actions-runner-controllervsharness
Two self-hosted CI/CD projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| actions-runner-controller | harness | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #7 of 28 in CI/CD | #3 of 28 in CI/CD |
| GitHub stars | 6 610 | 38 744 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +93 | +317 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 6 |
| Latest release | gha-runner-scale-set-0.15.1 · 23 Oct 2026 | v2.28.2 · 20 Apr 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Go |
Which one should you pick?
harness scores 80/100 against 71/100 for actions-runner-controller, so it is the safer default.
If you want the quickest setup, harness is easier to run; actions-runner-controller needs more configuration.
harness is growing faster right now (+317 stars in 30 days).
actions-runner-controller details →harness details →All CI/CD projects →