head to head · open source
compose vs workflow
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. workflow has 2,487 stars, 387 forks, 360 open issues and last shipped yesterday. compose leads on adoption by 1,451% (38,573 vs 2,487 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 16%. 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 | ★ 39K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 387 |
| 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 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
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 workflow
Workflow SDK Workflow SDK makes TypeScript and JavaScript functions durable. It persists workflow progress, retries failed steps, and provides built in observability. Workflows can suspend without using compute while they wait. Quick start Install the SDK in an existing project: Configure the integration for your framework. For example, with Next.js: Then start a workflow from an API route, Server Action, or other server side code: Run your app, then open the local observability UI in another terminal: Choose your framework in the getting started guides. [!NOTE] The workflow package includes its full…
read the full workflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or workflow more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and workflow has 2,487. 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 (38,573 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.