Dagu is a self-hosted workflow engine for defining DAG workflows in YAML and managing runs, logs, and retries through a built-in web interface. It runs as a single binary locally or across distributed workers, without requiring an external database or message broker. Workflows can execute shell scripts, Docker containers, SSH commands, SQL queries, HTTP requests, chat completion steps, and Agent Harness steps. Scheduling supports cron with timezones, catchup windows, overlap and retry policies, zombie detection, lifecycle handlers, and notifications. Built-in actions include HTTP, mail, SSH, SFTP, Git, S3, Redis, LLM, browser, computer, SQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and DuckDB. Dagu also supports MCP connections from clients including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Zed, and Cline. The project is open source under GNU GPL v3.0. Its Community plan is free forever and includes unlimited servers and workers, with up to two API keys. Team costs 50.00 USD per month and Pro costs 150.00 USD per month; both add SSO, role-based access, audit logging, incident routing, and standard support.
Who it is for
Dagu suits developers and operations teams who want to define and manage workflows on self-hosted servers. Its Community plan supports unlimited servers and workers, while Team and Pro add access controls and audit logging.
What is good
- Runs locally or across distributed workers.
- Does not require an external database or message broker.
- Supports varied workflow steps, including SQL and HTTP.
- Community plan includes unlimited servers and workers.
- Open source under GNU GPL v3.0.
What to know first
- Community plan is limited to two API keys.
- Team and Pro licenses add a cost.
- Enterprise pricing is custom and not listed.
Verdict
Dagu combines YAML workflow definitions, scheduling, and run management in a self-hosted engine. Community is free, while paid licenses add security and support controls for teams.
Dagu plans and pricing
All plansCompared on workload automation software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $50/mo
- Deployment
- hybrid
- Workflow dependencies
- Yes
- Event triggers
- Yes
- Cross-platform execution
- Yes
- Audit logs
- Yes
