Laminar 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 | Laminar | Tekton |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 77 · Good | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | CI/CD & Build | CI/CD & Build |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 354 | ★ 9,066 |
| First released | 2016 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Jenkins | Jenkins, GitHub Actions |
What are Laminar and Tekton?
Laminar
Laminar is a fast, lightweight CI service that runs build jobs defined as simple shell scripts. It avoids heavy configuration in favor of plain scripts and a minimal web dashboard.
- Scripts as build jobs
- Tiny resource footprint
- Real-time job output
- No web configuration needed
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
Laminar vs Tekton: key differences
Laminar is written in C++, while Tekton is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Laminar versus Apache-2.0 for Tekton. Laminar is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Tekton. Laminar is the more established project (first released 2016), while Tekton arrived in 2018. Tekton has the considerably larger community, at 9,066 GitHub stars versus 354.
Why pick each one
Choose Laminar if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 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 Laminar or Tekton better?
Neither is universally better. Tekton has the larger community, while Laminar is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Laminar and Tekton free and open-source?
Yes. Laminar is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Tekton under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Laminar and Tekton with Docker?
Laminar: check the project docs for container support. Tekton: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Laminar or Tekton?
Laminar has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Tekton. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.