Self-hosted agent platforms compared
Modulo Team
Self-hosted agent platforms compared
Self-hosting is becoming a key differentiator in the agent platform market. For teams in regulated industries, air-gapped environments, or anyone who wants full control over their data, a self-hosted option is the only option that works for many teams.
Three platforms in this space offer self-hosted deployment: Tembo (Agent Studio), Dify, and Modulo. Each takes a different approach to what self-hosting means and what you can do with it.
Tembo Agent Studio
Tembo's Agent Studio (launched May 2026) is MIT-licensed and self-hosted via Docker Compose. Agent definitions live in a Git repository as the source of truth - every change to an agent produces a pull request, the same reviewable artifact teams already trust. It orchestrates Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor's background agents.
Self-hosting model: MIT license, Docker Compose, from source or published GHCR images. Governance depth: Git-native config review. Audit logs and identity stay inside your environment. No visible SDLC-specific evidence library or progressive-autonomy model. SDLC focus: Agent coordination plumbing. Not SDLC-specific. Best for: Teams who want agent-agnostic orchestration with Git-native config and are comfortable managing infrastructure.
Dify
Dify is the most established self-hosted AI application platform. It offers visual workflow building, RAG pipelines, model provider integration, and a large plugin ecosystem. The community edition is self-hosted.
Self-hosting model: Community edition, self-hosted. Governance depth: Basic RBAC and audit in Enterprise tier. Not governance-first. SDLC focus: Horizontal. Not SDLC-specific. Can be used to build SDLC workflows but is not designed for them. Best for: Teams building general AI applications who want a self-hosted visual workflow builder.
Modulo
Modulo is self-hosted by design - there is no SaaS version. It runs on Docker Compose or Fly.io. The entire system - pipeline definitions, agent configurations, audit logs, gate configurations - lives on your infrastructure.
Self-hosting model: Docker Compose or Fly.io. License-key Enterprise model. No telemetry by default. Governance depth: Governance-first: deterministic gates, HITL review, immutable audit chain (SHA-256 linked), evidence-based progressive autonomy, SOC 2 evidence export. SDLC focus: Deep, opinionated SDLC guidance. Pipeline model is built around SDLC concepts (PR triggers, code review gates, deployment approvals). Best for: Teams who want governed, self-hosted agent automation for their SDLC specifically.
Comparison
| Dimension | Tembo Agent Studio | Dify | Modulo |
|---|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | Apache 2.0 / commercial | BSL / commercial |
| Deployment | Docker Compose | Docker Compose | Docker Compose, Fly.io |
| Governance model | Git-native config review | Basic RBAC | Gates, HITL, audit chain, progressive autonomy |
| SDLC specificity | Generic agent coordination | Horizontal AI platform | SDLC-specific |
| Audit trail | Local audit logs | General audit | Immutable, SHA-256 chained, SOC2 export |
| Autonomy model | Not visible | Not applicable | Evidence-based: rises for proven changes, falls after failures |
| Agent support | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor | Any model via API | Any agent via sandbox dispatch |
| Platform agnosticism | Agent-agnostic, model-agnostic | Model-agnostic | Full (GitHub, GitLab, any model, any agent) |
The trade-offs
Tembo's Agent Studio is the closest structural match to Modulo's approach - self-hosted, git-native, agent-agnostic. Its governance story is about how agent definitions are versioned and reviewed, not about building a compounding evidence record for what an agent is allowed to do autonomously over time. If your primary need is Git-native agent configuration management, Tembo is a strong option.
Dify offers the broadest platform but the shallowest SDLC depth. It is a good choice if you need a general AI application platform and SDLC governance is a secondary concern.
Modulo is the most opinionated of the three. It is built specifically for SDLC governance, which means it does less outside that domain. If your primary need is governed, self-hosted agent automation for your software delivery lifecycle, Modulo is designed for exactly that.
The principle behind this: self-hosted, no telemetry - your infra, your data, no cloud dependency.