# chainguard-dev/apko

Build OCI images from APK packages directly without Dockerfile

Repository: https://github.com/chainguard-dev/apko
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/apko
Homepage: https://apko.dev
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: docker, oci, containers
Last push: 2026-08-26T14:03:01+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 87, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1667, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 10, "gap_med": 3, "n_releases_24m": 154}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1668, forks 225 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:19.720731+00:00)

## What it is
apko is a Go CLI tool that builds and publishes OCI container images directly from Alpine apk packages using declarative YAML configuration, without a Dockerfile. It produces fully reproducible, small distroless-style images with built-in SBOM generation and optional s6 multi-process supervision.

## Use cases
- build OCI container images from apk packages without a Dockerfile
- generate reproducible container images declaratively
- create small distroless-style base images
- produce SBOMs for container images
- publish images directly to a container registry
- run multiple processes in a container with s6 supervision

## When to choose
- you want fast, bit-for-bit reproducible container builds from Alpine/Wolfi packages
- you prefer declarative YAML over Dockerfiles
- you need SBOMs and minimal distroless-style images for supply-chain security
- you build images in CI and want millisecond-scale builds

## When to avoid
- your images are based on Debian/Ubuntu and apt, not apk
- you need complex multi-stage Dockerfile build logic
- you require building images from source rather than packages

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: build-tool, container-runtime, deployment, developer-tools
- domain: cloud-computing, developer-tools, security
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: oci-images, apk, alpine, reproducible-builds, sbom, distroless, container-images, chainguard, containers, devops, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- chainguard-dev/apko (main) score 95

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:19.720731+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:42:49.199308+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/chainguard-dev/apko (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:19.720731+00:00, sha ab77d527eed3)
  - homepage: https://apko.dev (fetched 2026-08-29T11:16:05.075197+00:00, sha 8902e5df25f2)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.