compose if
- You weight community size — 38K 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 workflow if
- You want the workflow 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 workflow fits your workflow better
About compose
Docker Compose is an Apache 2.0 licensed Go tool that defines and runs multi container applications on Docker from a single Compose file, aimed at developers and operators who need several containers to start together as one isolated application.
read the full compose overview →
About workflow
Workflow SDK is a TypeScript and JavaScript library that makes application functions durable. It lives in the TypeScript/JavaScript ecosystem and targets server side frameworks such as Next.js. The project is intended for apps and AI agents that need to continue work across failures, waits, and restarts.
read the full workflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or workflow more popular?
compose has 38,175 GitHub stars and workflow has 2,416. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and workflow free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and workflow under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and workflow?
compose is written in Go and workflow 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 workflow?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,175 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose workflow if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.