GitHub Actions

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to GitHub Actions

A curated collection of the 1 best self hosted alternatives to GitHub Actions.

GitHub Actions is GitHub’s integrated CI/CD and automation service that lets teams define workflows to build, test, and deploy code. It runs jobs on GitHub-hosted or self-hosted runners and integrates with GitHub events and marketplace actions.

Alternatives List

#1
Cronicle

Cronicle

A web-based, distributed cron replacement for scheduling and running scripts across a fleet with logging, retries, notifications, and access controls.

Cronicle screenshot

Cronicle is a self-hosted, web-based job scheduler designed as a modern replacement for traditional cron. It provides a central UI and API to schedule, run, and monitor scripts across multiple servers, with distributed execution, logging, and operational controls.

Key Features

  • Web UI for creating schedules (cron-style and intervals), launching jobs manually, and monitoring runs
  • Distributed “worker” architecture to execute jobs across multiple servers/nodes
  • Multiple schedule types and timezone-aware scheduling
  • Per-job concurrency controls, timeouts, retries, and error handling
  • Centralized logging with per-run output capture and searchable history
  • Notifications and webhooks for job success/failure (integration-friendly)
  • Role-based access controls (users, privileges) for multi-user operations
  • REST-style API for automation and external integrations

Use Cases

  • Centralize cron jobs for a multi-server environment (backups, ETL, maintenance)
  • Run operational runbooks on demand with audit-friendly run history
  • Coordinate scheduled scripts with notifications for failures and SLA monitoring

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires deploying and maintaining Cronicle server plus workers and its backing storage; sizing depends on job volume and log retention
  • Focused on scheduling/executing scripts rather than full DAG workflows (may not fit complex pipeline orchestration needs)

Cronicle fits teams that want a lightweight, UI-driven scheduler to replace scattered crontabs and provide visibility, controls, and integrations. Its distributed worker model makes it well-suited for reliably running recurring automation across a server fleet.

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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running