# harness vs Observal

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

| | harness | Observal |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 ✓ | 67/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 28 in CI/CD | #32 of 209 in AI Agents |
| GitHub stars | 38 745 ✓ | 4 533 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +318 | +1 210 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 33 ✓ |
| Latest release | v2.28.2 · 20 Apr 2026 | v1.15.1 · 16 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

harness scores 80/100 against 67/100 for Observal, so it is the safer default.

Observal ships more often: 33 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for harness.

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

Observal is growing faster right now (+1 210 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [harness](https://selfhost.directory/project/harness) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/harness.md)
- [Observal](https://selfhost.directory/project/observal) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/observal.md)

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