ko
Apache-2.0 Go→OCI images without a Dockerfile
DevOps / Infrastructure · Apache-2.0 · 8.6k
Reviewed 2026-09-14 · last push 2026-10-15 · repo checked 2026-10-19
What's Good
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.
The Catch
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.
Embed
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Markdown
[](https://stackgems.com/gems/ko)
HTML
<a href="https://stackgems.com/gems/ko"><img src="https://stackgems.com/badge/ko.svg" alt="ko reviewed on Stack Gems" height="20"></a>