AWS CodeCommit
Managed source control service for hosting private Git repositories securely in AWS
Harness
End-to-End DevOps Platform with Git, CI/CD, and Registries
Self-hosted development platform combining Git hosting, automated pipelines, cloud development environments (Gitspaces), and artifact registries in a single Docker container.
Overview
What is Harness Open Source?
Harness Open Source is a comprehensive DevOps platform that unifies source control management, continuous integration/continuous delivery pipelines, hosted development environments (Gitspaces), and artifact registries into a single, self-hosted solution. Built as the next generation of Drone CI, it expands beyond pure continuous integration to deliver an end-to-end development workflow.
Who Should Use It?
Designed for engineering teams seeking an integrated alternative to fragmented toolchains, Harness eliminates the complexity of stitching together separate Git servers, CI/CD tools, and registry solutions. The platform runs entirely in Docker, making it accessible for teams of any size—from startups to enterprises—who want full control over their development infrastructure without vendor lock-in.
Deployment & Architecture
Deployment requires only Docker: a single command launches the complete stack on localhost:3000. The platform persists data through volumes and exposes both a modern web UI and REST API with Swagger documentation. Built in Go with a TypeScript/React frontend, Harness supports all major operating systems and architectures, enabling local development without containers while offering production-ready containerized deployment.
Highlights
Unified platform: Git hosting, CI/CD pipelines, Gitspaces, and artifact registries in one container
Single-command Docker deployment with persistent storage and automatic restarts
Full REST API with Swagger documentation and CLI for automation
Next-generation evolution of Drone CI with expanded DevOps capabilities
Pros
- Complete DevOps toolchain in a single, lightweight Docker image
- Self-hosted deployment ensures full data control and no vendor lock-in
- Active development backed by Harness with strong community (33k+ GitHub stars)
- Straightforward local setup for development and testing without containers
Considerations
- Still reaching feature parity with Drone CI for pipeline capabilities
- Relatively new platform compared to mature standalone tools
- Single-container architecture may require customization for high-availability scenarios
- Documentation primarily targets developers familiar with DevOps workflows
Managed products teams compare with
When teams consider Harness, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
Fit guide
Great for
- Teams consolidating fragmented Git, CI/CD, and registry tools into one platform
- Organizations requiring self-hosted DevOps infrastructure with full data sovereignty
- Development teams migrating from Drone CI seeking expanded capabilities
- Startups and SMBs wanting enterprise DevOps features without SaaS costs
Not ideal when
- Teams deeply invested in existing, specialized CI/CD platforms like Jenkins or GitLab CI
- Organizations requiring immediate feature parity with mature Drone CI installations
- Enterprises needing built-in high-availability clustering without custom configuration
- Users seeking a pure Git hosting solution without integrated CI/CD overhead
How teams use it
Consolidated DevOps Stack for Startups
Replace separate GitHub, CircleCI, and Docker Hub subscriptions with a single self-hosted platform, reducing costs and integration complexity while maintaining full control over code and artifacts.
On-Premises Development for Regulated Industries
Deploy complete source control and CI/CD pipelines within air-gapped or compliance-restricted environments, ensuring sensitive code and builds never leave internal infrastructure.
Drone CI Migration with Extended Capabilities
Transition existing Drone pipelines to Harness while gaining integrated Git hosting and artifact registries, eliminating the need to maintain separate SCM and registry services.
Rapid Prototyping with Gitspaces
Spin up hosted development environments directly from repositories, enabling distributed teams to collaborate on code without local environment configuration overhead.
Tech snapshot
Go59%
TypeScript36%
SCSS3%
Shell1%
JavaScript1%
PLpgSQL1%
Frequently asked questions
How does Harness Open Source relate to Drone CI?
Harness is the next generation of Drone, expanding from pure CI to a full DevOps platform with Git hosting, Gitspaces, and registries. Drone continues development on a separate branch while Harness works toward pipeline feature parity.
What are the minimum requirements to run Harness?
Docker is the only runtime requirement. For development, you need Node.js, Go 1.20+, and protobuf v3.21.11. The platform runs on any OS and architecture supported by Go.
How do I persist data across container restarts?
Mount volumes for `/var/run/docker.sock` and `/data` as shown in the installation command. Use bind mounts or named volumes to prevent data loss when the container stops.
Can I access Harness programmatically?
Yes. Harness provides a full REST API documented via Swagger at `localhost:3000/swagger`, plus a CLI for user management, PAT generation, and repository operations.
Is Harness suitable for production enterprise deployments?
Harness supports production use with persistent storage and restart policies, but teams with high-availability requirements may need to implement custom clustering or load balancing configurations.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 33,825
- Watchers
- 33,825
- Forks
- 2,887
LicenseApache-2.0
Repo age11 years old
Last commit5 days ago
Self-hostingSupported
Primary languageGo
Last synced 12 hours ago