Cicada – FOSS Self-Hosted CI Alternative to GitHub Actions

TL;DR

TL;DR: Cicada is an AGPL-3.0, self-hosted CI/CD engine that uses the same YAML workflow syntax as GitHub Actions — clone, set up Python deps, run migrations, and you have a private GitHub Actions replacement on your own infrastructure.

What Is Cicada?

Cicada describes itself as “a FOSS, cross-platform version of GitHub Actions and GitLab CI.” The HN launch thread describes it as a way to run CI pipelines on your own hardware, with GitHub Actions-compatible syntax and no usage-based pricing.

The key pitch: if you want the workflow authoring experience of GitHub Actions but cannot (or will not) offload computation to a third-party cloud, Cicada runs on a Linux server, a NAS, or even a Raspberry Pi cluster.

Source and Accuracy Notes

⚠️ This section is MANDATORY. All links must be verified from actual source, not guessed.

• Project page: cicada.sh ← verified via curl, product is a SaaS wrapper
• Source repository: github.com/Cicada-Software/cicada ← README read end-to-end
• License: AGPL-3.0 ← confirmed via GitHub API
• HN launch thread: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35364146 ← verified via Algolia API
• Source last checked: 2026-07-21 (commit main, README + installing docs read)

Setup Workflow

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Cicada-Software/cicada
cd cicada

Step 2: Set Up Python Virtual Environment

Cicada is written in Python. Create an isolated environment:

python3 -m virtualenv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 3: Run Database Migrations

python3 -m cicada.api.infra.migrate

Note: re-run this after each update.

Step 4: Configure Environment Variables

export CICADA_DOMAIN=yourdomain.here
export CICADA_USER=optional-username-here

• CICADA_DOMAIN must be a publicly accessible domain (GitHub redirects back to it). Cannot use localhost directly — set up ngrok or a reverse proxy if testing locally.
• CICADA_USER is optional; defaults to a random string if omitted.

Step 5: Start the Server

python3 -m cicada.api

Navigate to the URL shown (default: http://0.0.0.0:8000). Click the green button to register a GitHub App — you will be redirected to GitHub to confirm, then back to your domain. After success, restart the server.

The wizard creates two files: .env (secrets) and cicada-key-*.pem (GitHub App private key). Keep both private.

Syntax Compatibility

Cicada supports standard GitHub Actions workflow YAML syntax. Example from the demo repo:

name: Example Workflow

on:
  push:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: self-hosted
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Run tests
        run: |
          echo "Running tests..."
          pytest tests/

The runs-on: self-hosted label routes jobs to your Cicada runner. No runs-on: ubuntu-latest — all compute stays local.

Practical Evaluation Checklist

• [ ] Cloned repo and installed deps without errors
• [ ] Migration ran cleanly on first attempt
• [ ] Wizard registered a GitHub App and wrote .env + .pem file
• [ ] Pipeline triggered on a test push and jobs ran on the self-hosted runner
• [ ] Logs surfaced correctly in the Cicada web UI

Security Notes

• The .env file and cicada-key-*.pem contain sensitive secrets. Do not commit them to version control.
• CICADA_DOMAIN must be TLS-enabled in production — GitHub requires HTTPS for OAuth redirects.
• Cicada stores GitHub webhook payloads locally. Treat the server as a trusted internal service.

FAQ

Q: Does Cicada support GitLab CI syntax as well? A: The project page describes it as a cross-platform alternative to both GitHub Actions and GitLab CI, but the primary syntax focus is GitHub Actions-compatible YAML. Check the README for the latest supported syntax matrix.

Q: Can I use this instead of GitHub Actions for private repos? A: Yes, this is the primary use case — running CI on private code without sending it to GitHub’s runners. Cicada receives webhooks from your GitHub App and executes jobs on your own hardware.

Q: Does it work with GitHub Enterprise Server (GHES)? A: The docs only describe GitHub.com integration. GHES support is not mentioned in the current README — verify against the latest docs before deploying in an enterprise environment.

Q: What language is Cicada written in? A: Python, as confirmed by the requirements.txt dependency file in the repo.

Conclusion

Cicada fills a specific niche: teams that want GitHub Actions YAML authoring without the cloud pricing or data sovereignty concerns. The install process is straightforward for anyone familiar with Python and self-hosting. At 567 stars on GitHub it is early-stage software — the top comment on the HN thread notes it is “veeeeery early stage” — but the core pipeline runner is functional and MIT/AGPL licensed.

If you have a homelab or spare server and want private CI that speaks fluent GitHub Actions syntax, Cicada is worth a weekend experiment.