Temporal

A durable execution platform: write workflows as ordinary code, and the Temporal server keeps them running through crashes, retries and long waits.

24.1k stars, 2.1k forks Go On GitHub since October 2019

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is Temporal?

With Temporal you write a workflow as normal code in an SDK for Go, Java, TypeScript, Python, .NET and other languages. The server records every step, so if a worker crashes, the workflow continues where it stopped, failed calls are retried, and a workflow can wait days for a timer or a signal. It started as a fork of Uber's Cadence and is developed by Temporal Technologies, founded by Cadence's creators.

Good fit if

  • You build payment, order or provisioning flows that must finish correctly even when services fail.
  • Your developers prefer workflows in code, with tests, over a visual editor or YAML.
  • You need long-running processes that wait for people or external events.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a lighter task queue to self-host: Hatchet needs only PostgreSQL and RabbitMQ.
  • You schedule data pipelines rather than application logic: Apache Airflow, Dagster or Kestra.

Before you adopt it

The server is MIT-licensed, with no paid parts in the repository, and contributors sign a contributor license agreement. Self-hosting means running and upgrading a distributed system with its own database, PostgreSQL, MySQL or Cassandra, plus Elasticsearch for advanced search. Temporal Cloud is the paid managed alternative.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 30 October 2026. Report a correction

Temporal health: is it still maintained?

83 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    572 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 31 October 2026.
    30 / 30
  • Contributors
    33 people wrote the latest 100 commits; the most active wrote 17% of them.
    20 / 20
  • Releases
    15 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v1.32.1, on 8 October 2026.
    19 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 56% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 9 days.
    8 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 5.7 of 10.
    6 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

Temporal license: is it open source?

Temporal uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI. Contributors sign a contributor license agreement, which lets the owner relicense their work later.

  1. October 2019First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT. A contributor license agreement is required.

How to run Temporal yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
develop/docker-compose/docker-compose.yml: 8 services (mysql, postgres, elasticsearch)
Setup effort
5 of 5, judged from the compose file
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: docs.temporal.io or the README on GitHub.

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All 33 projects in Workflow automation

Questions about Temporal

Is Temporal open source?

Yes. Temporal is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Temporal still maintained?

Its health score is 83 of 100 (actively developed). It had 572 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 31 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 8 October 2026.

How do I run Temporal?

You can run it with Docker, as an app for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to Temporal?

Close alternatives in the Workflow automation category include Conductor, Hatchet, Trigger.dev.