Dagger vs Forgejo Runner
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Dagger
Programmable CI/CD engine that runs pipelines as code
VS
Forgejo Runner
CI runner for Forgejo Actions
| Feature | Dagger | Forgejo Runner |
|---|---|---|
| Category | CI/CD & Build | Git Hosting & Forges |
| 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 | ★ 16,141 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | GitHub Actions, CircleCI | GitHub Actions |
Why pick each one
Choose Dagger if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 16.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Choose Forgejo 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 Forgejo 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 Forgejo Runner free and open-source?
Yes. Dagger is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Forgejo Runner under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dagger and Forgejo Runner with Docker?
Dagger: yes. Forgejo Runner: yes.