Woodpecker

What it is for

Woodpecker is an open-source CI desk: you open a Pipeline run, and the Apache-2.0 license is $0. Use it when the job is pipelines you start at $0 on your host, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is the official Woodpecker pipeline log (woodpecker-ci/woodpecker pipeline #38548, clone / vendor / build-web steps, Step logs) from the docs still — not a pricing card. The log itself is ops of Pipelines. There is no public Woodpecker Cloud dollar on the site we fetched.

Key features

• Pipelines — a YAML workflow the agent runs after a forge event (pipeline still; docs). One run. Cover steps (clone, vendor, build-*) and Step logs are ops of this. Debug / restart sit here. A badge is chrome.
• Repositories — a Git repo you connect from Gitea / GitHub / GitLab / Forgejo (docs). A repo, not a run. Org-level defaults sit on Admin.
• Secrets — an org- or repo-scoped value injected at run time (docs). A secret, not a step. Registry credentials are ops of this.
• Agents — a worker that pulls and executes a Pipeline (docs). A machine, not a repo. Labels that pin a pipeline to an agent sit here.
• Self-host / admin — the Apache-2.0 server you run plus users, orgs, and forge OAuth (GitHub; LICENSE). A control plane, not a pipeline. $0 is the license. Hosting, agents, and the forge are your bill.

Plugins and the CLI are install. Cron and deployment extensions are options of Pipelines.

Who it's for

Best fit: teams who already run Gitea / Forgejo / GitHub and will stay on the Apache self-host at $0 while they open a first pipeline log, then keep self-hosting because Woodpecker does not print a hosted Cloud dollar.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from the Apache License 2.0 and woodpecker-ci.org. The product site is the self-host docs; it does not print a Cloud tile.

• Open Source (self-host) — $0. Apache-2.0. You run the server + one or more agents + a forge. Confirmed by the repo LICENSE (“Apache License / Version 2.0”).
• Hosted Cloud — not offered as a public $ tile on the pages we fetched. Do not invent a Woodpecker Cloud dollar (and do not confuse this CI with the unrelated Woodpecker cold-email SaaS).

Confirm your own VM / registry / forge bill; taxes follow that host.

Limitations / costs

• $0 is the license, not the agent VM. A busy builder still costs CPU.
• You need a forge. Woodpecker does not replace Gitea; it runs pipelines against it.
• No first-party YouTube walkthrough listed on @woodpecker-ci the day we fetched. Do not embed the cold-email “Woodpecker” channel.
• A CI desk, not a PaaS. For Git-to-VM deploys see Coolify. For CI-as-code functions see Dagger.

Alternatives

• Dagger — CI-as-code when the pipeline should be a portable SDK, not a Woodpecker YAML on your agent.
• Coolify — self-host deploys when the job is a running app, not a build log.
• Gitea — the forge itself when you want Actions-on-the-forge, not a separate Woodpecker server.

Official tutorial

The @woodpecker-ci handle resolved (title: Woodpecker CI) but the videos tab did not list a first-party walkthrough we could oEmbed on 2026-10-23. Use the written path. Do not embed third-party “Woodpecker” cold-email videos.

Written path: woodpecker-ci.org/docs plus the pipeline still.

Website

https://woodpecker-ci.org

Repository

https://github.com/woodpecker-ci/woodpecker

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is the official Woodpecker pipeline log from the docs still. Dollars checked on the Apache-2.0 LICENSE (self-host $0; no public Cloud $). No first-party YouTube embed.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.