{"data":{"slug":"ko","name":"ko","tagline":"Apache-2.0 Go→OCI images without a Dockerfile","category":"devops","categoryName":"DevOps","url":"https://ko.build","github":"https://github.com/ko-build/ko","pricing":"open-source","hook":"ko builds and publishes Go binaries as OCI images when writing a Dockerfile is pure ceremony.","whatsGood":"Apache-2.0. ko-build/ko (ex google/ko). Builds Go apps into OCI images from source — no Dockerfile, no Docker daemon required for the happy path. Multi-arch, SBOM/signing hooks, and `ko apply` into Kubernetes. Docs at ko.build; source github.com/ko-build/ko.","theCatch":"Vs Docker/Buildah (general image builders) and Earthly (Earthfile builds): ko is *Go-only containerize-from-source*, not a general Dockerfile/Buildah recipe engine. Non-Go runtimes and multi-language images are out of scope. Registry auth and base-image choice are still yours.","verdict":"Apache-2.0 Go→OCI. Free forever; Dockerfile-free when the app is Go.","addedAt":"2026-09-14","featured":false,"domain":"DevOps","subSpecialty":"Infrastructure","subcategory":"Containers","tags":["self-host","permissive","containers","active"],"capabilities":[],"surfaces":["Self-host"],"ecosystem":["Multi-platform"],"licenseModel":"Apache-2.0","githubStars":8571,"starsPerWeek":22,"access":"free","archived":false,"repo":{"createdAt":"2019-03-21","pushedAt":"2026-10-15","license":"Apache-2.0","archived":false,"checkedAt":"2026-10-19"}},"related":[{"slug":"github-actions","name":"GitHub Actions","tagline":"CI/CD that lives where your code does"},{"slug":"docker","name":"Docker","tagline":"Container runtime that changed deployment"},{"slug":"kubernetes","name":"Kubernetes","tagline":"Container orchestration at scale"},{"slug":"pulumi","name":"Pulumi","tagline":"Infrastructure as code in real languages"},{"slug":"fly-io","name":"Fly.io","tagline":"Deploy apps to VMs close to your users"}],"links":{"self":"/api/gems/ko","html":"/gems/ko","markdown":"/gems/ko.md","category":"/api/gems?category=devops","categoryPage":"/stacks/devops"}}