Windmill
title: Windmill radar_quadrant: Platforms radar_ring: Assess radar_position: inner created: 2026-05-22 last_updated: 2026-05-22 related: ["Temporal", "Agno", "ContinuousIntegration"]
Windmill is a self-hostable open-source platform for converting scripts into internal tools: auto-generated UIs, scheduled workflows, webhook endpoints, and low-code dashboards. It supports Python, TypeScript (Bun/Deno), Go, Bash, SQL, GraphQL, Rust, and PowerShell.
Write a script with typed parameters. Windmill automatically generates a UI form from the parameter types, makes it schedulable via cron, triggerable via webhook, and composable into multi-step workflows — without additional configuration.
Scripts — any supported language, run on demand or on schedule. Dependencies are auto-installed per run.
Workflows — chain scripts into DAGs with branching, loops, parallel steps, and error handling. A visual flow editor handles most configurations; complex logic stays in code.
Triggers — cron schedules, webhooks, HTTP routes, Kafka consumers, WebSocket listeners, email ingestion.
App Builder — low-code UI builder layered on top of scripts and workflows. Build admin panels, dashboards, and data entry forms without frontend code.
Auto-generated UIs — every script gets a form UI instantly from its type signatures. Share with non-developers who can run scripts without touching code.
| Windmill | Airflow | Temporal | Retool | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Multi | Python only | Any (SDK) | N/A |
| Auto UI | Yes | No | No | Yes (paid) |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Workflow engine | Yes | Yes (DAG) | Yes (durable) | No |
| Performance | 13x vs Airflow | Baseline | High | N/A |
Windmill sits between Airflow (pipeline-focused, no UI) and Temporal (durable stateful workflows, no UI) for internal tooling use cases. Temporal remains the better choice for long-running, retry-heavy production workflows; Windmill is faster to adopt for operational scripts and internal dashboards.
Docker Compose quickstart with three files and a Postgres backend:
docker compose up
# Access at http://localhost
# Default: admin@windmill.dev / changemeHelm charts available for Kubernetes. Supports external Postgres (RDS, Cloud SQL, Neon).
Dual-licensed: AGPLv3 for open-source use; proprietary "Community Edition" for commercial deployments. Fine for self-hosted internal tooling; review terms before redistributing.
Windmill sits at Platforms → Assess inner. The script-to-UI-to-workflow pipeline covers a wide range of internal automation needs in one self-hosted platform. The Docker Compose quickstart has minimal friction. 16,600 stars, 1,393 releases, actively maintained. Trial gate: at least one internal script deployed as a scheduled workflow with a UI accessible to a non-developer.
