Buildbot vs Hydra
Buildbot
buildbot.netHydra
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Buildbot | Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Continuous Integration Software | 8.1 (#21) | 8.5 (#11) |
| Integrations | Its documentation describes change sources for version-control systems and reporters that can send build status to GitHub or email. | Hydra jobset inputs can use Git checkout sources, and the documented examples use GitHub repositories. |
| Intended users | Buildbot is designed for teams that need configurable automation, including complex builds, mixed-language applications, and software-release tasks. | Hydra is intended for Nix and NixOS package developers and is not needed simply to use NixOS. |
| Purpose | Buildbot is an open-source framework for automating software builds, tests, and releases. | Hydra is a continuous integration service for Nix based projects. |
Plans
In their own words
Hydra
Hydra is a continuous integration service for projects based on Nix. It checks out project source periodically or continuously, builds it, runs tests, and produces reports. Work is organized into jobsets whose inputs can trigger builds when they change; jobsets can also depend on one another. Flake jobsets are supported when their outputs expose a hydraJobs attribute set. Jobs can produce packages, ISO images, or tarballs, and jobset inputs can use Git checkout sources. Hydra also provides a JSON API. It is aimed at Nix and NixOS package developers, not people who only need to use NixOS. Hydra is open source under GPL-3.0 and listed at free. It is self-hosted, with no hosted option listed, and running it is currently supported only on NixOS; the repository recommends the NixOS module for production. Flake evaluation is restricted from accessing files outside the Nix store. Some state is stored in the database, so backups are needed, and the wiki reports that hydra-queue-runner can sometimes leave queued builds unscheduled.