Ansible
IT automation and configuration management tool using simple YAML playbooks and agentless execution
Salt
Fast, scalable, event-driven automation for modern IT infrastructure
Salt is a Python‑based, event‑driven automation engine that configures, deploys, and manages servers, containers, network devices, and applications across all major operating systems.
Overview
Overview
Salt is an event‑driven automation platform built on Python, aimed at system administrators, DevOps engineers, and SREs who need to manage heterogeneous environments. It provides a unified framework to enforce desired state, prevent configuration drift, and orchestrate complex workflows across servers, virtual machines, containers, databases, and network gear.
Capabilities & Deployment
With pluggable modules and a flexible state system, Salt can automate OS provisioning, software installation, and service orchestration in real time. It runs on CentOS, Debian, RHEL, Ubuntu, macOS, Windows, and many other platforms, and is distributed as RPM, DEB, and generic installers via Broadcom’s Artifactory. The community‑driven ecosystem, backed by Broadcom, offers extensive documentation, security advisories, and active support channels such as Discord, Reddit, and the GitHub issue tracker.
Highlights
Event‑driven architecture for real‑time automation
Cross‑platform support including Windows, macOS, and Linux
Pluggable modules and customizable state definitions
Self‑healing capabilities that respond to outages automatically
Pros
- High execution speed and scalability
- Broad OS and device compatibility
- Strong open‑source community with enterprise backing
- Extensive documentation and security updates
Considerations
- Steeper learning curve for complex state files
- Requires Python runtime and related dependencies
- Master‑minion architecture may need additional infrastructure
- Documentation depth can be overwhelming for newcomers
Managed products teams compare with
When teams consider Salt, 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
- Large, heterogeneous IT environments needing unified automation
- Compliance and configuration‑drift prevention across many systems
- Real‑time orchestration of routine operational tasks
- Organizations that value open‑source tools with commercial support
Not ideal when
- Very small or single‑server setups where lightweight tools suffice
- Teams without Python expertise or desire to manage dependencies
- Environments that require a purely GUI‑driven management solution
- Highly regulated sectors that mandate certified proprietary software
How teams use it
Zero‑downtime OS patching
Automated rollout of patches across thousands of servers with automatic rollback on failure.
Network device configuration compliance
Consistently enforce switch and router configurations, detect drift, and remediate automatically.
Container fleet orchestration
Deploy and update container workloads across multiple hosts using Salt states.
Self‑healing web service
Detect service failures and automatically restart or replace instances to maintain availability.
Tech snapshot
Python97%
Shell2%
PowerShell1%
NSIS1%
C#1%
Jinja1%
Frequently asked questions
What programming language is Salt written in?
Salt is written in Python and uses YAML for its state definitions.
Which operating systems does Salt support?
Salt runs on CentOS, Debian, RHEL, Ubuntu, macOS, Windows, and many other platforms.
How can I install Salt?
Packages are available as RPM, DEB, and generic installers via Broadcom's Artifactory repositories.
Is commercial support available for Salt?
Broadcom contributes to the project and offers enterprise support through its Salt‑based products.
Where can I get help with Salt?
Community channels include Discord, Reddit, the mailing list, and the GitHub issue tracker.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 15,039
- Watchers
- 15,039
- Forks
- 5,565
LicenseApache-2.0
Repo age14 years old
Last commit3 days ago
Primary languagePython
Last synced yesterday