Trigger.dev

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Trigger.dev

A curated collection of the 3 best self hosted alternatives to Trigger.dev.

Trigger.dev is a developer platform for building and running reliable background jobs and event-driven workflows. It provides TypeScript/JavaScript SDKs, scheduled tasks, retries, durable execution, and integrations for triggering, monitoring, and managing application jobs.

Alternatives List

#1
Dagu

Dagu

Portable, file-backed workflow orchestrator that defines DAGs in declarative YAML, runs anywhere as a single binary, and includes a modern Web UI for monitoring and control.

Dagu screenshot

Dagu is a lightweight workflow orchestration engine that runs as a single self-contained binary and provides a modern Web UI. Workflows are defined in a declarative YAML format and can execute local commands, SSH commands, and containerized steps with scheduling and retries.

Key Features

  • Single-binary installation with zero required external dependencies; uses file-based storage for definitions, logs, and history
  • Declarative YAML DSL for DAGs with scheduling (cron), timezones, conditional steps, retries, and repeat policies
  • Built-in Web UI: visual DAG view, real-time monitoring, execution history, log search, and an integrated YAML editor
  • Executors for shell commands, Docker containers, SSH remote execution, and HTTP steps
  • Distributed execution: coordinator/worker model and built-in queueing to scale across machines
  • Nested/sub-DAG support for reusable composition and inspectable sub-runs in the UI
  • Integrations and platform features: GitHub Actions executor, API key management and RBAC, webhooks, email notifications
  • Newer features include human-in-the-loop approvals and a Chat Executor for integrating LLMs into workflows

Use Cases

  • Replace scattered cron jobs with a visual, auditable DAG system for server maintenance and operational scripts
  • Orchestrate multi-step CI/maintenance workflows that mix local scripts, SSH calls, and containerized tasks
  • Run distributed data-processing pipelines across multiple worker nodes with centralized monitoring and retries

Limitations and Considerations

  • Secrets management is not provided as a full built-in secret store; references and integrations (KMS/Vault/OIDC) are discussed/tracked as planned features
  • While Dagu supports distributed runs and queueing, very large cloud-native deployments may require external orchestration or custom scaling strategies

Dagu is designed for teams that want powerful orchestration with minimal operational overhead and straightforward local-first deployment. It emphasizes portability, simple YAML-based definitions, and an integrated UI for everyday workflow operations.

3kstars
223forks
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#2
AutoKitteh

AutoKitteh

Developer-first platform for durable workflow automation and orchestration, with code-based workflows, triggers, integrations, and API-first execution.

AutoKitteh screenshot

AutoKitteh is a developer platform for workflow automation and orchestration, focused on durable execution for long-running and reliable workflows. It provides an API-first runtime to deploy, trigger, run, and manage code-based automations with built-in integrations.

Key Features

  • Durable execution with automatic recovery for long-running workflows
  • Code-based workflows (primarily Python; also supports Starlark)
  • API-first platform with gRPC and HTTP interfaces
  • Triggers via webhooks and schedulers
  • Built-in integrations (e.g., Slack, GitHub, Gmail, Google Calendar, Twilio, and LLM providers)
  • Operational tooling for management, monitoring, and debugging via Web UI, CLI, and a VS Code extension

Use Cases

  • Automating internal business processes and backend workflows
  • DevOps/FinOps/MLOps automation with resilient, auditable executions
  • Building and operating AI-assisted automations and agents using existing integrations

Limitations and Considerations

  • JavaScript support is listed as coming soon, so language support may be incomplete depending on your needs

AutoKitteh fits teams that want the flexibility of writing automation logic in code while still getting a managed workflow runtime with durability, triggers, integrations, and operational controls. It is especially suitable for critical workflows where reliability and recoverability matter.

1.1kstars
40forks
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#3
CTFreak

CTFreak

On-premises IT task scheduler to centralize, schedule, and run scripts and commands across servers via SSH/WinRM, with workflows, logs, notifications, and an API.

CTFreak screenshot

CTFreak is an on-premises IT task scheduler designed to centralize scripts and operational jobs in one place, replacing scattered cron jobs and ad-hoc runbooks. It provides a fast, mobile-first web UI to execute tasks locally or remotely across heterogeneous environments.

Key Features

  • Remote executions on multiple nodes via SSH and WinRM, without installing agents
  • Task types for commands, Bash scripts, PowerShell scripts, Ansible playbooks, SQL scripts, and HTTP requests
  • Workflow engine to chain tasks sequentially or concurrently, including nested workflows
  • Team-based organization, centralized execution history, and consolidated logs
  • Notifications and alerting integrations (e.g., email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Telegram, Mattermost)
  • Issue tracking integrations (e.g., GitHub, Jira, Linear, YouTrack)
  • SSO support via OpenID Connect
  • REST API plus incoming webhooks for automation and integrations
  • Lightweight resource usage and simple deployment

Use Cases

  • Sysadmin/DevOps job orchestration: maintenance, updates, and operational scripts across fleets
  • Data engineering operations: run long or concurrent imports and calculations on distributed servers
  • Self-service operations for business users: safely trigger pre-defined IT tasks via a web UI

Limitations and Considerations

  • Some advanced capabilities and higher limits (e.g., unlimited tasks, broader notifier quotas) depend on the chosen edition

CTFreak fits teams that want a straightforward, lightweight alternative to heavier runbook automation platforms while keeping strong visibility into job history and failures. It is especially useful in mixed Windows/Linux environments thanks to SSH and WinRM support.

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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