Kata Containers
More info
- Creator
- OpenStack Foundation (Clear Containers + runV)
- Released
- Owner
- OpenInfra Foundation
- Type
- VM-based container runtime
- License
- Apache 2.0
- Website
- katacontainers.io
- Source
- github.com/kata-containers
- Wikipedia
- en.wikipedia.org
OCI-compatible runtime that runs each container in its own lightweight VM — real kernel isolation with container ergonomics.
Fork-merge of Intel Clear Containers and Hyper.sh runV (2017). Uses a stripped Linux kernel in KVM (or Firecracker, Cloud Hypervisor as hypervisor). Boots in ~150 ms. Plugged in as a RuntimeClass in Kubernetes so only sensitive workloads pay the overhead.
Good for multi-tenant and untrusted code execution (CI runners, AI sandboxes). Competitor: gVisor (user-space kernel instead of a real VM — lighter but less compatible).