What is GitHub Actions?
GitHub Actions is a Continuous Integration (CI) platform provided by GitHub. It enables developers to automate their software workflows directly from their GitHub repository. With GitHub Actions, you can create workflows that build, test, package, release, and deploy your code. The platform integrates with GitHub, leveraging GitHub events such as commits, pull requests, and issues to trigger workflows.
GitHub Actions offers pre-built workflow automation through its marketplace, including many community-contributed actions. Developers can create custom actions using Docker containers or JavaScript, providing flexibility for complex pipelines. The YAML-based configurations make it easy to define workflows, allowing users to run concurrent jobs, conditional execution, and other features.
What is Jenkins?
Jenkins is an open-source automation server that enables developers to build, test, and deploy applications. It is one of the most popular CI tools and supports over 2,000 plugins to extend its capabilities. Jenkins automates parts of the software development process related to building, testing, and deploying, thereby increasing productivity by offloading these tasks from developers.
Jenkins is flexible and can support various languages and platforms, as evidenced by its vast plugin ecosystem. While it supports integration with many version control systems, Jenkins is known for its strong community support that continuously contributes to its development.
However, Jenkins was not designed for cloud-native environments and is more challenging containers and Kubernetes. Additionally, while it is sometimes used to run entire CI/CD pipelines, Jenkins is primarily a CI tool and cannot handle complex deployments without custom scripting.
Key features of GitHub Actions
GitHub Actions is packed with features for CI/CD workflows, especially for teams already using GitHub:
- Automated workflows: GitHub Actions enables teams to automate workflows such as building, testing, and deploying code in response to specific events, like a code push or a pull request in the repository.
- GitHub integration: It integrates directly with GitHub repositories, allowing teams to take advantage of GitHub’s security features, including access controls and code scanning.
- YAML-based workflow configuration: Workflows in GitHub Actions are defined using YAML files, which allows teams to set conditions, triggers, and steps for automation.
- Detailed logs and visualization: GitHub Actions offers detailed logs and visual representations of workflows, making diagnosing and resolving issues easier.
- Artifact publishing and release management: Teams can use GitHub Actions to publish artifacts and manage releases.
- Event-triggered automation: GitHub Actions can initiate workflows based on repository events, such as code pushes, pull requests, or issue creation.
- Parallel jobs and matrix builds: GitHub Actions supports running tasks on multiple platforms simultaneously using parallel jobs and matrix builds.
- Cloud and self-hosted options: While GitHub Actions is a fully managed cloud service, it also supports self-hosted runners, giving teams flexibility in where they want to run their workflows.
Key features of Jenkins
Jenkins offers a range of features that make it a tool for automating CI/CD pipelines:
- Automated testing and error detection: Jenkins automates the process of building and testing code changes in a shared repository. By catching errors early in the development process, it helps maintain code quality and reduces the risk of bugs slipping into production.
- Support for multiple testing frameworks: Jenkins supports unit, integration, and regression testing frameworks. This flexibility allows development teams to cover various aspects of software testing.
- Distributed builds: Jenkins can distribute build tasks across multiple machines, reducing build times and improving efficiency. This feature is particularly beneficial for large projects, as it allows parallel testing on different machines.
- Custom pipelines: Jenkins allows teams to create custom build and deployment pipelines using its scripting language. This lets teams tailor the CI/CD pipeline to their specific requirements.
- Security and authentication: Jenkins integrates with security platforms, offering authentication and authorization options. This ensures that the CI/CD workflow remains secure, even when dealing with sensitive projects or environments.
- Version control system integration: Jenkins integrates with version control systems like GitHub, enabling automated builds and deployments triggered by changes in the codebase.
- Reporting and dashboard features: Jenkins provides detailed insights into build statuses, test results, and performance metrics through its dashboard. This transparency helps teams track their project’s progress and identify issues quickly.
Adoption trends for Jenkins versus GitHub Actions
Based on a recent report by JetBrains, GitHub Actions has experienced rapid adoption, particularly among teams already using GitHub for version control. Jenkins remains a dominant player but is gradually losing market share.
According to the report:
- GitHub Actions grew from 0 to 51% of surveyed teams between 2019-2023, a rapid adoption rate.
- Jenkins was used by 59% of respondents in 2019 and is in gradual decline, with only 54% of respondents using it in 2023.
GitHub Actions vs. Jenkins: The key differences
1. Developer experience
Jenkins and GitHub Actions offer distinct developer experiences. Over a decade in development, Jenkins provides a vast plugin ecosystem that covers almost any tool or framework a developer might need. However, navigating this ecosystem can be overwhelming, and finding the right plugin often requires effort. In addition, Jenkins workflows are written in Groovy, a language that can be challenging for developers unfamiliar with Java-based technologies.
GitHub Actions, while newer and lacking the extensive plugin history of Jenkins, simplifies the user experience by using YAML to define workflows. This makes it easier for developers, especially those newer to CI/CD, to create and manage pipelines. The flexibility of Community Actions within GitHub Actions also offers a range of options, though it is more limited compared to Jenkins in terms of available plugins.
2. Hosting
The hosting models for Jenkins and GitHub Actions differ significantly. Jenkins requires users to host their own servers, whether on-premises or in the cloud, and manage infrastructure, updates, and backups. This approach provides flexibility but increases operational complexity.
GitHub Actions, on the other hand, is a fully managed service. GitHub hosts and manages the runners (execution environments), making infrastructure concerns mostly invisible to users. This reduces the operational burden, although users can also opt for self-hosted runners if they need more control over their environments.
3. Security
Both Jenkins and GitHub Actions require careful attention to security. Jenkins, with its vast ecosystem, requires users to vet and manage the security of their plugins and environments. Jenkins can be hosted on-premises or in the cloud, providing complete control over security measures.
GitHub Actions introduces different security concerns, particularly in the public SaaS version (GitHub.com), where anyone can submit pull requests to public repositories, potentially executing malicious code. Private repositories and GitHub Enterprise offer more control, but security remains a shared responsibility between GitHub and the user.
4. Operational complexity
Jenkins requires significant operational overhead, as users must manage the servers, nodes, and updates. This complexity grows with the scale of the environment, requiring dedicated infrastructure teams for large setups.
GitHub Actions, especially when using GitHub-hosted runners, significantly reduces operational complexity. Since GitHub manages the infrastructure, teams can focus on defining workflows without worrying about maintaining servers. However, if teams opt for self-hosted runners, operational complexity increases as they must manage the underlying infrastructure.
5. Cost
Jenkins can be cost-effective as an open-source solution, with no licensing fees. However, it does have a cost because organizations must deploy servers to host Jenkins and its nodes and spend time managing the system. CloudBees offers enterprise options with additional features for organizations willing to pay for premium support and functionality.
GitHub Actions operates on a pay-as-you-go model, charging based on job runtime. While free minutes are available for open-source projects or personal use, costs can escalate for larger teams or extensive CI/CD processes. Using self-hosted runners can mitigate costs but increases operational overhead.
6. Community and ecosystem
Jenkins has a massive, mature community with thousands of plugins, making it a highly customizable and adaptable tool. This extensive ecosystem ensures broad support for various use cases, from building and testing to deployment.
GitHub Actions has a growing community and marketplace with numerous pre-built actions. While its ecosystem is smaller than Jenkins, GitHub Actions is rapidly expanding due to its integration with GitHub’s platform.
Jenkins versus GitHub Actions: How to choose?
When deciding between Jenkins and GitHub Actions, several factors must be considered based on the needs of your project or organization. Here’s a breakdown of key considerations to help guide your decision:
Existing infrastructure:
- If your team already has experience managing infrastructure or is running a significant number of on-premise services, Jenkins might be a better fit. Jenkins requires more infrastructure management but provides deep flexibility in deployment environments.
- GitHub Actions’ fully managed model offers simplicity if you prefer not to manage servers or want a quicker setup.
Team expertise:
- Jenkins is ideal for teams with expertise in Java-based technologies, as its pipelines are defined using Groovy scripting. The extensive plugin ecosystem provides additional functionality, but it can be daunting for less experienced users.
- GitHub Actions, with its YAML-based workflow definitions, is more approachable for developers newer to CI/CD, especially those already familiar with GitHub.
Project scale:
- For large organizations with complex CI/CD pipelines requiring custom plugins, distributed builds, and highly specific configurations, Jenkins’ flexibility and scalability stand out.
- GitHub Actions, however, is often a better option for smaller to medium-sized projects or teams already integrated with GitHub, providing a more streamlined experience with minimal operational overhead.
Plugin ecosystem versus marketplace:
- Jenkins has a mature ecosystem with thousands of plugins, giving users extensive options to extend functionality and integrate with virtually any tool in the software development lifecycle. While powerful, managing plugins can become challenging due to plugin compatibility issues and the need for frequent updates.
- GitHub Actions features a growing Marketplace of reusable actions contributed by the community. While smaller, the Marketplace benefits from easier discoverability and built-in GitHub integration, simplifying the process of finding and using new actions.
Customization versus simplicity:
- Jenkins provides almost unlimited customization options, allowing users to configure pipelines and environments down to the smallest detail. This is beneficial for teams needing a highly tailored CI pipeline. However, this level of customization can introduce complexity, making it harder to maintain over time.
- GitHub Actions opts for simplicity and ease of use, particularly for teams that already work within the GitHub ecosystem. While less customizable than Jenkins, GitHub Actions offers a more intuitive setup and maintenance process, especially for teams with straightforward requirements.
Ultimately, the choice between Jenkins and GitHub Actions depends on your team’s experience, security needs, scale of the project, and whether you prefer the flexibility of managing your infrastructure or the simplicity of a managed service.
Octopus: The ultimate alternative to GitHub Actions and Jenkins for complex deployments
CI is not CD. Most all-in-one CI/CD tools weren’t designed to handle the complexities of CD at scale. Octopus was, and it makes it simple.
At the start, most CI/CD tools can handle the basics. But as your applications evolve and become more complex, your deployment scripts become thousands of lines of code you need to manage.All-in-one tools are still a box of parts that need building. They don’t ‘just work’.
Octopus takes over from your CI tool and handles CD release, deployment, and operations in advanced ways that no CI tool can. Teams using Octopus can look forward to deployment time. Deploying to production should be a non-event that you can do anytime.
Find out more or start a trial to see how it works.
Help us continuously improve
Please let us know if you have any feedback about this page.
