head to head · open source
conductor vs werf
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars, 1,051 forks, 253 open issues and last shipped yesterday. werf has 4,739 stars, 243 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped yesterday. conductor leads on adoption by 584% (32,401 vs 4,739 stars). conductor is written in Java under Apache-2.0; werf is written in Go under Apache-2.0. conductor has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, werf 5%. conductor was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | werf | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 4.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 243 |
| 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 werf if
- You want the werf feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and werf 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 werf
werf is a CNCF Sandbox CLI tool to implement full cycle CI/CD to Kubernetes easily. werf integrates into your CI system and leverages familiar and reliable technologies, such as Git, Dockerfile, Helm, and Buildah. What makes werf special: Complete application lifecycle management : build and publish container images, test, deploy an application to Kubernetes, distribute release artifacts and clean up the container registry. Ease of use : use Dockerfiles and Helm chart for configuration and let werf handle all the rest. Advanced features : automatic build caching and content based tagging, enhanced resource…
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Frequently asked questions
Is conductor or werf more popular?
conductor has 32,401 GitHub stars and werf has 4,739. conductor has the larger community by that measure.
Are conductor and werf free?
Both are open source. conductor is licensed under Apache-2.0 and werf under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between conductor and werf?
conductor is written in Java and werf in Go. 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 werf?
Choose conductor if you want the larger community (32,401 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose werf if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.