actions-runner-controllervsTailscale
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| actions-runner-controller | Tailscale | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 | 84/100 |
| Rank in category | #7 of 28 in CI/CD | #1 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 6 610 | 38 231 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +93 | +1 426 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 14 |
| Latest release | gha-runner-scale-set-0.15.1 · 23 Oct 2026 | v1.104.4 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Go | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Tailscale scores 84/100 against 71/100 for actions-runner-controller, so it is the safer default.
Tailscale ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for actions-runner-controller.
If you want the quickest setup, Tailscale is easier to run; actions-runner-controller needs more configuration.
Tailscale is growing faster right now (+1 426 stars in 30 days).
actions-runner-controller details →Tailscale details →