Comparison
Stella Ops vs Jenkins
Jenkins is a CI/CD automation server.
Stella Ops is a release control plane with security gates, reachability analysis, and audit evidence.
Jenkins
- • Mature, flexible automation server
- • Self-hosted (always)
- • Extensive plugin ecosystem
- • No built-in security scanning
- • Pipeline-centric, not release-centric
Stella Ops Suite
- • Release orchestration control plane
- • Self-hosted, air-gap ready
- • Integrated, opinionated stack
- • Built-in reachability-aware scanning
- • Release-centric with evidence gates
Feature Comparison
| Capability | Jenkins | Stella Ops |
|---|---|---|
| Build automation | Yes | Integrates with CI |
| Deployment pipelines | Yes (via plugins) | Yes (built-in) |
| Environment management | Manual/plugins | Built-in (promotion graphs) |
| Approval gates | Manual input steps | Cryptographically signed |
| Vulnerability scanning | Via plugins (Trivy, etc.) | Built-in |
| Reachability analysis | No | Yes (hybrid 3-layer) |
SBOMSoftware Bill of Materials - a complete list of all packages and dependencies in your software SBOM generation | Via plugins | Built-in |
| Decision Capsules | No | Yes |
| Deterministic replay | No | Yes |
| Air-gap deployment | Possible (complex) | Full (Offline Kit) |
The Plugin Sprawl Problem
To match Stella's capabilities in Jenkins, you need:
Jenkins Plugin Stack
- • Trivy/Grype plugin for scanning
- • OWASP Dependency-Check
- • Syft plugin for SBOMs
- • Pipeline: Stage View
- • Promoted Builds plugin
- • SSH/Docker plugins for deployment
- • Custom scripting for evidence
7+ plugins, manual integration, no evidence chain
Stella Ops
- • Built-in scanning + reachability
- • Built-in SBOM generation
- • Built-in environment promotion
- • Built-in deployment execution
- • Built-in evidence chain
- • Built-in audit export
One platform, integrated evidence chain
Deployment Capabilities
Jenkins deploys via shell scripts and plugins. Stella provides structured release orchestration:
Deployment Targets
- → Docker Compose deployments
- → Docker Swarm clusters
- → AWS ECS / Fargate
- → HashiCorp Nomad
- → Scripted deployments (.NET 10)
Infrastructure Integration
- → SSH/WinRM agentless deployment
- → HashiCorp Vault for secrets
- → HashiCorp Consul for service registry
- → Environment promotions (Dev→Stage→Prod)
- → Approval workflows
When to Use Which
Keep Jenkins if...
- • You have heavy existing investment
- • Build automation is the main use case
- • Audit evidence isn't required
- • You prefer maximum flexibility
Add Stella Ops if...
- • You need reachability analysis
- • Security must gate releases
- • Auditors need exportable evidence
- • You want an integrated solution
- • Plugin sprawl is a problem
Methodology: This comparison is based on publicly available documentation, release notes, and hands-on evaluation as of January 2026. Features and capabilities change over time. We encourage you to verify current capabilities with each vendor's official documentation.
Stella Ops is committed to accurate, fair comparisons. If you believe any information is outdated or incorrect, please contact hello@stella-ops.org.
Add evidence-grade gates to Jenkins
Keep Jenkins for CI. Add Stella Ops for release governance.