Find Open-Source Alternatives
Discover powerful open-source replacements for popular commercial software. Save on costs, gain transparency, and join a community of developers.
Discover powerful open-source replacements for popular commercial software. Save on costs, gain transparency, and join a community of developers.
Compare community-driven replacements for Chef in configuration management workflows. We curate active, self-hostable options with transparent licensing so you can evaluate the right fit quickly.
These projects match the most common migration paths for teams replacing Chef.
Why teams pick it
Easy installation via Nixpkgs or binary cache
Recent commits in the last 6 months
MIT, Apache, and similar licenses
Counts reflect projects currently indexed as alternatives to Chef.
Why teams pick it
Organizations able to maintain custom plugins
Stateless Rust‑based NixOS deployment tool with parallel execution
Why teams choose it
Watch for
Limited to NixOS targets
Migration highlight
Tag‑based rollout of web services
Deploys only hosts labeled with `web`, reducing downtime and simplifying staged releases.
Declarative multi-cloud deployment for NixOS machines
Why teams choose it
Simple, agentless automation for configuration, deployment, and orchestration.
Fast, scalable, event-driven automation for modern IT infrastructure
Automate infrastructure security and compliance across diverse environments
Teams replacing Chef in configuration management workflows typically weigh self-hosting needs, integration coverage, and licensing obligations.
Tip: shortlist one hosted and one self-hosted option so stakeholders can compare trade-offs before migrating away from Chef.
Watch for
Low‑maintenance mode; not ideal for brand‑new projects
Migration highlight
Cross‑provider web service cluster
Deploy identical service definitions to AWS and Hetzner, ensuring consistent configuration across regions.
Why teams choose it
Watch for
Performance can lag for very large inventories
Migration highlight
Zero‑downtime rolling application updates
Deploy new versions across load‑balanced servers without service interruption.
Why teams choose it
Watch for
Steeper learning curve for complex state files
Migration highlight
Zero‑downtime OS patching
Automated rollout of patches across thousands of servers with automatic rollback on failure.
Why teams choose it
Watch for
Full feature set requires a paid subscription
Migration highlight
Automated patch management
Keeps 500+ Linux servers up‑to‑date, reducing exposure to known vulnerabilities.