libracoder/kiri

Overview

Kiri is a container runtime written in Rust that runs Docker images inside a small Linux VM on macOS and Windows, and directly on the kernel on Linux. It implements the Docker Engine API, so the existing docker CLI, Compose and buildx keep working against Kiri through a dedicated kiri Docker context. It positions itself as a lighter replacement for Docker Desktop and OrbStack, and also adds a native desktop window for managing containers, images, volumes and networks, plus local domains and a one-command Kubernetes cluster.

The architecture is unusual: a project-built guest agent acts as PID 1 and starts containers with a single clone3 call into namespaces and a cgroup, without runc, a shim or dockerd. The VM uses a custom small kernel, and the daemon talks to the guest over vsock. See the architecture notes for details.

It suits developers who want Docker-compatible local workflows with lower resource use and faster container startup, especially those switching from Docker Desktop or OrbStack.

Getting started

Prebuilt installers are distributed per platform: a .dmg for macOS 14+, an .msi for Windows 10/11 (via WSL 2), and .deb/.rpm packages for Linux. Download them from Kiri releases. On first launch, Kiri creates a kiri Docker context.

Then run your usual Docker commands against that context, or use the equivalent kiri commands:

docker --context kiri run --rm alpine echo hello
docker --context kiri compose up -d
kiri k8s start
kiri machine create dev --distro ubuntu && kiri machine shell dev
kiri import

The same commands are listed in the README's quick start. kiri import migrates images, volumes and containers from OrbStack or Docker Desktop. kiri k8s start creates a single-node cluster and registers it as the kiri kubectl context; kiri machine create provisions a Linux VM you can shell into.

Constraints

• macOS requires version 14 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel; Windows runs through WSL 2 on x86-64 or Arm; Linux support covers Ubuntu, Fedora and others via .deb/.rpm.
• amd64 images run through Rosetta where applicable.
• The project is licensed under Apache-2.0, but the name and logo are excluded from that license, so forks must use a different name and logo. The guest kernel is Linux under GPL-2.0, with its configuration, patches and source offer kept in the repository.
• Benchmark figures (about 2.5 ms API-level container startup, about 80× faster than Docker Desktop in the README table) are the project's own measurements; the methodology and raw results are in bench/results.json, and it can be rerun with kiri bench.
• A built-in builder is still on the roadmap; the current buildx story depends on the existing Docker integration.

HotRepo's take

Kiri was tracked on the HotRepo new repository list on 2026-11-04, where it appeared under the Rust language new list with 111 stars and 8 new stars recorded over a roughly four-hour window (15:45–19:45 UTC). It has no recorded position on the all-language GitHub daily ranking, so the material supports only a brief appearance on the Rust new list, not broad trending momentum. The project's pitch rests on a concrete technical contrast — a custom tiny kernel and a clone3-based agent instead of runc and dockerd — plus published benchmark results, which gives readers something specific to verify before adopting it.