head to head · open source
Docker vs mirrord
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars, 19,233 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mirrord has 5,333 stars, 215 forks, 73 open issues and last shipped today. Docker leads on adoption by 1,252% (72,113 vs 5,333 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; mirrord is written in Rust under MIT. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, mirrord 4%. mirrord 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 | mirrord | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 5.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 215 |
| 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 mirrord if
- You want the mirrord feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and mirrord 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 mirrord
mirrord is an MIT licensed Rust tool that runs any process, on a developer's machine or inside an AI coding agent's environment, as if it were a pod in a live Kubernetes cluster, with real environment variables, DNS, network, and traffic.
read the full mirrord overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or mirrord more popular?
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars and mirrord has 5,333. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and mirrord free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mirrord under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and mirrord?
Docker is written in Go and mirrord 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 mirrord?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,113 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mirrord if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.