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Rank #1 of 6 in Workflow Automation

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Windmill

Open SourceYC S22 Built-in AI assistant

Windmill Labs

windmill.dev ↗Try it →
PA Score42/100AGENT-READY46/100BUILT-IN AI43/100API0/100
MCP✓CLI✓API~
★ 17.9k▲ 4.1k/yrnpm 29k/wk
ArenasWorkflow Automation#1/6

Access

Open app ↗API docs ↗CLI docs ↗MCP docs ↗

Install

clinpm install -g windmill-cli
dockercurl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/windmill-labs/windmill/main/docker-compose.yml -o docker-compose.yml && docker compose up -d

Compare head-to-head

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Alternatives to Windmill →

Try itExperimental

See what an agent can do with Windmill before you ever sign up. Pick a story: recorded sessions replay real probe-harness transcripts; commands tagged live-capable can re-run against the real endpoint from our edge, right now (▶ run live — the exact same request, live and recorded lines always labeled); sandboxed self-drive sessions are designed and gated (docs/TRY-IT.md).

$curl -s https://app.windmill.dev/api/versionrecorded session — replayed, not live
recorded 2026-09-15 · exit 0 · captured verbatim by our probe harness, secrets redacted · pure-HTTP probe — ▶ run live re-runs it from our edge

Verified integrations

No integration evidence found in our corpus for this product yet — that means none was found, never that it doesn’t integrate.

By theme — the product's score on each story themeBy theme

Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticnessevidence →

How well agents can access and operate the product

36.5/100

Ai workflows — AI in the engine loop — agent-driven editors, copilots, codegen-friendly APIs, runtime inferenceAi workflowsevidence →

AI in the engine loop — agent-driven editors, copilots, codegen-friendly APIs, runtime inference

61.2/100

Automation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depthevidence →

How much of the product can run unattended

64.5/100

Code extensibility — stories about code extensibility in this arenaCode extensibilityevidence →

Stories about code extensibility in this arena

84.3/100

Collaboration governance — stories about collaboration governance in this arenaCollaboration governanceevidence →

Stories about collaboration governance in this arena

38.3/100

Connectors ecosystem — stories about connectors ecosystem in this arenaConnectors ecosystemevidence →

Stories about connectors ecosystem in this arena

0.0/100

Deployment embedding — stories about deployment embedding in this arenaDeployment embeddingevidence →

Stories about deployment embedding in this arena

20.0/100

Openness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpennessevidence →

Open source, data portability, and self-hosting stories

59.0/100

Privacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy postureevidence →

Data-handling and privacy stories

5.3/100

Reliability errors — stories about reliability errors in this arenaReliability errorsevidence →

Stories about reliability errors in this arena

45.0/100

Triggers scheduling — stories about triggers scheduling in this arenaTriggers schedulingevidence →

Stories about triggers scheduling in this arena

63.5/100

Visual builder — stories about visual builder in this arenaVisual builderevidence →

Stories about visual builder in this arena

35.6/100

Story verdicts — every judged story with its evidenceStory verdicts

?

Sorted by importance (agentic first) (high → low) · 56/56 stories · click a row’s chevron for the rationale and evidence

Connect an agent via an official MCP server G

Agent access

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness3full8/10T

Delegate tasks to a built-in AI assistant inside the product G

Agentic features

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness3partial6/10C

Drive the product through a documented public API G

Agent access

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness3partial5/10T

Plug MCP servers into this product so it can use their tools G

Agent access

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness3none0/10

Point an agent at llms.txt or agent-oriented docs G

Agent access

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2full9/10T

Run the product headlessly / in CI for automation G

Agent access

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2full8/10T

Set up automations that run autonomously in the background G

Agentic features

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2full8/10X

Use an official CLI G

Agent access

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2full8/10T

Issue scoped/least-privilege API credentials for an agent G

Agent access

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2partial6/10T

Operate the product with natural-language commands G

Agentic features

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2partial6/10T

Subscribe to events via webhooks G

Agent access

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2partial5/10C

Get AI-generated insights and suggestions from my data inside the product G

Agentic features

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2partial4/10C

Build against official SDKs G

Agent access

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2none0/10

Download a machine-readable API spec (OpenAPI or equivalent) G

Api quality

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2none0/10

Explore an interactive API reference with runnable examples G

Api quality

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2none0/10

Rely on versioned APIs with a documented deprecation policy G

Api quality

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness2none0/10

Test against a sandbox environment without touching production data G

Api quality

ai-native userAgenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness1none0/10

Configure automatic retries with backoff for failed steps or activities C

Error handling

developerReliability errors — stories about reliability errors in this arenaReliability errors3full9/10C

Drop into real code (JavaScript or Python) as a step inside a workflow C

Code steps

developerCode extensibility — stories about code extensibility in this arenaCode extensibility3full9/10X

Self-host the core product G

ai-native userOpenness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness3full9/10T

Add AI agent or LLM steps inside a workflow, with model choice and tool use C

Ai steps

ai-native userAi workflows — AI in the engine loop — agent-driven editors, copilots, codegen-friendly APIs, runtime inferenceAi workflows3full8/10C

Define rules that trigger actions automatically on events G

ai-native userAutomation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth3full8/10X

Expose a custom webhook URL that receives external HTTP requests and starts a workflow run with the payload G

Triggers

developerTriggers scheduling — stories about triggers scheduling in this arenaTriggers scheduling3full8/10C

Expose my workflows or connected app actions as MCP tools that an external agent can call C

Agent integration

ai-native userAi workflows — AI in the engine loop — agent-driven editors, copilots, codegen-friendly APIs, runtime inferenceAi workflows3full8/10T

Build multi-step workflows in a visual editor without writing code C

Builder

ops userVisual builder — stories about visual builder in this arenaVisual builder3partial6/10X

Export all of my data in open formats and leave G

ai-native userOpenness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness3partial6/10T

Store connection credentials centrally, share them with my team, and control who can use which credential C

Credentials

ops userCollaboration governance — stories about collaboration governance in this arenaCollaboration governance3partial6/10C

Trigger workflows from events in connected apps (new record, message, email, form submission) C

Triggers

ops userTriggers scheduling — stories about triggers scheduling in this arenaTriggers scheduling3partial6/10C

Connect to thousands of apps through prebuilt, vendor-maintained integrations C

Connectors

ops userConnectors ecosystem — stories about connectors ecosystem in this arenaConnectors ecosystem3none0/10

Prevent my data from being used to train AI models G

ai-native userPrivacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture3noneuntestednone yet

Schedule recurring jobs or workflows G

ai-native userAutomation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth2full9/10C

Build a custom connector or private integration with a documented developer platform, SDK, or CLI G

Connector dev

developerCode extensibility — stories about code extensibility in this arenaCode extensibility2full8/10T

Map and transform data between steps with expressions, functions, or formulas C

Data mapping

ops userCode extensibility — stories about code extensibility in this arenaCode extensibility2full8/10C

Run workflows on cron-style schedules with timezone control C

Schedules

ops userTriggers scheduling — stories about triggers scheduling in this arenaTriggers scheduling2full8/10C

Version workflows through source control or environments and promote changes from dev to production C

Versioning

developerCollaboration governance — stories about collaboration governance in this arenaCollaboration governance2full8/10X

Branch a workflow with conditions, filters, and parallel paths that merge back together C

Builder

ops userVisual builder — stories about visual builder in this arenaVisual builder2full7/10X

Define dedicated error-handling paths or error workflows and get notified when a run fails C

Error handling

ops userReliability errors — stories about reliability errors in this arenaReliability errors2partial7/10X

Read the product's source under an open license G

ai-native userOpenness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness2full7/10T

Compose reusable sub-workflows or modules that other workflows call C

Composition

developerVisual builder — stories about visual builder in this arenaVisual builder2partial6/10C

Do everything through the API that I can do in the UI G

ai-native userOpenness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness2partial6/10T

Generate or edit a workflow from a natural-language prompt C

Ai authoring

ai-native userAi workflows — AI in the engine loop — agent-driven editors, copilots, codegen-friendly APIs, runtime inferenceAi workflows2partial6/10C

Have an agent create, update, and activate a workflow programmatically through the public API C

Agent integration

ai-native userAi workflows — AI in the engine loop — agent-driven editors, copilots, codegen-friendly APIs, runtime inferenceAi workflows2partial5/10T

Perform bulk operations across many items at once G

ai-native userAutomation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth2partial5/10C

Run long-lived workflows that wait for days and survive worker or platform restarts without losing state C

Durability

developerReliability errors — stories about reliability errors in this arenaReliability errors2partial5/10C

Run workflows locally or against a dev instance for development and CI testing C

Local dev

developerDeployment embedding — stories about deployment embedding in this arenaDeployment embedding2partial5/10X

Choose where my data is stored (region/residency) G

ai-native userPrivacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture2partial4/10X

Inspect past execution logs and re-run a failed execution, resuming from the failing step C

Observability

ops userReliability errors — stories about reliability errors in this arenaReliability errors2partial3/10C

Pause a workflow to wait for human approval or input before it continues C

Human in the loop

ops userCollaboration governance — stories about collaboration governance in this arenaCollaboration governance2none0/10

Test a workflow with sample or pinned data and inspect each step's input and output before going live C

Testing

developerVisual builder — stories about visual builder in this arenaVisual builder2none0/10

Control data retention and deletion G

ai-native userPrivacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture2noneuntestednone yet

Opt out of telemetry and usage tracking G

ai-native userPrivacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture2noneuntestednone yet

Start from a public library of workflow templates instead of building from scratch C

Templates

ops userConnectors ecosystem — stories about connectors ecosystem in this arenaConnectors ecosystem2noneuntestednone yet

Version, review, and roll back my automations G

ai-native userAutomation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth1partial6/10C

Throttle or queue workflow executions to respect downstream rate limits C

Durability

developerReliability errors — stories about reliability errors in this arenaReliability errors1none0/10

Embed the automation platform white-label inside my own product for my customers C

Embedding

developerDeployment embedding — stories about deployment embedding in this arenaDeployment embedding1noneuntestednone yet

Install community-built nodes, components, or integrations contributed outside the vendor C

Community

developerConnectors ecosystem — stories about connectors ecosystem in this arenaConnectors ecosystem1noneuntestednone yet

Opportunities — the stories that would move this product's scores, from its own judged verdictsOpportunitiestop 8 of 37 stories with headroom

What would move Windmill’s scores — derived from its own judged verdicts, biggest headroom first. Each line quotes what the judge found missing; shipping it (or evidencing it publicly) is the fix.

  1. Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productPlug MCP servers into this product so it can use their tools

    nonemoves agent-readyimpact 45

    Windmill's MCP documentation (windmill-docs-17, windmill-probe-4) describes Windmill acting as an MCP *server* so external LLM clients (Claude, Cursor) can call Windmill's scripts/flows — the reverse of the story, which asks whether Windmill can consume/plug into external MCP servers to use their tools.

  2. Connectors ecosystem — stories about connectors ecosystem in this arenaConnect to thousands of apps through prebuilt, vendor-maintained integrations

    nonemoves PA Scoreimpact 30

    Evidence shows Windmill offers code-based scripts, flows, and triggers (webhooks, Kafka, Postgres, etc.) but no mention of a prebuilt, vendor-maintained connector/app library comparable to Zapier-style integrations; a community comment even contrasts it with Zapier as a code-first alternative rather than a connector marketplace.

  3. Privacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrevent my data from being used to train AI models

    nonemoves PA Scoreimpact 30

    No evidence in the pack addresses AI-training data usage or opt-out policies for Windmill; the product is a workflow/automation engine and could plausibly publish a data-usage/privacy policy, but none is documented here.

  4. Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productBuild against official SDKs

    nonemoves agent-readyimpact 30

    The evidence pack documents a CLI (wmill), an MCP server, and workflows-as-code in TypeScript/Python, but none of it describes official client SDKs/libraries for programmatically building against Windmill's API.

  5. Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productExplore an interactive API reference with runnable examples

    nonemoves API qualityimpact 30

    The evidence pack shows an explicit probe for an OpenAPI/Swagger interactive reference that returned 404 on all candidate paths, and no other citation describes an interactive API reference with runnable examples (docs pages are static markdown/CLI/MCP references, not a runnable API explorer).

  6. Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productDownload a machine-readable API spec (OpenAPI or equivalent)

    nonemoves API qualityimpact 30

    Windmill exposes a CLI and API-driven platform, so a downloadable OpenAPI spec is a fair ask, but the evidence pack explicitly shows a probe attempt failing to find any OpenAPI/swagger file at standard paths (all 404s), and no docs page links to a machine-readable spec.

  7. Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productRely on versioned APIs with a documented deprecation policy

    nonemoves API qualityimpact 30

    Windmill exposes webhooks and version-pinned flow endpoints (windmill-docs-16), and a CLI/API surface exists, but there is no evidence of a documented API versioning scheme or deprecation policy; OpenAPI spec probes returned 404s (windmill-probe-3) and no docs mention deprecation practices.

  8. Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productDrive the product through a documented public API

    partialq5/10moves agent-readyimpact 22.5

    Missing: a discoverable OpenAPI/REST API reference page, independent confirmation that third parties integrate via a general public API beyond webhooks/CLI/MCP.

Showing the top 8 of 37 — every none/partial verdict in the story verdicts table is headroom.

Think a verdict is wrong? Every verdicts-table row has a Flag link — see the methodology.

Coverage map — which docs area, API section, or community source covers which judged storiesCoverage map5 surfaces · 40 covered stories

Where the cited evidence behind each covered verdict came from — the same citations the verdicts table shows, no extra judging.

docs40 stories

Hacker News11 stories

OpenAPI spec4 stories

GitHub README4 stories

llms.txt3 stories

Probe proofs — replayable recordings from the probe harnessProbe proofs

Replayable recordings from our probe harness — see the Prove-It protocol to submit one.

$curl -s https://app.windmill.dev/api/versionreproduced
$ curl -s https://app.windmill.dev/api/version
EE v1.811.0
proves: Drive the product through a documented public APIrecorded 2026-09-15
$npx -y windmill-cli --versionreproduced
$ npx -y windmill-cli --version
\|/-\|/-\|CLI version: 1.812.0
CLI is up to date
Cannot fetch backend version: no active workspace selected, choose one to pick a remote to fetch version of
\
proves: Use an official CLIrecorded 2026-09-15
$curl -s https://www.windmill.dev/docs/core_concepts/mcp.md | head -6reproduced
$ curl -s https://www.windmill.dev/docs/core_concepts/mcp.md | head -6
# Windmill MCP

> How do I connect LLMs to Windmill? Use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to trigger scripts and flows from Claude, Cursor or any MCP client.

Windmill supports the [**Model Context Protocol (MCP)**](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction), an open standard that enables seamless interaction between LLMs and tools like Windmill.
proves: Point an agent at llms.txt or agent-oriented docsproves: Expose my workflows or connected app actions as MCP tools that an external agent can callrecorded 2026-09-15

Claims vs evidence — vendor claims reconciled against independent verdictsClaims vs evidence

11 of 20 testable claims verified · 0 contradicted → integrity 55/100

23 distinct capability claims found in Windmill’s own claimed-docs/GitHub materials, reconciled against our judge’s independent verdicts.

11

Verified

9

Unverified

0

Contradicted

20

Undersold

Verified (15)
Unverified (10)
Undersold (20)
Claims outside our story set (4)

Real capability claims found in Windmill’s own materials, but no story in this arena’s taxonomy covers them yet — that’s feedback on the taxonomy, not a mark against the product.

  • “Full-code app builder to create custom React/Svelte frontends connected to backend runnables”

    source ↗

  • “Encrypts all workspace variables with a symmetric key to prevent leakage”

    source ↗

  • “Includes a roles and permissions system to control access within instances and workspaces”

    source ↗

  • “Offers 100 free app guests per 30 days who sign in via identity provider without a seat”

    source ↗
Suggest a story for these →

Business model

open-sourcefree-tiersubscription-flatenterprise-custom

AGPLv3 open-source engine you can self-host free; Cloud and Enterprise self-hosted plans priced per seat and per worker with SSO, SAML/SCIM and audit logs.

pricing ↗

Score trend

How this product’s scores have moved as evidence and verdicts are re-derived — a point per change, not per day.

PA Scoretracked since Sep 15 '26 — no movement recorded yet
Agent-readytracked since Sep 15 '26 — no movement recorded yet

Try Experimental

Run it in the microterminal →

Recorded agent sessions — and a live MCP handshake where the vendor ships one.

Flag

⚑ Flag a verdict

Think a verdict is wrong? Opens a prefilled GitHub issue — or use the ⚑ next to any verdict above.

Badge

Embed this product's score badge →

Hotlinked SVG — always shows the live current score.

For agents

This page as markdown/llms.txt

Data

Evidence (JSON)Verdicts (JSON)