# containerd

> Apache-2.0 CNCF container runtime under Kubernetes

**Category:** DevOps  
**Pricing:** open-source  
**URL:** https://containerd.io  
**GitHub:** https://github.com/containerd/containerd  
**Added:** 2026-10-16

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## The Hook

containerd is the industry-standard container runtime: it pulls images, manages storage and networking hooks, and runs containers — the layer underneath Docker and most Kubernetes clusters.

## What's Good

Apache-2.0, a graduated CNCF project (containerd/containerd), release v2.4.2. Stable, widely deployed and pluggable through snapshotters and runtime shims such as runc, gVisor and Kata. ★~21k.

## The Catch

It is a low-level daemon, not a developer tool: you drive it through Kubernetes, nerdctl or Docker rather than directly, and its own ctr CLI is meant for debugging. Vs docker (the full developer experience on top): reach for containerd directly only when building platforms or nodes.

## Verdict

The runtime you are probably already using — interact with it through Kubernetes, nerdctl or Docker.