# harness vs LXC

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | harness | LXC |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 ✓ | 70/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 28 in CI/CD | #1 of 2 in Containers |
| GitHub stars | 38 746 ✓ | 5 288 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +319 ✓ | +24 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 ✓ | 2 |
| Latest release | v2.28.2 · 20 Apr 2026 | v7.0.0 · 30 Apr 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | C |

## Which one should you pick?

harness scores 80/100 against 70/100 for LXC, so it is the safer default.

harness ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for LXC.

If you want the quickest setup, harness is easier to run; LXC needs more configuration.

harness is growing faster right now (+319 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [harness](https://selfhost.directory/project/harness) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/harness.md)
- [LXC](https://selfhost.directory/project/lxc) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/lxc.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/harness-vs-lxc