Blacksmith CI
Claim this toolRun your GitHub Actions faster and more cost-effectively with enhanced observability.
Free plan available, paid tiers aboveVisit WebsiteFreemiumVisit Website
Tracked since2026
The Bottom Line
- Price
- Free plan available, paid tiers above. Compare plans
Key facts
- Accelerates GitHub Actions by up to 2x and reduces costs by up to 75%.
- Provides enhanced observability and debugging tools for CI pipelines.
- Offers a drop-in replacement for GitHub runners with instant microVM provisioning.
Pros
- Significantly faster CI/CD pipeline execution.
- Substantial cost savings compared to GitHub runners.
- Improved visibility and debugging capabilities for CI failures.
- Easy to integrate as a drop-in replacement.
- Free tier available for getting started.
Cons
- Specific advanced support features are add-ons or require Enterprise plan.
- Currently focused on GitHub Actions, may not support other CI platforms.
What is Blacksmith CI?
Blacksmith CI is a drop-in replacement for GitHub Actions runners, designed to significantly speed up CI/CD pipelines and reduce costs. It achieves this by running jobs on high-performance bare metal gaming CPUs, offering faster cache downloads through co-located artifacts, and accelerating Docker builds by persisting layers on NVMe drives. The platform aims to cut build, test, and deploy times in half, providing immediate feedback on pull requests.
Beyond performance, Blacksmith CI addresses the observability gap in GitHub Actions. It provides a console for quickly seeing what's happening in CI pipelines, helping developers spot failing and slow jobs, debug flaky tests, and fix issues directly from GitHub comments with inline logs. This makes it ideal for development teams looking to optimize their CI/CD workflows, improve developer productivity, and reduce infrastructure spending, especially those heavily reliant on GitHub Actions.
Available on: Web
Preview
Key Features
- 2x faster hardware (bare metal gaming CPUs)
- 4x faster cache downloads (co-located artifacts)
- 40x faster Docker Builds (persistent layers on NVMe drives)
- GitHub Actions observability console
- Spot failing and slow jobs
- Debug flaky tests with global log search
- Inline logs of failed tests in GitHub comments
- Instant microVM provisioning
Pricing Plans
Free TrialPricing checked Sep 29, 2026
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-As-You-Go | $0.004 / min |
+1 moreShow less
|
| Enterprise | Contact us |
+5 moreShow less
|
Is Blacksmith CI worth the price?
Good value
Blacksmith CI's Pay-As-You-Go tier at $0.004 per minute, with 3K free minutes, is very fair and competitive, especially given the performance enhancements.
This model is generous for small teams and startups. The Enterprise tier's 'Contact us' approach is standard for larger organizations needing custom solutions.
Reviews
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Blacksmith CI FAQ
How does Blacksmith CI accelerate CI/CD pipelines?
Blacksmith CI speeds up pipelines by utilizing high-performance bare metal gaming CPUs, enabling faster cache downloads through co-located artifacts, and accelerating Docker builds by persisting layers on NVMe drives. This approach aims to cut build, test, and deploy times in half, providing quicker feedback on pull requests.
Which teams benefit most from Blacksmith CI?
Development teams heavily reliant on GitHub Actions, especially those looking to optimize CI/CD workflows, improve developer productivity, and reduce infrastructure spending, will find Blacksmith CI most beneficial. It is designed for teams seeking immediate feedback on pull requests and enhanced debugging capabilities.
How is Blacksmith CI priced?
Blacksmith CI offers a free tier for users to get started, with additional paid plans available for increased usage and access to more advanced features. Specific advanced support features are offered as add-ons or require an Enterprise plan.
What kind of observability does Blacksmith CI add to GitHub Actions?
Blacksmith CI provides a dedicated console for monitoring CI pipelines, allowing developers to quickly identify failing and slow jobs. It also helps debug flaky tests and enables direct issue resolution from GitHub comments with inline logs.
Can Blacksmith CI integrate with existing GitHub Actions workflows?
Yes, Blacksmith CI is designed as a drop-in replacement for GitHub Actions runners, making it easy to integrate into existing workflows. This allows teams to leverage its performance and observability enhancements without significant reconfigurations.
What are the limitations of Blacksmith CI compared to a platform like CircleCI?
Blacksmith CI is currently focused on enhancing GitHub Actions, which means it may not support other CI platforms like CircleCI. Additionally, some specific advanced support features are available as add-ons or require an Enterprise plan.
Source: blacksmith.sh