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Capistrano

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639
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232
Mina

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72
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9
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Capistrano vs Mina: What are the differences?

Introduction

Capistrano and Mina are both deployment tools used in web development. While they serve the same purpose, there are key differences between the two.

  1. Configuration: Capistrano relies heavily on configuration files, where developers need to define every aspect of the deployment manually. On the other hand, Mina adopts a more flexible and minimalistic approach with its configuration being written in Ruby code. This allows for easier customization and reduces the need for extensive configuration files.

  2. Deployment Speed: Mina is known for its faster deployment speed as compared to Capistrano. Mina achieves this by utilizing a parallel deployment strategy, allowing multiple tasks to run concurrently. In contrast, Capistrano follows a sequential deployment approach, where tasks are executed one after another. This difference in deployment strategy gives Mina an advantage in terms of speed.

  3. Execution Environment: Capistrano executes tasks directly on the remote server, requiring the server to have all the necessary dependencies installed. On the other hand, Mina performs tasks locally and merely triggers SSH commands remotely, thereby reducing the server-side dependencies. This difference allows Mina to have a lighter footprint on the target server.

  4. Flexibility: Mina provides a more flexible deployment process as compared to Capistrano. Mina allows developers to define their own tasks and incorporate them into the deployment process seamlessly. Capistrano, while also offering some level of flexibility through its built-in tasks, may require more effort to customize the deployment flow according to specific requirements.

  5. Ease of Use: Mina aims to provide a simpler and more straightforward deployment experience. With its Ruby-based configuration and concise documentation, Mina has a lower learning curve compared to Capistrano. Capistrano, on the other hand, has a steeper learning curve due to its extensive configuration options and reliance on SSH keys.

  6. Community and Support: Capistrano enjoys a larger and more active community compared to Mina. This translates into a wider range of resources, plugins, and community-driven solutions available for Capistrano. While Mina also has an active community, the overall community size may impact the availability of resources and support.

In summary, Capistrano and Mina have distinct differences in terms of their configuration approach, deployment speed, execution environment, flexibility, ease of use, and community support. The choice between the two ultimately depends on the specific requirements, preferences, and familiarity of the development team.

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Pros of Capistrano
Pros of Mina
  • 121
    Automated deployment with several custom recipes
  • 63
    Simple
  • 23
    Ruby
  • 11
    Release-folders with symlinks
  • 9
    Multistage deployment
  • 2
    Cryptic syntax
  • 2
    Integrated rollback
  • 1
    Supports aws
  • 6
    Easy, fast and light weight
  • 2
    Reusable task
  • 1
    Ruby

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What is Capistrano?

Capistrano is a remote server automation tool. It supports the scripting and execution of arbitrary tasks, and includes a set of sane-default deployment workflows.

What is Mina?

Mina works really fast because it's a deploy Bash script generator. It generates an entire procedure as a Bash script and runs it remotely in the server. Compare this to the likes of Vlad or Capistrano, where each command is run separately on their own SSH sessions. Mina only creates one SSH session per deploy, minimizing the SSH connection overhead.

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What companies use Capistrano?
What companies use Mina?
See which teams inside your own company are using Capistrano or Mina.
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What tools integrate with Capistrano?
What tools integrate with Mina?
    No integrations found

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    Blog Posts

    What are some alternatives to Capistrano and Mina?
    Fabric
    Fabric is a Python (2.5-2.7) library and command-line tool for streamlining the use of SSH for application deployment or systems administration tasks. It provides a basic suite of operations for executing local or remote shell commands (normally or via sudo) and uploading/downloading files, as well as auxiliary functionality such as prompting the running user for input, or aborting execution.
    Shipit
    Shipit is an automation engine and a deployment tool written for node / iojs. Shipit was built to be a Capistrano alternative for people who don't know ruby, or who experienced some issues with it. If you want to write tasks in JavaScript and enjoy the node ecosystem, Shipit is also for you.
    Docker
    The Docker Platform is the industry-leading container platform for continuous, high-velocity innovation, enabling organizations to seamlessly build and share any application — from legacy to what comes next — and securely run them anywhere
    Ansible
    Ansible is an IT automation tool. It can configure systems, deploy software, and orchestrate more advanced IT tasks such as continuous deployments or zero downtime rolling updates. Ansible’s goals are foremost those of simplicity and maximum ease of use.
    Chef
    Chef enables you to manage and scale cloud infrastructure with no downtime or interruptions. Freely move applications and configurations from one cloud to another. Chef is integrated with all major cloud providers including Amazon EC2, VMWare, IBM Smartcloud, Rackspace, OpenStack, Windows Azure, HP Cloud, Google Compute Engine, Joyent Cloud and others.
    See all alternatives