head to head · open source
Docker vs kcl
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars, 19,233 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. kcl has 2,416 stars, 170 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped today. Docker leads on adoption by 2,885% (72,113 vs 2,416 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; kcl is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, kcl 7%. kcl was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Docker | kcl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 170 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docker if
- You weight community size — 72K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick kcl if
- You want the kcl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and kcl fits your workflow better
About Docker
Docker, published here as the Moby Project, is the open source collection of container toolkit components and the framework for assembling them into custom container based systems, built for engineers, integrators and enthusiasts who want to modify, hack and build on container code rather than buy a commercially supported product.
read the full Docker overview →
About kcl
KCL is an open source, constraint based record and functional language, hosted as a CNCF Sandbox project and licensed under Apache 2.0, for platform engineers, DevOps teams, and cloud native practitioners who need to write, validate, and manage complex configuration without hand maintaining raw YAML or JSON.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or kcl more popular?
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars and kcl has 2,416. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and kcl free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and kcl under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and kcl?
Docker is written in Go and kcl in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Docker or kcl?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,113 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose kcl if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.