Free Self-Hosted CI/CD.
Unlimited builds
No credits.
BuildNinja is a self-hosted CI/CD platform that runs on your own servers. No build credits. No seat limits. No vendor lock-in. Deploy with a single Docker command in under 5 minutes - and run as many builds as your team needs, forever free.
Self-hosted CI/CD built for teams who own their infrastructure
BuildNinja is a continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) platform that engineering teams install on their own servers. Unlike cloud-based CI/CD tools such as CircleCI or GitHub Actions - which charge per build credit, per seat, or per compute minute - BuildNinja has no usage fees. You run it on infrastructure you already control, and it costs nothing beyond the server itself.
The platform is built by GrapeCity, a software company with over 25 years of experience in developer tooling. BuildNinja was designed to solve a specific problem: most self-hosted CI/CD tools either require deep DevOps expertise to configure (Jenkins), or lock you into expensive enterprise contracts (CircleCI Server). BuildNinja deploys with a single Docker command, runs on any Linux, Windows, or macOS server, and works in isolated environments with no internet requirement.
For teams in regulated industries - healthcare, finance, defence, government - BuildNinja's self-hosted architecture means source code and build artefacts never leave your infrastructure. There is no third-party cloud processing your builds. This makes BuildNinja one of the few CI/CD solutions that satisfies data sovereignty, air-gap, and on-premise compliance requirements without a six-figure enterprise contract.
BuildNinja integrates natively with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket for version control, supports Docker and Kubernetes for deployment, and includes role-based access control, AES-256 secret encryption, and SSO via OAuth 2.0 and OIDC out of the box. An upcoming suite of AI features - including build failure prediction and intelligent configuration analysis - is in active development as part of the BuildNinja Intelligence roadmap.
You pay only for the server you choose to run it on
Single Docker command. No Kubernetes required.
Run 10 or 10,000 builds a day - no throttling
No third-party cloud processes your builds or source code
Native OAuth 2.0, OIDC, and SSH tunnel support
Build agents run on any platform your team uses
docker pull grapehub/buildninja-serverBuilt for teams who care about control
BuildNinja is used across company sizes and industries - anywhere teams need fast, reliable CI/CD without handing their build infrastructure to a third-party cloud.
Move fast without a mounting SaaS bill
Startups run high build volumes as they iterate quickly. CircleCI and GitHub Actions credits add up fast. BuildNinja gives early-stage teams the same CI/CD quality as enterprise tooling - at $0 platform cost. Spend the engineering budget on product, not build pipelines.
Healthcare, finance, and defence teams
When your compliance framework prohibits sending source code to external cloud providers, your CI/CD choices narrow quickly. BuildNinja runs entirely within your perimeter. Pair it with your existing access controls and secrets management infrastructure.
Teams escaping Jenkins complexity
Jenkins is powerful but operationally expensive - plugin conflicts, manual upgrades, Groovy expertise requirements, and an aging UI create ongoing maintenance burden. BuildNinja offers the same self-hosted, infrastructure-level control with a setup time measured in minutes, not days.
50–500 engineer orgs hitting seat limits
Per-seat CI/CD pricing is a growth tax. As your team expands from 10 to 50 to 200 engineers, your CI/CD costs scale linearly regardless of whether your build volume warrants it. BuildNinja's unlimited-user model means adding developers costs nothing.
Six reasons engineering teams choose self-hosted over SaaS
Cloud-based CI/CD tools are convenient until they're not. Growing teams consistently hit the same walls: cost, compliance, control, and credit limits. Self-hosted CI/CD eliminates all of them.
Cost that doesn't scale with usage
SaaS CI/CD tools charge per build minute or per credit. As your team ships faster, your CI/CD bill grows in lockstep. With BuildNinja, the server cost is fixed — run 100 builds or 10,000, the price stays the same. Self-hosted typically costs 80–90% less than comparable SaaS plans.
Data sovereignty for regulated industries
Healthcare, financial services, defence, and government teams cannot send source code to third-party cloud infrastructure. BuildNinja runs entirely within your perimeter, meeting HIPAA, SOC 2, and FedRAMP compliance requirements without a six-figure enterprise contract.
No vendor lock-in or credit exhaustion
Cloud CI/CD platforms can change pricing, discontinue features, or experience outages that halt your pipeline. When CircleCI changed its credit model in 2023, thousands of teams scrambled. With BuildNinja on your infrastructure, your CI/CD is independent of any vendor's business decisions.
Air-gapped and offline environments
Some engineering environments have no internet access by design — classified government systems, industrial control networks, highly secure financial infrastructure. SaaS CI/CD tools fundamentally cannot operate here. BuildNinja runs fully offline once deployed.
Faster builds on hardware you spec
Cloud CI/CD runs on shared compute you cannot directly optimise. If you need more CPU or memory, you pay more per build. With BuildNinja, you choose your build hardware — provision exactly what your workloads need.
Full control without DevOps overhead
Jenkins offered self-hosted CI/CD but required extensive plugin management, manual upgrades, and deep Groovy scripting knowledge. BuildNinja offers the same infrastructure control with a fraction of the operational overhead — one Docker command replaces weeks of configuration.
Everything a modern CI/CD platform needs - built in, not bolted on
BuildNinja ships with the features engineering teams actually need, without requiring a plugin ecosystem to reach production-grade functionality.
Build automation and pipeline scheduling
BuildNinja supports full pipeline automation with cron-based scheduling, multi-stage pipeline definitions, and intelligent dependency resolution between build steps. Configure triggers per branch, tag, or pull request event. Run parallel stages across multiple build agents to reduce end-to-end build time.
Native Git and version control integration
Connect BuildNinja to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or any self-hosted Git server with full OAuth 2.0 and OIDC authentication. BuildNinja's intelligent Git caching reduces repository clone times dramatically on repeated builds by persisting the Git object store between pipeline runs.
Multi-platform build agents
BuildNinja's distributed agent architecture lets you run build agents on Windows, Linux, and macOS - simultaneously. Agents register with the server and advertise their capabilities. The pipeline scheduler automatically routes builds to the right agent based on platform requirements.
Enterprise security and RBAC
Role-based access control (RBAC) operates at both the system level and individual project level. All secrets are encrypted with AES-256 before storage. Single sign-on works via GitHub, GitLab, Google, Microsoft, Bitbucket, and custom OIDC providers.
Real-time build dashboards
BuildNinja's dashboard updates every 10 seconds without page refresh. Filter build logs by agent, pipeline step, or time range. View historical build performance trends across projects. The high-density dashboard design is optimised for engineering leads.
Docker and Kubernetes deployment
Deploy build artefacts directly to Docker or Kubernetes environments from within the pipeline. BuildNinja supports canary deployment strategies for zero-downtime releases. Environment-specific secrets are injected at deploy time.
Integrate BuildNinja with Your Entire DevOps & CI/CD Tech Stack
Accelerate your pipelines. BuildNinja brings enterprise-grade compilation speed and security to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Docker, Kubernetes, and your daily developer tools.
GitHub Integration
Connect your GitHub repositories for seamless version control integration with intelligent caching and scheduled build automation.
GitLab Integration
Deep integration with GitLab for seamless version control, intelligent repository caching, and streamlined Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication.
Bitbucket Integration
Deep integration with Bitbucket for native version control, intelligent git caching, and seamless SSO authentication.
Google Integration
Connect your Google account or Google Workspace for secure, streamlined OAuth authentication and Single Sign-On (SSO).
Microsoft Azure AD SSO
Integrate with Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) for secure enterprise-grade Single Sign-On (SSO) and streamlined access management.
Docker Containerization
Package and build standard Docker container images. Cache layers automatically for ultra-fast incremental containerization.
Kubernetes Orchestration
Deploy compiled artifacts to local or managed Kubernetes clusters with zero downtime using canary strategies.
SSH Deployment
Securely connect and deploy to remote servers using SSH key authentication and automated execution of deployment scripts.
Command Line Terminal
Execute custom commands and build scripts directly in a native terminal environment on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Script Runner
Run bash, PowerShell, or custom scripts as part of your CI/CD pipeline steps with environment variable support.
MSBuild compilation
Compile .NET and C++ projects using MSBuild integration, optimized for fast and efficient windows builds.
VSTest execution
Execute unit tests and integration tests using VSTest runner, with automatic test results parsing and reporting.
BuildNinja vs CircleCI, Jenkins, and GitHub Actions
Every major CI/CD tool charges more as your team or build volume grows. BuildNinja doesn't. Here's how the pricing models compare for a team running 200 builds per day.
| Feature | BuildNinja | CircleCI | GitHub Actions | Jenkins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost (200 builds/day) | Server infra only | ~$800–1,200/mo | ~$300–450/mo | Server infra only |
| Build pricing model | No credits - unlimited | Per credit consumed | Per compute minute | Free (self-hosted) |
| Per-seat fees | None | Scales with team | Scales with team | None |
| Self-hosted setup | 1 Docker command | K8s + enterprise plan | Runner required | Complex - war file + plugins |
| Setup time | Under 5 minutes | Minutes (SaaS sign-up) | Minutes (SaaS sign-up) | Hours to days |
| Data sovereignty / on-premise | Full - your servers | SaaS cloud only | GitHub cloud | Full (self-managed) |
| Air-gapped / no internet | Supported | Not possible | Not possible | Supported |
| Modern UI + dashboards | Built-in, no plugins | Built-in | Built-in | Plugin-dependent |
| AI build intelligence | Coming v1.2.0 | Limited | Limited | Not available |
| Interactive sandbox (no install) | Live Dojo | Not available | Not available | Not available |
* Cost estimates based on publicly listed pricing for a 50-person team running 200 builds/day at 6 minutes average duration. CircleCI Performance plan at $15/user/mo + credit overages. GitHub Actions Team plan at $4/user/mo + compute overage. BuildNinja and Jenkins are self-hosted — server infrastructure cost only.
The Next Evolution: BuildNinja Intelligence
Make your CI/CD not just automated, but intelligent. No ML expertise required to benefit from our upcoming suite of AI tools.
Configuration Analysis
Leverage integrated AI models to intelligently analyze and evaluate your build configurations for better orchestration.
Logs Analysis
Intelligently analyze detailed build execution logs with AI to detect issues and present them in human-readable terms.
Build Prediction
Utilize AI models to accurately predict the eventual success of your build processes before they complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is BuildNinja cloud-based or self-hosted?
Self-hosted only. BuildNinja runs on your own infrastructure - Windows, Linux, macOS, Docker, or Kubernetes. Your code, credentials, and builds never leave your network.
Is BuildNinja really free?
Yes. BuildNinja is free with no usage fees, no per-build credits, and no per-seat charges. You self-host it on your own server or cloud infrastructure - a VPS, bare-metal server, or cloud VM you already manage. The platform itself has no cost. The only expense is the server you choose to run it on, which you control completely.
How is BuildNinja different from CircleCI?
CircleCI is a SaaS platform that charges per build credit and per seat. As your team grows and builds more frequently, your CircleCI bill grows proportionally. BuildNinja is self-hosted and has no platform fees - you run it on infrastructure you control. CircleCI's self-hosted "server" option requires Kubernetes and an enterprise contract; BuildNinja deploys with a single Docker command and requires no Kubernetes expertise.
How is BuildNinja different from Jenkins?
Jenkins is a powerful but operationally complex open-source CI/CD tool. It requires significant DevOps expertise to install, configure, and maintain - including managing a plugin ecosystem, resolving conflicts, and writing Groovy pipeline scripts. BuildNinja offers the same self-hosted control and infrastructure independence as Jenkins but deploys in under 5 minutes with a single Docker command, includes a modern web UI without plugins, and requires no Groovy knowledge.
Can I run BuildNinja in an air-gapped or offline environment?
Yes. BuildNinja is designed to operate fully offline once deployed. There is no phone-home requirement, no cloud dependency, and no external service calls required for normal operation. This makes BuildNinja suitable for air-gapped networks in classified, industrial, or highly secure financial environments where no internet connectivity is available or permitted.
Does BuildNinja work with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket?
Yes. BuildNinja has native integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and any self-hosted Git server. It supports OAuth 2.0 and OIDC for single sign-on authentication, and connects to version control systems via SSH tunnels with zero-trust architecture. Webhook-driven build triggers fire within seconds of a code push to any connected repository.
Is BuildNinja suitable for HIPAA or financial compliance requirements?
BuildNinja's self-hosted architecture means your build data and source code never touch a third-party cloud. This makes it well-suited for teams in regulated industries - healthcare, finance, defence, government - where data sovereignty and on-premise processing requirements are mandated. Combined with AES-256 encryption for secrets, role-based access control, and SSO support, BuildNinja provides the security infrastructure that compliance-sensitive teams require.
What are the minimum server requirements to run BuildNinja?
BuildNinja runs on any modern Linux, Windows, or macOS server with Docker installed. For small teams running up to 50 builds per day, a 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM server is sufficient. For teams running 200+ builds per day with parallel execution, an 8 vCPU / 16 GB RAM server is recommended. BuildNinja's agent architecture lets you distribute build load across multiple machines as your team grows.
What happens to my price when my team grows?
Nothing. With zero per-seat costs and unlimited configurations, your cost stays at zero regardless of your team size or project count.
Do I need a DevOps engineer to set up BuildNinja?
No. Engineer may set up BuildNinja in under 30 minutes. The Unified Installer handles server, agent, and database on Windows. Docker users pull one image and configure with environment variables.
Does it support macOS / Apple Silicon?
Yes. Full support for Apple Silicon (M-series) on both Server and Agent. You can run builds natively on your Mac infrastructure.
Stop paying per build.
Start owning your CI/CD.
Deploy in 5 minutes. Run unlimited builds. Pay nothing. Join the high-velocity teams moving to BuildNinja.