srl-labs/containerlab

Health v2 · maintenance only

Adoption not part of the score

2778 stars · 490 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

Containerlab is a CLI tool for orchestrating container-based networking labs. It deploys containerized Network Operating Systems, wires them into user-defined topologies, and manages the lab lifecycle.

Use cases

• spin up a virtual network lab with routers and switches in containers
• test network designs with Nokia SR Linux and Arista cEOS before deploying
• create point-to-point links between containerized network OSes
• emulate a multi-vendor topology with Cisco, Juniper, and SONiC nodes
• practice network automation against realistic lab topologies
• run containerlab topologies on Kubernetes with clabernetes

When to choose

• you need virtual wiring between containerized network OSes that docker-compose can't provide
• you want to test network features and designs on a Linux server with Docker
• you need to launch VM-based routers via vrnetlab alongside containers

When to avoid

• you need a general-purpose container orchestration platform rather than networking labs
• you run on macOS or Windows natively without a Linux VM, since containerlab requires Linux with Docker
• you need production network emulation with high-fidelity ASIC behavior

Facets

cli-tool · maturity active

cli container-orchestration networking deployment developer-tools networking developer-tools cli go network-labs network-os topology-orchestration srlinux ceos sonic vrnetlab clabernetes network-simulation devops containers automation linux docker

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markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="srl-labs/containerlab")