Gitea Act Runner vs Tekton
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ci/cd & build options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Gitea Act Runner | Tekton |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 9,066 |
| First released | 2023 | 2018 |
| Replaces | GitHub Actions | Jenkins, GitHub Actions |
What are Gitea Act Runner and Tekton?
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
Tekton
Tekton is a Kubernetes-native open-source framework for creating CI/CD systems. It provides pipelines, tasks, and triggers as Kubernetes custom resources for portable automation.
- Kubernetes-native pipelines
- Reusable tasks and steps
- Event-driven triggers
- Cloud-portable
Gitea Act Runner vs Tekton: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Gitea Act Runner versus Apache-2.0 for Tekton. Gitea Act Runner is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Tekton. Tekton is the more established project (first released 2018), while Gitea Act Runner arrived in 2023. Tekton has the considerably larger community, at 9,066 GitHub stars versus 800. Gitea Act Runner lists first-class Docker deployment; Tekton does not.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Tekton if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 9.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Gitea Act Runner or Tekton better?
Neither is universally better. Tekton has the larger community, while Gitea Act Runner is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Gitea Act Runner and Tekton free and open-source?
Yes. Gitea Act Runner is licensed under MIT and Tekton under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gitea Act Runner and Tekton with Docker?
Gitea Act Runner: yes. Tekton: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Gitea Act Runner or Tekton?
Gitea Act Runner has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Tekton. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.