Kern - Fast, rootless sandbox and container runtime in a 1.5 MB binary
Show HN: Kern – container and resource runtime in a 1.5 MB binary, no daemon
Kern is a daemonless container runtime and sandbox that starts kernel-enforced containers in about 3.5 ms from OCI images, all from a single 1.52 MB static binary. It offers rootless isolation, resource profiles for CPU, memory, disk, and devices, and supports Docker Compose stacks. Ideal for running untrusted or AI-generated code, it includes a Python/Node SDK and an MCP server for agents. With zero RAM at rest and no daemon, it's a lightweight, fast alternative to traditional container runtimes.
A real, kernel-enforced container in ~3.5 ms, out of one 1.52 MB binary with no daemon.
- chrisweekly
How does this compare to "smolvm" microvms from https://smolmachines.com?
- k8sify
Can’t wait to play with this, thank you great work!
- jeffbee
It looks cool and I am building it r.n. but the submission title was a little misleading as it says "container ... runtime" right there, and I guess it is, but it is not a CRI implementation.