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Packer VS Gotty

Compare Packer VS Gotty and see what are their differences

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Contents:
  1. ยป Base Details
  2. ยป Reviews
  3. ยป Alternatives

Packer logo Packer

Packer is an open-source software for creating identical machine images from a single source configuration.

Gotty logo Gotty

GoTTY is a simple command line tool that turns your CLI tools into web applications.
  • Packer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-15
  • Gotty Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-27

Packer features and specs

  • Multi-Provider Support
    Packer supports a wide variety of providers such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, VMware, and more. This allows for flexibility and the ability to create machine images across different environments.
  • Automation
    Packer automates the creation of machine images, eliminating the need for manual image configuration and reducing the potential for human error.
  • Script Reusability
    Packer allows for the reuse of scripts and configuration files, enabling a consistent and repeatable process for image creation.
  • Parallel Builds
    Packer can build multiple images in parallel, which can significantly speed up the provisioning process.
  • Idempotency
    Packer ensures that the output machine image is always an identical result given the same input configuration, reducing the risk of inconsistencies.

Possible disadvantages of Packer

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The variety of features and flexibility that Packer offers can make it complex and challenging to learn, especially for beginners.
  • Limited Debugging Tools
    Packer's debugging tools are not as mature or as integrated as those found in some other DevOps tools, making troubleshooting more difficult.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Complex configurations with multiple builders and provisioners can become hard to manage and maintain, leading to potential errors.
  • No State Management
    Unlike Terraform, Packer does not manage state, which means users need to handle state management separately if required.
  • Dependency on External Tools
    Packer often relies on external scripts and tools for provisioning, which can introduce additional dependencies and complexities.

Gotty features and specs

  • Remote Access
    Gotty allows users to access terminal applications over the web, enabling remote command line operations without needing SSH access.
  • Ease of Use
    The setup process for Gotty is straightforward and easy, requiring minimal configuration to get started.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Gotty is written in Go, making it portable across different operating systems like Linux, macOS, and Windows.
  • No Client Installation Needed
    Clients can access the terminal via a web browser, eliminating the need for additional software installation on user devices.
  • HTML5-based
    The usage of HTML5 ensures a modern browsing experience with broad compatibility and no plugins required.

Possible disadvantages of Gotty

  • Security Concerns
    Gotty exposes terminal access over HTTP, which might be risky if not secured properly as it can lead to unauthorized access.
  • Limited to Terminal Applications
    Gotty is designed for running terminal-based applications only, so it may not be suitable for use cases requiring GUI-based applications.
  • Basic Authentication
    Gotty's authentication mechanism is relatively basic, relying on a single password, which may not be ideal for all use cases.
  • Network Dependency
    Accessing Gotty requires a stable network connection, and performance can be affected by network speed and latency.
  • No Built-in Authorization
    While Gotty can limit access with passwords, it doesn't natively support more sophisticated user role-based access control.

Analysis of Packer

Overall verdict

  • Packer is a valuable tool for organizations looking to streamline their image building process and maintain consistency across different environments. Its flexibility and wide range of features make it a strong asset in infrastructure automation and DevOps pipelines.

Why this product is good

  • Packer is considered a good tool because it automates the creation of machine images for multiple platforms from a single source configuration. This efficiency reduces errors and speeds up the deployment process. Packer is highly versatile and integrates well with various configuration management tools, broadening its applicability across different environments. It also supports multiple cloud providers, making it a great choice for multi-cloud strategies.

Recommended for

  • DevOps teams
  • Cloud infrastructure engineers
  • Organizations using multi-cloud strategies
  • Teams seeking automated and consistent image building processes
  • Developers looking to integrate infrastructure as code practices

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Packer and Gotty)

Packer

Gotty

DevOps Tools
100 100%
DevOps Tools
0% 0
Testing
0 0%
Testing
100% 100
Continuous Integration And Delivery
100 100%
Continuous Integration And Delivery
0% 0
Localhost Tools
0 0%
Localhost Tools
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 Packer and Gotty

Packer Reviews

Introduction to Top Open Source Virtualization Tools
Packer is notably light, high performing, and operates on every major operating system. It assembles and configures all the necessary components for a virtual machine then creates images that run on multiple platforms. Packer doesnโ€™t replace configuration management tools like Puppet or Chef; as a matter of fact, when creating images, Packer can utilize tools like Puppet or...
Source: www.getfilecloud.com

Gotty Reviews

We have no reviews of Gotty yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Gotty might be a bit more popular than Packer. We know about 13 links to it since March 2021 and only 9 links to Packer. 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.

Packer mentions (9)

  • Failed to connect to the host via SSH on Ubuntu 22.04
    If you have just upgraded to Ubuntu 22.04, and you suddenly experience either errors when trying to ssh into hosts, or when running ansible or again when running the ansible provisioner building a packer image, this is probably going to be useful for you. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
  • Create a minimalist OS using Docker Containers and Hashicorp Packer
    I am already using Hashicorp Packer at work and for personal projects and I wanted to test This idea out by wrapping it a single Packer Template file. This reduces the level of maintaining a lot of small scripts, Dockerfiles and configurations and the user can simply trigger a couple of Commands to get a minimalist OS at the end of the process. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
  • After self-hosting my email for twenty-three years I have thrown in the towel. The oligopoly has won.
    And while it is a slight increase in complexity, it can be an overall net gain in functionality, configurability and reliability. Much like Packer is far more reliable and practical than manually making VM images sitting in front of a terminal, even though making the initial configuration takes some time. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Customized Ubuntu Images using Packer + QEMU + Cloud-Init & UEFI bootloading
    Hashicorp Packer provides a nice wrapper / abstraction over the QEMU in order to boot the image and use it to set it up on first-boot. Instead of writing really long commands in order to boot up the image using QEMU, Packer provided a nice Configuration Template in a more Readable fashion. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
  • The journey of sharing a wired USB printer over the network
    Packer seemed like the perfect tool for the job. I have never used it before and wanted to get familiar with the tool. It doesn't come with ARM support out of the box, but there are two community projects to fill that niche. - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
View more

Gotty mentions (13)

  • Advent of Sysadmin 2025
    We used to run terminal in browser using https://github.com/yudai/gotty and the entire dev team remapped their Ctrl+w to Ctrl+`. We did frontend and backend development with this setup almost for 1.5 years. Muscles memory and till this date, always have the fear if my actual terminal will get closed if I use Ctlr+w :P. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Turn Your Android Tablet into an IDE with VSCode and Nix
    I use nix-on-droid to keep a dev environment on my phone. Sometimes I have an hour or two to kill in the university library. I use their computers' screens and keyboards, but I'm coding on my phone through a browser tab and https://github.com/yudai/gotty Beats the hell out of trying to be productive on Windows. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Show HN: A WireGuard Powered Remote Shell
    The shell itself doesn't really seem any better than e.g. [gotty](https://github.com/yudai/gotty), and there's a bunch more similar things, so at the moment, doesn't seem too useful... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • How to run functions on a remote server and get the result on my computer?
    (FYI: A fun manual remote terminal. Totally insecure, but fun.). Source: about 3 years ago
  • Terminal with web UI?
    Thank you for all the suggestions. I tried some of these and decided to go with GoTTY: Https://github.com/yudai/gotty. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Packer and Gotty, you can also consider the following products

Terraform - Tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure safely and efficiently.

Teleconsole - Teleconsole is a free service to share your terminal session with people you trust.

Puppet Enterprise - Get started with Puppet Enterprise, or upgrade or expand.

Pagekite - Bring your localhost servers on-line.

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service

Warp - Warp (Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform) is a high-speed software rasterizer tool designed for the accurate reproduction of bitmap graphics on modern microprocessor-based systems.

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