What is Dagu?

Dagu is a lightweight workflow engine built in a single binary with modern Web UI. Define any workflow in a simple, declarative YAML format and execute arbitrary workflows on schedule. Natively support shell commands, remote execution via SSH, and docker image. Dagu is a lightweight alternative to Cron, Airflow, Rundeck, etc.

How it Works

Dagu executes your workflows, which are defined as a series of steps in a YAML file. These steps form a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), ensuring a clear and predictable flow of execution.

For example, a simple sequential DAG:

steps:
  - echo "Hello, dagu!"
  - echo "This is a second step"

With parallel steps:

steps:
  - echo "Step 1"
  - 
    - echo "Step 2a - runs in parallel"
    - echo "Step 2b - runs in parallel"
  - echo "Step 3 - waits for parallel steps"

Or with explicit dependencies:

steps:
  - name: step 1
    command: echo "Hello, dagu!"
  - name: step 2
    command: echo "This is a second step"
    depends: step 1

Demo

CLI Demo: Create a simple DAG workflow and execute it using the command line interface.

Web UI Demo: Create and manage workflows using the web interface, including real-time monitoring and control.

Docs on CLI

Docs on Web UI

When to Use Dagu

Perfect for:

• Data pipelines and ETL
• DevOps automation
• Scheduled jobs and batch processing
• Replacing cron with something manageable
• Local development and testing

Not ideal for:

• Sub-second scheduling requirements
• Real-time stream processing

Quick Comparison

Feature	Cron	Airflow	Dagu
Dependencies	❌ Manual	✅ Python only	✅ Any language
Monitoring	❌ Log files	✅ Web UI	✅ Web UI
Setup Time	✅ Minutes	❌ Hours/Days	✅ Minutes
Infrastructure	✅ None	❌ Database, Queue	✅ None
Error Handling	❌ Manual	✅ Built-in	✅ Built-in
Scheduling	✅ Basic	✅ Advanced	✅ Advanced

Learn More

• Quick Start Guide - Up and running in 2 minutes
• Core Concepts - Understand how Dagu works
• Examples - Ready-to-use workflow patterns