Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GitHub Actions VS Chocolatey

Compare GitHub Actions VS Chocolatey and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

GitHub Actions logo GitHub Actions

Automate your workflow from idea to production

Chocolatey logo Chocolatey

The sane way to manage software on Windows.
  • GitHub Actions Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-25
  • Chocolatey Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-22

GitHub Actions features and specs

  • Seamless GitHub Integration
    GitHub Actions are natively integrated with GitHub, making it easy to use within repositories and leverage other GitHub features such as issues, pull requests, and releases.
  • Custom Workflows
    Allows for the creation of complex and custom workflows using YAML syntax, providing flexibility to handle a variety of CI/CD processes.
  • Marketplace Access
    Access to GitHub Marketplace where a wide range of pre-built actions are available, allowing users to quickly set up workflows with minimal configuration.
  • Concurrent Execution
    Supports parallel execution of jobs, which can significantly reduce the time needed to run workflows by performing multiple tasks simultaneously.
  • Self-Hosted Runners
    Provides the ability to use self-hosted runners, offering more control over the environment and resources used for running workflows.
  • Cost-Efficient
    Includes a generous free tier, especially for public repositories, which can be cost-effective for projects with limited resource requirements.

Possible disadvantages of GitHub Actions

  • Complexity for Beginners
    Due to its powerful features and flexibility, setting up and managing GitHub Actions can be complex for users who are not familiar with CI/CD processes or YAML.
  • Limited to GitHub
    As a GitHub-specific product, GitHub Actions is tied to repositories hosted on GitHub, limiting its use for projects that are hosted on other version control platforms.
  • Billing for Additional Usage
    While there is a free tier, usage beyond the free limits incurs additional charges, which can become significant for high-frequency or resource-intensive workflows.
  • Resource Limitations
    GitHub Actions has limitations on available resources (such as CPU and memory) for runners, which can be restrictive for very resource-intensive tasks.

Chocolatey features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Chocolatey simplifies software installation with easy-to-use commands. You can quickly install, update, and uninstall software packages using simple commands in the command line.
  • Wide Range of Packages
    Chocolatey has a large repository of software packages, making it easier to find and install a wide range of applications without having to navigate through individual installer websites.
  • Automation and Scripting
    Chocolatey allows for the automation of software management tasks through scripting, which can save a lot of time, especially in enterprise environments where multiple machines need to be managed.
  • Integration with Configuration Management Tools
    Chocolatey integrates smoothly with popular configuration management tools like Ansible, Puppet, and Chef, making it a good choice for infrastructure as code (IaC) approaches.
  • Version Control
    Chocolatey provides version control options, allowing users to specify which version of a software package they wish to install.

Possible disadvantages of Chocolatey

  • Potential Security Risks
    Since Chocolatey packages can be created by anyone, there is a potential security risk if you're not careful about which packages you install. It is recommended to only use trusted sources.
  • Limited GUI
    Chocolatey is primarily a command-line based tool, which might not be user-friendly for those who prefer graphical user interfaces.
  • Commercial Licensing Costs
    While Chocolatey is free for personal use, advanced features and commercial use require a paid license, which might be a constraint for some organizations.
  • Dependency Issues
    Sometimes, packages may have dependency issues that need to be manually resolved, which can complicate what is otherwise a straightforward process.
  • Learning Curve
    For users unfamiliar with command-line tools or package managers, there may be a steep learning curve initially in understanding how to use Chocolatey effectively.

GitHub Actions videos

5 Ways to DevOps-ify your App - Github Actions Tutorial

More videos:

  • Review - Introducing GitHub Package Registry
  • Review - Automatic Deployment With Github Actions
  • Review - GitHub Actions - Now with built-in CI/CD! Live from GitHub HQ

Chocolatey videos

Chocolatey - The Package Manager For Windows Review

More videos:

  • Review - Chocolatey: A Windows Package Manager?
  • Review - Chocolatey Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GitHub Actions and Chocolatey)
DevOps Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Windows Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Continuous Integration
100 100%
0% 0
Package Manager
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GitHub Actions and Chocolatey

GitHub Actions Reviews

Top 10 Most Popular Jenkins Alternatives for DevOps in 2024
GitHub Actions is the CI/CD solution that’s built into GitHub, the most popular version control platform. It’s specifically designed to provide an intuitive experience for developers who want to run pipelines quickly without having to configure any separate software. Because it’s a managed SaaS service that’s specifically focused on CI/CD, there are no self-hosting...
Source: spacelift.io

Chocolatey Reviews

Comparing Package Managers
Chocolatey is more established and easier to host a custom repository (plus it runs in the system context). The deployment of applications and especially updating is not as easy as some of the other options, but if cost is an issue, it’s always a safe bet (I tend to include it as standard on an AVD build and then use Azure Runbooks to deploy and update applications by...
5 Best Windows package manager to use via command line
Chocolatey works for both Windows 10 and 7, it released in 2011, thus it has been around for quite some time now. This makes it one of the largest online repository to download and install various open source and closed source software packages for Windows OS. It offers both community and enterprise solutions. The best thing, one can easily visit the official website of...
6 Best Windows Package Manager to Auto-Update Apps (2020)
The name sounds amusing but you better take this app seriously. Chocolatey has the largest app repository and it supports PowerShell, command line, and even GUI. You name it and Chocolatey has that app. To install, you just need to type the following in command prompt and hit enter.
Source: techwiser.com

Social recommendations and mentions

GitHub Actions might be a bit more popular than Chocolatey. We know about 307 links to it since March 2021 and only 253 links to Chocolatey. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GitHub Actions mentions (307)

  • What tools can help streamline cloud deployment processes?
    If your code lives on GitHub (which it probably does), GitHub Actions should be your go-to for CI/CD. - Source: dev.to / 2 days ago
  • Getting started with FrankenPHP, Laravel and Docker
    My base target is used for development use, but my production target is used for production use. I'm using a GitHub Actions workflow to checkout my code, installing dependencies without development dependencies, and building my application. When that's done, I build the Docker image and send it to my container registry. - Source: dev.to / 15 days ago
  • Automating Voicebot Deployments for Amazon Connect
    In this post, I will share WebRTC.ventures' best practices in automating the deployment of AI-powered voice assistants for Amazon Connect, moving beyond manual, click-by-click setups to a robust, scalable Infrastructure as Code (IaC) approach. We’ll explore how to manage both static and dynamic resources, leverage tools like Terraform and AWS Serverless Application Model (SAM), and even set up an automated... - Source: dev.to / 22 days ago
  • Deploying a static Website with Pulumi
    The Python Pulumi code is deployed with GitHub Actions. This leverages static credentials for AWS embedded as repository secrets. I have implemented two workflows:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • As Visual Studio App Center closes, a look back, and what to use now?
    When Microsoft announced the App Center shutdown last year, they recommended an array of alternative tools from elsewhere in their developer toolkit and beyond to replace its capabilities. Users seeking an alternative to App Center's hosted build automation, or App Store deployment, capabilities can look to Azure DevOps Pipelines or GitHub Actions. For cloud-based on-device testing, they recommend external tool... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
View more

Chocolatey mentions (253)

  • Create Your Custom WSL from any Linux Distribution (Part-1)
    While the ArchWSL and Fedora WSL at MS Store may seem great at first before installing, these distros have often showed compatibility issues and sometimes very weird bugs; even conflicts with scoop or chocolatey apps. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Let’s build AI-tools with the help of AI and Typescript!
    Chocolatey Windows software management solution, we use this for installing Python and Deno. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Giving Kyma a little spin ... a SpinKube
    Authenticating with Kyma is a (in my opinion) unnecessary challenge as it leverages the OIDC-login plugin for kubectl. You find a description of the setup here. This works fine when on a Mac but can give you some headaches on a Windows and on Linux machine especially when combined with restrictive setups in corporate environments. For Windows I can only recommend installing krew via chocolatey and then install the... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Effective Neovim Setup. A Beginner’s Guide
    On a Windows machine, you can use Chocolatey by running the command. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Need Help with getting Haskell onto my Windows Laptop
    I've used WSL2 and GHC/Nix--worked without any issues. However, there is Chocolatey: https://chocolatey.org/. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GitHub Actions and Chocolatey, you can also consider the following products

CircleCI - CircleCI gives web developers powerful Continuous Integration and Deployment with easy setup and maintenance.

Ninite - Ninite is the easiest way to install software.

GitHub - Originally founded as a project to simplify sharing code, GitHub has grown into an application used by over a million people to store over two million code repositories, making GitHub the largest code host in the world.

Scoop - A command-line installer for Windows

Jenkins - Jenkins is an open-source continuous integration server with 300+ plugins to support all kinds of software development

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS