# operator-framework/operator-lifecycle-manager

A management framework for extending Kubernetes with Operators

Repository: https://github.com/operator-framework/operator-lifecycle-manager
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/operator-lifecycle-manager
Homepage: https://olm.operatorframework.io
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: kubernetes, kubernetes-operator, olm, crd, kubernetes-applications
Last push: 2026-08-25T19:46:24+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 97/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 94, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3309, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 41, "gap_med": 29, "n_releases_24m": 18}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1863, forks 586 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:46.063793+00:00)

## What it is
Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) extends Kubernetes with a declarative framework for installing, managing, and upgrading Operators and their dependencies. It provides catalogs, over-the-air updates, a dependency model, and discoverability for Kubernetes-native applications.

## Use cases
- install operators on a kubernetes cluster
- manage operator upgrades and dependencies declaratively
- run a catalog of kubernetes operators with over-the-air updates
- prevent conflicting operators from owning the same apis
- discover and install kubernetes-native applications from operatorhub
- package and publish operators for the kubernetes community

## When to choose
- you need declarative installation, upgrades, and dependency resolution for Operators on a Kubernetes cluster
- you want catalog-based distribution and automatic updates for cluster extensions
- you need to enforce API ownership and cluster stability across installed Operators

## When to avoid
- you are starting a new project - OLM v0 is in maintenance mode and the community is building OLM v1 (operator-controller)
- you only need to deploy plain applications without Operator packaging or lifecycle management
- you need new features, which are no longer accepted in this repository

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: maintenance
- function: deployment, package-manager, configuration-management, workflow-automation
- domain: cloud-computing, self-hosted
- platform: go, cloud, self-hosted
- tags: kubernetes-operators, olm, crd, operatorhub, package-management, cluster-extensions, over-the-air-updates, containers, devops, automation, kubernetes, docker

## Member repositories
- operator-framework/operator-lifecycle-manager (main) score 97

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:46.063793+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 2026-08-30T03:15:38.990561+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/operator-framework/operator-lifecycle-manager (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:46.063793+00:00, sha 7ad092e970f4)
  - homepage: https://olm.operatorframework.io (fetched 2026-08-29T10:54:45.077401+00:00, sha 8f01441f2d5b)
  - site_page: https://olm.operatorframework.io/about (fetched 2026-08-29T10:54:45.080220+00:00, sha 2dfd9d11da65)
  - site_page: https://olm.operatorframework.io/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T10:54:45.082075+00:00, sha fb0962ee9bf8)
  - site_page: https://olm.operatorframework.io/docs/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T10:54:45.083881+00:00, sha ec2bdd7e1216)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.