head to head · open source
conductor vs operaton
conductor has 32,389 GitHub stars, 1,038 forks, 253 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. operaton has 501 stars, 134 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped yesterday. conductor leads on adoption by 6,365% (32,389 vs 501 stars). conductor is written in Java under Apache-2.0; operaton is written in Java under Apache-2.0. conductor has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, operaton 27%. operaton was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (java, workflow-engine), 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
| conductor | operaton | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 501 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-10-26 | 2026-10-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 134 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick conductor if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick operaton if
- You want the operaton feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and operaton fits your workflow better
About conductor
Conductor Durable Execution for Workflows and Agents Build agents that adapt. Run graphs that endure. Conductor is an open source durable execution platform for microservices, AI agents, and adaptive workflow graphs. It turns runtime choices—loops, branching, fan out, tool calls, approvals, retries, and cancellation—into durable, inspectable execution. It originated at Netflix and is actively maintained by Orkes and the community. Get Running in 60 Seconds Prerequisites: Node.js v16+ and Java 21+ must be installed. Open — your server is running with the built in ui next UI. Upgrading from a previous version? The…
read the full conductor overview →
About operaton
The open source BPMN platform for mission critical process automation Forum · Documentation · Roadmap Operaton is a native BPMN 2.0 process engine that runs inside the Java Virtual Machine. Born from the Camunda 7 community edition, Operaton continues to evolve and modernize the platform as a truly community driven project. Proven — Evolved from the Camunda 7 codebase, with over a decade of production use by thousands of companies worldwide. Embeddable — Runs inside any Java application. Integrates with Spring Boot, Quarkus, and Jakarta EE. Full Stack — Process engine, REST API, and web apps (Cockpit, Tasklist…
read the full operaton overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is conductor or operaton more popular?
conductor has 32,389 GitHub stars and operaton has 501. conductor has the larger community by that measure.
Are conductor and operaton free?
Both are open source. conductor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and operaton under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between conductor and operaton?
conductor is written in Java and operaton in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, conductor or operaton?
Choose conductor if you want the larger community (32,389 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose operaton if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.