Screwdriver
Screwdriver is a free, open-source build platform for continuous delivery, designed for teams that define pipelines and operate their own build infrastructure.
What Screwdriver is
Screwdriver is a free, open-source build platform for continuous delivery, designed for teams that define pipelines and operate their own build infrastructure. Pipelines live in YAML files beside the code, allowing changes to be reviewed and rolled out with the codebase. Screwdriver tests pull requests, builds merged commits and deploys to environments, with load tests, canary deployments and multi-environment pipelines. It integrates with GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket, although available features differ by provider. A pluggable architecture allows components such as the datastore or executor to be swapped and supports different execution engines. Teams can run it as a local Docker Compose cluster, with documentation for production clusters. The version 4 API is documented through Swagger with interactive controls; payloads over 1 MB are rejected. User secrets and service traffic are encrypted, and pull-request builds do not receive secrets by default. Screwdriver is available through API, web and self-hosted deployment, with no hosted option.
Good
- Free and open source
- Pipelines are versioned in YAML
- Supports pull-request checks and deployments
- Pluggable infrastructure and execution engines
- Encrypted secrets and service traffic
Watch out
- No hosted option
- API rejects payloads above 1 MB
- Source-control features vary by provider
- Pull-request secret access needs explicit enabling
Who it suits
It suits teams defining continuous-delivery pipelines and managing their own build infrastructure. It is intended for self-hosted use rather than a hosted service.
Verdict
Screwdriver provides a self-hosted continuous-delivery platform with code-based pipelines and flexible infrastructure. Teams must be comfortable operating their own cluster and handling provider-specific feature differences.
Plans and prices
From Screwdriver's own pricing page, checked 9 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Screwdriver | Free | Open source build platform; self-hosted cluster |
The facts
Each one read from Screwdriver's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API
- The current API is version 4, is documented through Swagger, and provides interactive Try it out controls.checked 9 Oct 2026
- API request limit
- The API rejects requests with payloads larger than 1 MB.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Build cache
- Build cache can be scoped to a pipeline, event, or job, and can be disabled for an individual job.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Screwdriver can be run as a local cluster using Docker Compose, and its documentation also describes production cluster setup.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- Screwdriver is aimed at teams defining continuous delivery pipelines and managing their own build infrastructure.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Pipeline as code
- Pipelines are defined in a YAML file that lives beside the code and can be reviewed and rolled out with the codebase.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Pluggable infrastructure
- Its pluggable architecture allows components to be swapped, including Postgres for the datastore or Jenkins for the executor, and lets pipelines use different execution engines.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Pull request and deployment workflow
- Screwdriver tests pull requests, builds merged commits, and deploys to environments; it also supports load tests, canary deployments, and multi-environment pipelines.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Pull request secret control
- Secrets are not exposed to pull request builds by default; exposing one requires enabling its allowInPR flag.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Screwdriver is an open source build platform designed for Continuous Delivery.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Secret protection
- User secrets are stored encrypted, traffic between services is encrypted, and secrets are released only to authorized builds.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Security reporting
- The project asks users to report security issues to its private security mailing list and directs non-security issues to GitHub or Slack.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Source control integrations
- Screwdriver supports GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket, with feature support varying by provider.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project offers community support through GitHub issues and pull requests, Slack, and Stack Overflow posts tagged screwdriver-cd.checked 9 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2012checked 28 Sep 2026
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