Capistrano vs Deployer
Capistrano
capistranorb.com
Deployer
deployer.orgSide by side
| Figure | Capistrano | Deployer |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Deployment Automation Software | 7.8 (#22) | 8.7 (#3) |
| Deployment | It can deploy web applications to multiple machines simultaneously, in sequence, or as a rolling set. | It uses atomic symlink switching for zero downtime deployments and says a failed deployment can be rolled back in one command. |
| License | The project is distributed under the MIT License and states that it is provided without warranty. | The GitHub repository identifies Deployer as MIT licensed. |
| Purpose | Capistrano is a remote server automation and deployment tool written in Ruby. | Deployer describes itself as a PHP deployment tool for deploying PHP applications. |
Plans
In their own words
Capistrano
Capistrano has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Deployer
Deployer is a PHP deployment tool for sending applications to servers. It switches releases through atomic symlinks, so a deployment does not expose an incomplete state, and a failed release can be reverted with one command. The command line can list releases and return to the latest good release. Tasks run concurrently across selected hosts by default, with an option to limit concurrency. Projects describe hosts and tasks in deploy.php or deploy.yaml files and may add custom build tasks. Recipes cover Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, Drupal, Magento, CakePHP, CodeIgniter, Yii, Contao, Shopware, TYPO3, and Sulu. Deployer connects over SSH, can open an interactive SSH session, and includes a recipe for provisioning Ubuntu with firewall, PHP, database, and HTTPS configuration. Installation is available through Composer, Phive, a PHAR bundle, or Docker. CI/CD guidance covers GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, and Bitbucket Pipelines. It is free and open source, with Linux, macOS, API, and self-hosted options.