# projectcalico/calico

Cloud native networking and network security

Repository: https://github.com/projectcalico/calico
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/calico
Homepage: https://docs.tigera.io/calico/latest/about/
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: cni, cni-plugin, ebpf, k8s, kubernetes, kubernetes-networking, kubernetes-windows, network-policy, networking, security, windows, xdp, identity-aware-policy, openstack, host-protection, cats, observability
Last push: 2026-08-26T23:09:35+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 99/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 98, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3695, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 13, "gap_med": 22.0, "n_releases_24m": 31}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7336, forks 1600 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:58.311457+00:00)

## What it is
Calico is an open-source cloud-native networking and network security platform for Kubernetes, providing pod networking (CNI), network policy enforcement, and observability across multiple data planes including eBPF, standard Linux, Windows, and VPP. It is the most widely adopted container networking solution, supporting BGP routing, VXLAN overlays, WireGuard encryption, and scalable IP address management.

## Use cases
- set up pod networking for a kubernetes cluster
- enforce network policies between kubernetes workloads
- encrypt pod traffic with wireguard
- choose a cni plugin for eks gke or aks
- secure outbound egress traffic from pods
- run kubernetes networking on windows nodes
- troubleshoot and observe cluster network traffic
- peer cluster nodes over bgp without an overlay

## When to choose
- you need production-grade, widely adopted kubernetes networking with strong network policy support
- you want a choice of data planes including eBPF, iptables, nftables, Windows, or VPP
- you need scalable IPAM, BGP peering, or overlay networking across clouds and bare metal
- you require WireGuard encryption and granular workload access controls

## When to avoid
- you need a service mesh or L7 load balancing as the primary feature rather than L3/L4 networking
- you want a fully managed SaaS experience without self-hosting (that requires Calico Cloud)
- your environment is not Kubernetes or OpenStack based
- you need a lightweight single-binary CNI with minimal operational surface

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: stable
- function: networking, security, monitoring, cryptography
- domain: networking, security, cloud-computing, monitoring
- platform: windows, cloud, self-hosted, go
- tags: cni, kubernetes-networking, network-policy, ebpf, wireguard, bgp, vxlan, network-security, observability, ipam, containers, devops, linux, kubernetes, docker

## Member repositories
- projectcalico/calico (main) score 99

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:58.311457+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 2026-08-29T17:38:28.772163+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/projectcalico/calico (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:58.311457+00:00, sha 3479683c13d8)
  - homepage: https://docs.tigera.io/calico/latest/about/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:03.236439+00:00, sha 2489e4668eb3)
  - site_page: https://docs.tigera.io/calico-cloud/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:03.248821+00:00, sha c24691a594b7)
  - site_page: https://docs.tigera.io/calico-enterprise/latest/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:03.251958+00:00, sha 7f4fb2897a57)
  - site_page: https://docs.tigera.io/calico/3.31/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:03.254358+00:00, sha 66dc97ce88d2)
  - site_page: https://docs.tigera.io/calico/3.30/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:03.257538+00:00, sha c3582397e6c5)
  - site_page: https://docs.tigera.io/calico/latest/about/calico-product-editions (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:03.260400+00:00, sha ebe7d6639d3a)
  - site_page: https://docs.tigera.io/calico/latest/about/training-resources (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:03.262357+00:00, sha 318f2c832d82)
  - site_page: https://docs.tigera.io/calico/latest/about/kubernetes-training (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:03.264348+00:00, sha a8529759ec40)
  - site_page: https://www.tigera.io/tigera-products/calico-cloud-pricing (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:03.246324+00:00, sha ec157433d0fa)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.