SHSelfHostIndex

act vs Laminar

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ci/cd & build options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
AC act Run GitHub Actions workflows locally for fast feedback VS LA Laminar Lightweight and modular continuous integration service
FeatureactLaminar
CategoryCI/CD & BuildCI/CD & Build
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguageGoC++
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binarybare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 71,417★ 352
First released20192016
ReplacesGitHub ActionsJenkins

Why pick each one

Choose act if…

  • Test CI before pushing
  • Saves CI minutes
act details

Choose Laminar if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Written in C++
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Laminar details

Frequently asked questions

Is act or Laminar better?

act is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Laminar if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are act and Laminar free and open-source?

Yes. act is licensed under MIT and Laminar under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run act and Laminar with Docker?

act: check the project docs for container support. Laminar: check the project docs for container support.

Related comparisons