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getkern
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getkern/kern

a fast, rootless container runtime and sandbox with no daemon. It runs workloads, including agent tool calls and code generated by an LLM, in real containers enforced by the kernel.

Rust ◇ ai-agents Apache-2.0
★429STARS
⑂10FORKS
!0ISSUES
🏆#4,994GLOBAL RANK
🔥1DAYS TRENDING
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+11

STARS · LAST 30 DAYS

1

PER DAY

#513

MOST-STARRED Rust

Window7 days30 days90 days
Stars gained+7+11+90
Per day111
Forks gained+1+3+10

kern gained 11 stars in the last 30 days, about 1 a day, and now has 429. It is about 1 year old and has averaged roughly 429 stars a year. It ranks #513 among Rust repositories and #4,994 across all languages on GitHubRepo.

Trending Record

kern has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #4824. Below is the 30-day activity profile:

💡 Overview

kern is an open-source project written in Rust: a fast, rootless container runtime and sandbox with no daemon. It runs workloads, including agent tool calls and code generated by an LLM, in real containers enforced by the kernel.

Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in ai-agents, cgroups, code-execution. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.

⚡ Key Features

1

Optimized execution pipeline written in Rust for predictable speed.

2

Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.

3

Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.

4

Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.

5

Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.

6

Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.

📥 Installation

terminal
$ cargo install kern

⚙ System Requirements

Platforms

  • • macOS
  • • Linux
  • • Windows

Runtime & Dependencies

Rust toolchain (rustc / cargo >= 1.70)

Architecture

x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)

🧠 How It Works

kern coordinates its core functionality through a modular Rust pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.

🎯 Production Use Cases

Autonomous AI Agents

Orchestrate intelligent workflows and tool-calling routines with kern.

Model Inference & Prompting

Integrate fast, local or cloud-hosted generative AI models directly into production code.

Context Memory & RAG

Augment language models with dynamic vector retrieval and structured project memory.

Developer Productivity

Automate repetitive engineering tasks, code generation, and test creation using AI agents.

🚀 Getting Started

1

Install kern using your package manager: `cargo install kern`

2

Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for kern.

3

Import kern into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.

4

Execute your test suite or run `kern --help` to verify successful setup.

👍 Strengths

Active community backing with 429 GitHub stars and verified adoption.
Permissive open-source distribution under the Apache-2.0 license.
Built in Rust for high execution speed and developer familiarity.
Cross-platform compatibility across modern Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Clean modular design allowing flexible configuration and pipeline integration.

⚠️ Considerations

Requires familiarity with Rust and modern CLI workflows.
Ecosystem extensions may require manual configuration depending on environment constraints.
Active development roadmap means breaking API changes may occur across major versions.

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👥 Who Should Use This

Developers and engineering teams building with Rust, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.

🏆 Nearby in the Rankings

getkern/kern is currently ranked #4,994 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:

RankRepositoryLanguageStarsAction
#4,989 inex/IXP-Manager PHP ★ 430 Compare ↗
#4,989 valen-lang/Valen Rust ★ 430 Compare ↗
#4,989 MbinOrg/mbin PHP ★ 430 Compare ↗
#4,989 trimble-oss/dba-dash C# ★ 430 Compare ↗
#4,989 WikiEducationFoundation/WikiEduDashboard Ruby ★ 430 Compare ↗
#4,994 getkern/kern This Project Rust ★ 429
#4,994 sporkmonger/uuidtools Ruby ★ 429 Compare ↗
#4,994 thibaudgg/video_info Ruby ★ 429 Compare ↗
#4,994 cryptomator/cli Java ★ 429 Compare ↗
#4,994 intelligo-dev/intelligo TypeScript ★ 429 Compare ↗
#4,994 WhatsApp/erlang-language-platform Rust ★ 429 Compare ↗

Frequently Asked Questions

What does kern do? +

a fast, rootless container runtime and sandbox with no daemon. It runs workloads, including agent tool calls and code generated by an LLM, in real containers enforced by the kernel.

What language is kern written in? +

The primary language is Rust. Topics include: ai-agents, cgroups, code-execution, code-interpreter, container-runtime.

Is kern actively maintained? +

Yes, the last recorded push was on Sep 29, 2026 with 0 open issues being tracked.

How many stars does kern have? +

kern has 429 stars and 10 forks on GitHub.

How does kern rank among GitHub repositories? +

With 429 stars, getkern/kern is ranked #4,994 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #513 among Rust projects.

What license is kern distributed under? +

The repository reports a Apache-2.0 license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.

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