K8s component: container runtime
29 May 2025 (Updated 30 May 2025)
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What is the container runtime?
The container runtime in Kubernetes is the software component responsible for running containers on a worker node.
Kubernetes defines a Container Runtime Interface (CRI) but delegates the actual handling of containers to whatever CRI-compatible runtime is configured on the node.
The kubelet agent uses the container runtime to spin up containers and manage them as needed.
Example container runtimes
| Runtime | Notes |
containerd | Default in most modern K8s setups. Lightweight and used by Docker under the hood. |
| CRI-0 | Lightweight runtime, built specifically for K8s. |
| gVisor | Sandbox container runtime for enhanced security |
Tagged:
Kubernetes