specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
provider: CRI-O
providerId: cri-o
publisherName: CRI-O Authors / CNCF
serviceCategory: Open Source Container Runtime
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - CNCF
  - Container Runtime
  - Containers
  - CRI
  - Kubernetes
  - OCI
  - Open Source
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
description: FinOps shape for CRI-O - an Apache 2.0 / CNCF Graduated open-source container runtime.
  There is no upstream invoice. Operator cost is borne by the underlying compute (node-hours), image
  storage, and image-pull egress on the hosting cluster.
sources:
  - https://cri-o.io/
  - https://github.com/cri-o/cri-o
  - https://www.cncf.io/projects/cri-o/
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Open Source (No Charge)
  billingFrequency: N/A
  billingCurrency: N/A
  chargeCategories: []
  chargeFrequency: N/A
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: CRI-O
  ServiceCategory: Open Source Container Runtime
  ProviderName: CRI-O Project
  PublisherName: CRI-O Authors / CNCF
  PricingCategory: Free
  BillingCurrency: N/A
  ChargeCategory: N/A
meters:
  - name: container_runtime_hours
    description: Node-hours of CRI-O runtime time (proxied via underlying node billing on the cloud
      provider)
    unit: node-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - cluster
      - node_pool
  - name: image_pulls
    description: Container image pull operations (drives upstream registry egress and any registry
      bandwidth charges)
    unit: pull
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - registry
      - image
      - cluster
  - name: image_storage
    description: Container image / layer storage on the node disk (drives node-disk capacity sizing)
    unit: GB
    aggregation: avg
    dimensions:
      - node_pool
      - cluster
  - name: container_starts
    description: Container start events (operational metric from CRI-O Prometheus metrics)
    unit: event
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - cluster
      - namespace
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: CRI-O itself is free; observe cost via the Prometheus /metrics endpoint (image pulls,
      operations, errors) joined to FOCUS-aligned node-hour billing.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Allocate node-hour cost to namespaces / workloads via Kubernetes labels; image-pull
      egress can be attributed to the namespace whose pod triggered the pull.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Use a registry mirror or pull-through cache to cut registry egress; configure
      drop_infra_ctr and small-pause images to reduce per-pod overhead; right-size node-pool to actual
      pod density; prune unused images on a schedule via crictl rmi to control disk consumption.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Assign a platform-team owner for the container-runtime layer; alert on image-pull
      error rate and inode pressure; review CRI-O / Kubernetes upgrade cadence to keep the runtime
      patched without extra paid support.
notes: CRI-O is open-source with no upstream commercial billing. FinOps for CRI-O is FinOps for the
  underlying node compute, image storage, and image-pull egress. Reconciled is false because there
  is no provider rate card or invoice to reconcile against.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com