# kubernetes-sigs/cri-tools

CLI and validation tools for Kubelet Container Runtime Interface (CRI) .

Repository: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cri-tools
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/cri-tools
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: kubernetes, kubelet-cri, containers, k8s-sig-node
Last push: 2026-08-24T08:41:26+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 84/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 57, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3506, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 131, "gap_med": 127.0, "n_releases_24m": 5}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2009, forks 490 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:04.938188+00:00)

## What it is
cri-tools provides crictl, a CLI for debugging Kubernetes nodes via the Kubelet Container Runtime Interface, and critest, a validation test suite for CRI runtimes. It is a Kubernetes SIG-Node project used to inspect and conformance-test container runtimes like containerd and CRI-O.

## Use cases
- debug pods and containers on a kubernetes node via crictl
- validate a container runtime against the CRI conformance suite
- inspect container logs and images without docker
- test containerd or CRI-O compatibility with a kubernetes release
- troubleshoot kubelet container runtime issues

## When to choose
- you administer or debug kubernetes nodes and need direct CRI access
- you are developing or certifying a CRI-compatible container runtime
- you need a docker-CLI-like tool for CRI runtimes

## When to avoid
- you want to manage end-user pods/containers as a runtime replacement for kubelet
- you need a general-purpose container manager outside kubernetes

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, testing, container-runtime, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: cli, go
- tags: kubernetes, cri, crictl, critest, kubelet, containerd, cri-o, containers, devops, linux

## Member repositories
- kubernetes-sigs/cri-tools (main) score 84

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:04.938188+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 2026-08-30T03:01:15.916370+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cri-tools (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:04.938188+00:00, sha 47195501eec1)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.