Workers Vs User Plugins

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Note
JFrog Workers is the newer, recommended way to easily extend the JFrog Platform (not just Artifactory) in a Cloud-native way. While plugins are supported, we strongly suggest using JFrog Workers whenever possible.

Both Workers and User Plugins are automated mechanisms triggered by events that you can define.

The following table describes the differences between Workers and User Plugins:

Feature	Workers	User Plugins
Purpose	Extend JFrog Platform functionality via a built-in serverless execution environment. You can create Workers that are triggered when events occur in the JFrog Platform. Workers offer an alternative to Artifactory user plugins, enabling you to extend the JFrog Platform using cloud-native, scalable, and secure solutions.	Customize and extend Artifactory's features. Essentially, they provide a flexible way to tailor Artifactory to your specific workflows and requirements.
Language	TypeScript	Groovy
Triggering Mechanism	Event-driven/task-based execution	Lifecycle events
Complexity	Generally easier to set up for automation tasks	More complex that requires coding and understanding of APIs
Integration	Seamless integration with CI/CD tools	Interfaces directly with core features
Execution Context	Runs in isolated task context	Can modify behavior at any stage of the lifecycle
Scalability	Scalable based on task needs	Typically runs in the context of artifact management tasks
Error Handling	Built-in error handling and logging	Custom error handling as defined by the plugin
Use Cases	Scheduling tasks, event handling, automation in CI/CD	Implementing custom policies, artifact validation, complex workflows
Access Control	Fine-grained permissions can be applied to workers	Customizable using the plugin logic
Development Effort	Lower development effort - more user-friendly	Higher development effort - more flexible and powerful

Workers Vs Webhooks

Both Workers and Webhook are automated mechanisms triggered by events that you can define.

Workers and webhooks complement each other by providing different ways to connect, launch and automate software applications, and by enabling real-time communications and data exchange between different systems.

The following table describes the differences between Workers and Webhooks:

Workers	Webhooks
Use to customize and control your execution flows	Use to automate auditing or send notifications only
Synchronous	Asynchronous
May impact action results and response time	No impact on user actions
Logic runs on JFrog infrastructure (SaaS)	Logic runs on customer infrastructure
Can run a script that can perform calculations and/or send several HTTP requests	Can perform only one HTTP request