Is Dagu a good alternative to Apache Airflow?

Yes! Dagu is an excellent alternative to Apache Airflow for teams wanting simplicity. It's a single binary with zero dependencies (no database or message broker needed), installs in seconds, and provides the same core DAG workflow capabilities with a beautiful web UI.

What makes Dagu different from Airflow?

Dagu is lightweight (single binary vs Airflow's complex infrastructure), language-agnostic (not Python-only), has zero external dependencies, and can be set up in minutes instead of days. Perfect for teams who find Airflow overly complex.

Can Dagu replace Apache Airflow?

Yes, Dagu can replace Airflow for most use cases. It supports DAG workflows, scheduling, retries, dependencies, and monitoring - all the core features teams use in Airflow, but in a much simpler package.

$ Welcome to the future of workflow orchestration

🎉 NEW IN v1.23

GitHub Actions ExecutorLearn More →

COMMUNITY

Understanding Partial Success in DAG SystemsRead →

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Orchestrate anything. Local, remote, containers. All in simple YAML.Orchestrate anything. Local, remote, containers. All in simple YAML.

~ instant setup

# Get started instantly

$curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dagu-org/dagu/main/scripts/installer.sh | sh

✓ dagu installed successfully

$dagustart-all

✓ Web UI ready at http://localhost:8080

Quick Start Guide

View Examples View on GitHub

Simple

No complex setup

Powerful

Enterprise ready

Portable

Single binary

Compose anything in YAML

Local scripts, remote commands, containers. All unified in simple, readable workflows.

workflow.yaml

schedule: "0 0 * * *" # Runs at 00:00 everyday

steps:
  - name: local script
    command: python data_extract.py

  - name: remote command
    executor: ssh
    command: backup_database.sh

  - name: docker container
    executor: docker
    command: python:3.11 python process.py

Air-Gapped Ready

Works offline and in isolated environments. No database, no external services, no internet required.

Universal Execution

Run anything: local scripts, remote SSH commands, Docker containers, HTTP calls, and more.

Instant Setup

Download, run, done. Start orchestrating workflows in minutes with sensible defaults.

Production Ready

Workflow Engine Features

Packed with production-ready features in a single binary. No complexity, just power.

NEW

🆕 GitHub Actions

Run any GitHub Action locally without CI/CD platform - 20,000+ actions available

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Compose anything in YAML

Air-Gapped Ready

Universal Execution

Instant Setup

Workflow Engine Features

🆕 GitHub Actions

Nested Workflows

Distributed Execution

Docker Integration

Shell Commands

Conditional Steps

Automatic Retries

Repeat Policy

Environment Variables

Rich Web UI

Authentication

Email Notifications

Advanced Scheduler

Timezone Support

Remote Command Execution

Queue Management

Quickstart

Install Dagu

Create a workflow

Run it

Explore the Web UI

Architecture

Interfaces

Core Components

File-Based Storage

Join the Movement

Join the community to develop Dagu

GitHub

Discord

Documentation