cdist vs Mgmt Config
cdist
cdi.stMgmt Config
mgmtconfig.comSide by side
| Figure | cdist | Mgmt Config |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Configuration Management Tools | 8.6 (#6) | 7.3 (#19) |
| Architecture | cdist uses push mode, needs no central server, and can be run from any computer. | The project contains an engine and a language. |
| Audience | The maker says cdist is used in environments ranging from small deployments to enterprise grade environments. | The project documentation describes its guides as intended for everyone, developers, contributors, or external developers, depending on the guide. |
| Documentation | The project provides manuals in HTML and man-page formats, including documentation for community-maintained contrib types. | The documentation site provides resource and function API references, a user guide, and contributor documentation. |
| Installation | cdist can be installed from Git or as a Python package using pip install cdist. | The getting-started guide requires a modern x86_64 (amd64) Linux distribution and lists dependencies for augeas, libvirt, and PackageKit. |
| Integrations | The project publishes a separate cdist-contrib repository for additional types not included in core cdist. | The project includes a Prometheus guide and documents a service API for external developers. |
| Purpose | cdist is a configuration management system positioned as an alternative to Ansible, Chef, or Puppet. | Mgmt is an open source automation tool for modeling infrastructure as code and running it autonomously. |
| Support | The maker offers community help through a Matrix room and an IRC channel, and says commercial support can be requested from ungleich. | The project directs community questions to its Matrix community and points enterprise product and service inquiries to m9rx.com. |
Plans
In their own words
cdist
cdist is a free, open-source configuration management system that applies a defined state to computers through shell scripts and cdist types. It is positioned as an alternative to Ansible, Chef, and Puppet. Types provide the extension mechanism, and the project says their results are idempotent, so outcomes do not depend on call order. cdist uses push mode: source computers connect to targets over SSH and apply configuration, without requiring a central server or an agent on the target. A target needs a POSIX-compatible shell and SSH server, while the source needs a POSIX-like shell, Python 3.5 or later, and an SSH client. The project lists a small core, standard types, and parallel execution. Installation is documented through Git or pip. Supported systems include Linux distributions, BSD systems, Mac OS X, and XenServer. Manuals are available in HTML and man-page formats, with community help through Matrix and IRC.
Mgmt Config
Mgmt Config has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.