Capistrano vs Deployer
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A Ruby tool that runs deployment steps on your servers over SSH from the command line.
Open source · MIT
A PHP tool that automates deploying and provisioning PHP apps to servers.
The short answer
Choose Capistrano if you need…
- Developers who already deploy by logging into servers over SSH and want that process repeated reliably
- Teams deploying the same project to several stages such as staging and production
- Projects with multiple servers that need different tasks run on different roles
- Ruby or Rails teams who can use existing community Capistrano tasks
Choose Deployer if you need…
- PHP developers who deploy their own applications to servers
- Teams that want the same deployment steps run the same way every time
- People who want ready-made recipes for common PHP frameworks
- Projects that need server provisioning as well as deployment
Side-by-side
| Capistrano | Deployer | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Dev tool | Dev tool |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 13k | 11.1k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | See the README |
| Main language | Ruby | PHP |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 2 months ago |
What each one is
Capistrano
Capistrano is a framework for writing automated deployment scripts. You run the cap command, it connects to your servers over SSH, and it runs the steps needed to deploy your project. It is written in Ruby, but the README says it can deploy projects in other languages or frameworks, such as Rails, Java, or PHP.
Deployer
Deployer is an open-source tool written in PHP that automates putting web applications onto servers. According to its README, it offers automatic server provisioning, zero-downtime deployments, and ready-to-use recipes for most frameworks. People use it to replace manual copying of files and server setup steps with a repeatable process.
Best for
Capistrano
- Developers who already deploy by logging into servers over SSH and want that process repeated reliably
- Teams deploying the same project to several stages such as staging and production
- Projects with multiple servers that need different tasks run on different roles
- Ruby or Rails teams who can use existing community Capistrano tasks
Deployer
- PHP developers who deploy their own applications to servers
- Teams that want the same deployment steps run the same way every time
- People who want ready-made recipes for common PHP frameworks
- Projects that need server provisioning as well as deployment
Strengths
Capistrano
- Follows a standard deployment process by default, so less setup is needed to decide structure
- Can run tasks concurrently across many servers and uses connection pooling, according to the README
- Extensible through RubyGems, with community task libraries for several frameworks
Deployer
- Covers both provisioning and deployment in one tool, per the README
- Advertises zero-downtime deployments as a core feature
- Released under the permissive MIT license
Not ideal for
Capistrano
- People uncomfortable working on Linux servers from the command line, since the README says everything comes down to SSH commands
- Setups that cannot use key-based, passwordless SSH login, because the README says Capistrano depends on it
- Projects needing heavy sudo or interactive prompts, which the README says are difficult to do with Capistrano
- Teams wanting a tool that also provisions servers, since the README says provisioning is not done by Capistrano
Deployer
- Non-PHP projects, since the tool is built around PHP (reason: the README describes it as a PHP tool)
- People who only host on a fully managed platform and never touch servers (reason: the tool targets servers directly)
- Beginners with no command-line or server experience (reason: setup and use require terminal and server knowledge)
Trade-offs
Capistrano
- You must write or find tasks that tell it how to start or restart your application; it does not do this on its own
- Requires key-based SSH access and a POSIX shell on the server side, and server software must be installed separately
- Needs a Ruby environment (version 2.5 or higher per the README) on the local machine
Deployer
- The README is short and points to deployer.org for details, so specifics are not covered here
- Relies on the user's familiarity with PHP and server administration
- Scope is limited to PHP-oriented workflows
Getting started
Capistrano
Add to Gemfile (inside a development group, with require: false)
gem "capistrano", "~> 3.17", require: falseInstall gems with Bundler
bundle installDeployer
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/deployphp/deployer.gitFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Capistrano and Deployer?
Capistrano: A Ruby tool that runs deployment steps on your servers over SSH from the command line. Deployer: A PHP tool that automates deploying and provisioning PHP apps to servers. Capistrano suits developers who already deploy by logging into servers over ssh and want that process repeated reliably, while Deployer suits php developers who deploy their own applications to servers.
Are Capistrano and Deployer free?
Capistrano: Free and open source. Deployer: Free and open source.
Is Capistrano or Deployer more popular?
Capistrano has more GitHub stars (13k) than Deployer (11.1k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Capistrano and Deployer?
Other options people compare them with include Kamal, Fabric.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.