Dagger vs Gitea Act Runner
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ci/cd & build options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Dagger | Gitea Act Runner |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 16,298 | ★ 800 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | GitHub Actions, CircleCI | GitHub Actions |
What are Dagger and Gitea Act Runner?
Dagger
Dagger is an open-source CI/CD engine that lets developers define pipelines as code in their preferred language and run them anywhere with a containerized engine. It can be self-hosted to power portable build pipelines.
- Pipelines as code
- Runs anywhere with containers
- Multi-language SDKs
- Built-in caching
Gitea Act Runner
Act Runner is the official runner for Gitea Actions, executing workflow jobs defined in repositories. It brings GitHub Actions-style automation to self-hosted Gitea instances.
- GitHub Actions-compatible workflows
- Docker and host execution
- Lightweight Go binary
- Auto-registration with Gitea
Dagger vs Gitea Act Runner: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Dagger versus MIT for Gitea Act Runner. Gitea Act Runner is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Dagger. Dagger has the considerably larger community, at 16,298 GitHub stars versus 800.
Why pick each one
Choose Dagger if…
- Pipelines as real code
- Runs identically anywhere
- Container-level caching
Watch out for
- New concepts to learn
- Container runtime required
Choose Gitea Act Runner if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Dagger or Gitea Act Runner better?
Neither is universally better. Dagger has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dagger and Gitea Act Runner free and open-source?
Yes. Dagger is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Gitea Act Runner under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dagger and Gitea Act Runner with Docker?
Dagger: yes. Gitea Act Runner: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dagger or Gitea Act Runner?
Gitea Act Runner has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Dagger. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.