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Microsoft DSC vs Salt: catalog facts
Microsoft DSC	Salt
Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.	Free Free and open source.
Windows, Command line	Linux, Self-hosted, Command line
Declarative, idempotent configuration that is safe to reapply Open source and actively developed by the PowerShell team	Remote execution and configuration management in one tool Event-driven automation
Aimed at administrators; there is no graphical interface Configuration concepts take some learning for newcomers	Concepts such as states, grains and pillars take time to learn Needs its own control infrastructure to run
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.