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Best API CI/CD & Build for self-hosting

The 14 best API ci/cd & build you can self-host, ranked by community traction.

Drone

Container-based continuous delivery platform

Replaces Jenkins, CircleCI

★ 38.5k Medium setup Apache-2.0

Jenkins

Extensible open-source automation server for CI/CD

Replaces CircleCI

★ 26.7k Medium setup MIT

Argo CD

Declarative GitOps continuous delivery for Kubernetes

Replaces Spinnaker

★ 24.4k Hard setup Apache-2.0

Argo Workflows

Container-native workflow engine for Kubernetes

Replaces Airflow

★ 17k Hard setup Apache-2.0

Dagger

Programmable CI/CD engine that runs pipelines as code

Replaces GitHub Actions, CircleCI

★ 16.3k Medium setup Apache-2.0

Spinnaker

Multi-cloud continuous delivery platform

Replaces Harness

★ 9.8k Hard setup Apache-2.0

Tekton

Cloud-native CI/CD building blocks for Kubernetes

Replaces Jenkins, GitHub Actions

★ 9.1k Hard setup Apache-2.0

Woodpecker CI

Simple, container-native continuous integration

Replaces Jenkins, CircleCI

★ 8k Medium setup Apache-2.0

Concourse CI

Pipeline-based continuous thing-doer

Replaces Jenkins, CircleCI

★ 7.9k Hard setup Apache-2.0

GoCD

Open-source continuous delivery server

Replaces Jenkins

★ 7.4k Medium setup Apache-2.0

MockServer

Mock and proxy any system you integrate with over HTTP

Replaces WireMock

★ 5k Medium setup Apache-2.0

Buildkite Agent

Self-hosted CI/CD agent for your own infrastructure

Replaces GitHub Actions, CircleCI

★ 1.1k Medium setup MIT

Gitea Act Runner

CI/CD runner for Gitea Actions

Replaces GitHub Actions

★ 800 Medium setup MIT

TeamCity

Powerful CI/CD server from JetBrains

Replaces Jenkins, CircleCI

Medium setup Proprietary

At a glance

App	Deploy effort	Difficulty	Min. RAM	License	★ Stars
Drone	Under-an-hour setup	Medium	256 MB	Apache-2.0	38,529
Jenkins	Under-an-hour setup	Medium	1,024 MB	MIT	26,654
Argo CD	Read-the-docs project	Hard	1,024 MB	Apache-2.0	24,395
Argo Workflows	Read-the-docs project	Hard	1,024 MB	Apache-2.0	17,036
Dagger	Under-an-hour setup	Medium	1,024 MB	Apache-2.0	16,337
Spinnaker	Read-the-docs project	Hard	4,096 MB	Apache-2.0	9,802
Tekton	Read-the-docs project	Hard	1,024 MB	Apache-2.0	9,081
Woodpecker CI	Under-an-hour setup	Medium	256 MB	Apache-2.0	7,999
Concourse CI	Under-an-hour setup	Hard	2,048 MB	Apache-2.0	7,916
GoCD	Under-an-hour setup	Medium	2,048 MB	Apache-2.0	7,428

Quick picks

Most adopted: Drone (38,529 GitHub stars).
Lightest footprint: Drone (from 256 MB RAM, against 4,096 MB for the heaviest here).
Licensing: 10 of 14 use Apache-2.0; check the rest individually if you plan to modify and redistribute.

Every option here is open-source and self-hostable, tagged API within the ci/cd & build category. Deploy effort is graded from published container recipes, not vendor claims — see the methodology.

Keep exploring

All CI/CD & Build How to choose CI/CD tool: the CI/CD & Build buyer's guide

Head-to-head: API ci/cd & build