LCFG vs Salt
LCFG
lcfg.org
Salt
saltproject.ioSide by side
| Figure | LCFG | Salt |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Configuration Management Tools | 8.2 (#10) | 8.3 (#9) |
| License | The LCFG software is freely available under the GPL. | Salt is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license. |
| Purpose | LCFG automatically installs and manages configurations for large numbers of Unix systems, particularly at sites with diverse and rapidly changing configurations. | Salt is a Python-based, open-source framework for remote execution, configuration management, automation, provisioning, and orchestration. |
| Support | LCFG provides an archived mailing list for discussion and announcements, and its package documentation directs bug reports and feedback to [email protected]. | The project directs users to GitHub issues for bugs and problems and to Discord for community technical support and discussions. |
| Supported systems | The FAQ lists Fedora Core 3, 5, and 6 and Scientific Linux 5 as supported releases, while warning that Solaris is less supported and un-packaged for distribution. | Salt is tested and packaged for CentOS, Debian, RHEL, Ubuntu, macOS, Windows, and more. |
Plans
In their own words
LCFG
LCFG is a free, GPL-licensed system for automatically installing and managing configurations across large groups of Unix machines. It targets sites where systems differ and change frequently. Administrators keep source settings on a central server; LCFG compiles them into XML profiles that clients download when changes occur. Client components react to resource changes by generating configuration files and reconfiguring related daemons. A package component aligns installed software with each machine’s profile. New machines can be installed over a network file system after source files are created, using a boot floppy or PXE. LCFG is self-hosted and agent-based, with patch management and HTTP resource transport. Listed supported platforms include Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, and 24.04; FAQ material also names Fedora Core 3, 5, and 6 and Scientific Linux 5. Solaris support is weaker and un-packaged, Mac OS X is experimental, and the demonstration Windows client lacks real components. Documentation covers configuration, dynamic networking, and build tools.
Salt
Salt is a free, open-source framework for remote execution, configuration management, provisioning and infrastructure orchestration. A single execution can run commands across thousands of systems in seconds. A typical setup has a master managing minions, but Salt also supports agentless operation through salt-ssh or salt-proxy and stand-alone use. Salt states define configurations that can be extended and layered, while orchestration can order work by dependency, such as preparing a load balancer before a web-server cluster. Salt Cloud provisions systems on cloud hosts and hypervisors and can connect new virtual machines to a master. Its documented providers include Amazon EC2, Google Compute Engine, Azure, OpenStack, DigitalOcean, Linode, VMware and Proxmox. SaltStack Config adds a web interface, role-based access control, multi-master support, reporting and an enterprise API, along with LDAP, SAML, OIDC and Active Directory integrations. Salt uses RSA key authentication and encrypted master-minion communication. It is self-hosted and licensed under Apache 2.0.