[opensourcedex]

kitops is a free, open source machine learning infrastructure project written in Go and released under Apache-2.0. It has 1,416 GitHub stars, 185 forks and 50 open issues, and was last pushed 28 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #49 of 57 tracked projects in Machine Learning Infrastructure, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 2 stars over the last 3 tracked days.

What is kitops?

What it is

KitOps is an open source DevOps tool governed by the CNCF for packaging, versioning, and securely sharing AI/ML projects. It lives in the Kubernetes AI/ML and MLOps ecosystem, and it builds on the OCI technology used by containers. A KitOps package, called a ModelKit, bundles model weights, datasets, code, and configuration into a versioned, layered artifact that can be stored in an existing container registry.

The concrete problem it solves is the fragmentation of AI/ML project assets across separate tools, repositories, and registries. Instead of tracking a model, its data, its code, and its configuration in disconnected places, KitOps turns them into one OCI artifact that can be pushed, pulled, signed, scanned, and deployed through CI/CD workflows. It also supports the CNCF ModelPack specification, which provides a vendor-neutral interchange format for AI/ML assets.

Key capabilities

  • The Kit CLI packages model weights, datasets, code, and configuration into a versioned ModelKit artifact.
  • KitOps stores ModelKits as layered OCI artifacts in an existing container registry.
  • The CLI supports both ModelKit and ModelPack formats through the same tool.
  • KitOps can import models directly from HuggingFace into a ModelKit.
  • Teams can initialize a Kitfile with kit init ., then pack, push, and pull ModelKits.
  • KitOps supports Cosign signing, security scans, signed attestation reports, AI SBOM creation, deployment, and rollback.

Who uses it and how

  • Teams use KitOps for production handoff when a model or agent is ready for staging or production.
  • CI/CD operators use ModelKits to keep datasets, model weights, and configuration synchronized and trackable.
  • Security teams in regulated industries scan and gate models before production by signing ModelKits with Cosign and attaching signed attestation reports.
  • Enterprises, governments, and cloud operators use KitOps when they need to self-host AI models and agents in their own registries.

Getting started

Users install the Kit CLI for MacOS, Windows, or Linux, then import a model from HuggingFace or run kit init . to generate a Kitfile. After packing the ModelKit locally, users push it to a container registry with kit push.

When to use it — and when not to

KitOps is a good fit when AI assets need OCI-based packaging, versioning, registry storage, and CI/CD handoff inside a Kubernetes or MLOps workflow. It is a weaker fit when a team needs a documented replacement for a paid product, because the provided facts do not list any paid products it replaces. The facts also do not specify database, storage, or SMTP duties for a self-hoster, and they list no contributor count and 50 open issues, so maintenance depth and issue throughput remain unclear.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline
KitOps

KitOps: Standards-based packaging & versioning for AI/ML projects

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Table of Contents

What is KitOps?

KitOps is a CNCF open source tool for packaging, versioning, and securely sharing AI/ML projects.

Built on the same OCI (Open Container Initiative) technology that underlies containers, KitOps packages everything your model needs for development or production into a versioned and layered artifact stored in your existing container registry. It integrates with all your AI/ML, CI/CD, and DevOps tools.

As part of the Kubernetes AI/ML technology stack, KitOps is the preferred solution for packaging, versioning, and managing AI assets in security-conscious enterprises, governments, and cloud operators who need to self-host AI models and agents.

KitOps and the CNCF

KitOps is governed by the CNCF (the same organization that manages Kubernetes, OpenTelemetry, and Prometheus). This video provides an outline of KitOps in the CNCF.

KitOps is also the enterprise implementation of the CNCF ModelPack specification for a vendor-neutral AI/ML interchange format. The Kit CLI supports both ModelKit and ModelPack formats transparently. Contributing companies to ModelPack include Red Hat, PayPal, ANT Group, and ByteDance.

Official Website

Use Cases

Try KitOps in Under 15 Minutes

  1. Install the CLI: for MacOS, Windows, and Linux.
  2. Pack your first ModelKit: Either:
    • Import from HuggingFace: Pull models directly from HuggingFace into a ModelKit with HuggingFace Import.
    • Navigate to your project directory and run kit init . to auto-generate a Kitfile, then follow the Getting Started guide to pack, push, and pull.
  3. Push it to your registry: Use kit push to start using your existing enterprise registry as a secure and curated registry for AI agents, models, and MCP servers.
  4. Explore pre-built ModelKits: Try quick starts for LLMs, computer vision models, and more.

For those who prefer to build from source, follow these steps to get the latest version from our repository.

How Teams Use KitOps

Level 1: Production Handoff

Most teams start by using KitOps to version a model or agent when it's ready for staging or production. ModelKits serve as immutable, self-contained packages that simplify CI/CD deployment, artifact signing, AI SBOM creation, and deployment / rollback. This prevents unknown AI workloads from entering production and keeps datasets, model weights, and config synced and trackable.

Learn more: CI/CD integration

Level 2: Model Security

Teams in regulated industries use KitOps to scan and gate models before they reach production. Build a ModelKit, sign it with Cosign, run security scans, attach reports as signed attestations, and only allow attested ModelKits to move forward. KitOps provides a security and auditing layer on top of whatever tools you already use.

Learn more: Securing ModelKits

Level 3: Full Lifecycle Versioning

Mature teams extend KitOps to development. Every milestone (new dataset, tuning checkpoint, retraining event) is stored as a versioned ModelKit. One standard system (OCI) for every model version, with tamper-evident and content-addressable storage.

Learn more: How KitOps is Used

KitOps Architecture

ModelKit

KitOps packages your project into a ModelKit - a self-contained, immutable bundle that includes everything required to reproduce, test, or deploy your AI/ML model.

ModelKits can include agents, model weights, MCP servers, datasets, prompts, experiment run results and hyperparameters, metadata, environment configurations, code, and more.

ModelKits are:

  • Tamper-proof - Every component protected by SHA-256 digests, ensuring consistency and traceability
  • Signable - Full Cosign compatibility for cryptographic verification
  • Compatible - Natively stored and retrieved in all major OCI container registries
  • Selectively unpacked - Pull only the layers you need (just the model, just the dataset, etc.)

KitOps can also create ModelPack-compliant packages using the CNCF model-spec format. Both formats are vendor-neutral standards, and Kit commands (pull, push, unpack, inspect, list) work transparently with both.

ModelKits elevate AI artifacts to first-class, governed assets, just like application code.

Kitfile

A Kitfile defines where each artifact lives in your ModelKit. You can generate one automatically with kit init.

Kit CLI

The Kit CLI lets you create, manage, run, and deploy ModelKits. Key commands include:

  • kit pack - Package your project into a ModelKit (add --use-model-pack for ModelPack format)
  • kit unpack - Extract all or specific layers from a ModelKit
  • kit push / kit pull - Share ModelKits through any OCI registry
  • kit init - Auto-generate a Kitfile from an existing project directory
  • kit diff - Compare differences between two ModelKits
  • kit list - List available ModelKits and ModelPacks
  • kit inspect - View the contents of a ModelKit without unpacking

PyKitOps Python SDK

The PyKitOps library lets data scientists work with ModelKits in Python. Use it to pack, push, pull, and inspect ModelKits without leaving your favorite tool's workflow.

Watch KitOps in Action

KitOps Video

This video shows how KitOps streamlines collaboration between data scientists, developers, and SREs using ModelKits.

Security and Compliance

KitOps provides artifact and project metadata for organizations that need to establish and maintain chain-of-custody and provenance for their AI/ML assets:

  • Immutable digests - Every ModelKit component is SHA-256 hashed. Any modification to any file is detected via OCI digest verification when the artifact is pulled or fetched, and the tampered artifact is rejected.
  • Cryptographic signatures - Sign ModelKits with Cosign (key-based or keyless via OIDC). Unsigned or tampered ModelKits can be blocked in CI/CD.
  • AI Bill of Materials - ModelKits provide a structured inventory of all components (model weights, datasets, code, configs) with version tracking, serving as the foundation for AI SBOMs.
  • Transparency logging - Combine with Rekor for append-only signature records.
  • Audit-ready lineage - Full version history from experiment through staging to production, stored in your OCI registry.

These properties make ModelKits suitable for compliance frameworks that require artifact integrity, provenance verification, and audit trails, including the EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, ISO 42001, and similar regulatory requirements.

Learn more: Securing Your Model Supply Chain

KitOps is also used by Jozu Hub, that adds centralized policy administration, five-layer security scanning, signed attestations, and tamper-evident audit logs. Jozu Hub installs behind your firewall and works with y

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is kitops free to use?

kitops is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does kitops do?

An open source DevOps tool from the CNCF for packaging and versioning AI/ML models, datasets, code, and configuration into an OCI Artifact.

What is kitops written in?

kitops is primarily written in Go. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/kitops-ml/kitops, and it has 1,416 GitHub stars.