aid: youki name: Youki description: >- youki is an open source container runtime written in Rust that implements the OCI runtime specification as a memory-safe alternative to runc, with rootless container support, cgroups v1 and v2, seccomp filtering, and systemd integration. Maintained as a CNCF sandbox project under the youki-dev organization, youki is adopted by container engines such as containerd, Podman, and Docker for executing OCI-compliant workloads. type: Index image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg tags: - Containers - Container Runtime - OCI - Rust - CNCF - Cloud Native - Kubernetes url: >- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/youki/refs/heads/main/apis.yml created: '2026-03-26' modified: '2026-05-03' specificationVersion: '0.19' apis: - aid: youki:youki name: Youki Container Runtime description: >- youki is a container runtime written in Rust that implements the OCI runtime specification, providing a memory-safe and high-performance alternative to runc. It supports rootless containers, cgroups v1 and v2, seccomp filtering, capabilities, and Linux namespaces, and integrates with container engines including containerd, Podman, Docker, and Kubernetes. humanURL: https://github.com/youki-dev/youki tags: - Container Runtime - OCI - Rust properties: - type: Documentation url: https://youki-dev.github.io/youki/ - type: GettingStarted url: https://youki-dev.github.io/youki/user/basic_usage.html - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/youki-dev/youki - type: ReleaseNotes url: https://github.com/youki-dev/youki/releases - type: ChangeLog url: https://github.com/youki-dev/youki/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md - type: CLI url: https://crates.io/crates/youki title: youki CLI - type: SDK url: https://crates.io/crates/libcontainer title: libcontainer (Rust) - type: SDK url: https://crates.io/crates/libcgroups title: libcgroups (Rust) - type: SDK url: https://crates.io/crates/liboci-cli title: liboci-cli (Rust) - type: CodeExamples url: https://github.com/youki-dev/youki/tree/main/tools/wasm-sample title: WebAssembly Sample - type: Tutorials url: https://youki-dev.github.io/youki/user/webassembly.html title: Running WebAssembly Workloads - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-config-schema.json title: OCI Runtime Config Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-state-schema.json title: OCI Runtime State Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-features-schema.json title: OCI Runtime Features Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-config-linux.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Config Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-config-windows.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Config Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-config-solaris.json title: OCI Runtime Solaris Config Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-config-freebsd.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Config Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-config-zos.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Config Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-config-vm.json title: OCI Runtime VM Config Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-features-linux.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Features Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-defs.json title: OCI Runtime Common Definitions - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-defs-linux.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Definitions - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-defs-windows.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Definitions - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-defs-vm.json title: OCI Runtime VM Definitions - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-defs-zos.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Definitions - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-defs-freebsd.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Definitions - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-state-structure.json title: OCI Runtime State Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-features-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Features Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-linux-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-windows-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-solaris-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Solaris Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-freebsd-structure.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-zos-structure.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-vm-structure.json title: OCI Runtime VM Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-features-linux-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Features Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Common Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-linux-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-windows-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-vm-structure.json title: OCI Runtime VM Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-zos-structure.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-freebsd-structure.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Definitions Structure - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-example.json title: OCI Runtime Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-state-example.json title: OCI Runtime State Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-features-example.json title: OCI Runtime Features Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-linux-example.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-windows-example.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-solaris-example.json title: OCI Runtime Solaris Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-freebsd-example.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-zos-example.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-vm-example.json title: OCI Runtime VM Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-features-linux-example.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Features Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-example.json title: OCI Runtime Common Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-linux-example.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-windows-example.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-vm-example.json title: OCI Runtime VM Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-zos-example.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-freebsd-example.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Definitions Example - type: JSON-LD url: json-ld/youki-oci-runtime-context.jsonld title: OCI Runtime JSON-LD Context - aid: youki:oci-spec-rs name: OCI Spec for Rust description: >- oci-spec-rs is a Rust implementation of the OCI Runtime, Image, and Distribution Specifications, providing the data structures and types consumed by youki and other Rust-based container tooling. humanURL: https://github.com/youki-dev/oci-spec-rs tags: - OCI - Rust - Specification properties: - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/youki-dev/oci-spec-rs - type: SDK url: https://crates.io/crates/oci-spec title: oci-spec (Rust) - type: Documentation url: https://docs.rs/oci-spec title: oci-spec API Docs - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-config-schema.json title: OCI Runtime Config Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-state-schema.json title: OCI Runtime State Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-runtime-features-schema.json title: OCI Runtime Features Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-image-config-schema.json title: OCI Image Config Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-image-manifest-schema.json title: OCI Image Manifest Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-image-index-schema.json title: OCI Image Index Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-image-layout-schema.json title: OCI Image Layout Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-image-content-descriptor.json title: OCI Image Content Descriptor Schema - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-image-defs.json title: OCI Image Common Definitions - type: JSONSchema url: json-schema/oci-image-defs-descriptor.json title: OCI Image Descriptor Definitions - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-state-structure.json title: OCI Runtime State Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-features-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Features Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-linux-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-windows-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-solaris-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Solaris Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-freebsd-structure.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-zos-structure.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-config-vm-structure.json title: OCI Runtime VM Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-features-linux-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Features Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Common Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-linux-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-windows-structure.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-vm-structure.json title: OCI Runtime VM Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-zos-structure.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-runtime-defs-freebsd-structure.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-image-config-structure.json title: OCI Image Config Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-image-manifest-structure.json title: OCI Image Manifest Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-image-index-structure.json title: OCI Image Index Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-image-layout-structure.json title: OCI Image Layout Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-image-content-descriptor-structure.json title: OCI Image Content Descriptor Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-image-defs-structure.json title: OCI Image Common Definitions Structure - type: JSONStructure url: json-structure/oci-image-defs-descriptor-structure.json title: OCI Image Descriptor Definitions Structure - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-example.json title: OCI Runtime Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-state-example.json title: OCI Runtime State Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-features-example.json title: OCI Runtime Features Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-linux-example.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-windows-example.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-solaris-example.json title: OCI Runtime Solaris Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-freebsd-example.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-zos-example.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-config-vm-example.json title: OCI Runtime VM Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-features-linux-example.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Features Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-example.json title: OCI Runtime Common Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-linux-example.json title: OCI Runtime Linux Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-windows-example.json title: OCI Runtime Windows Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-vm-example.json title: OCI Runtime VM Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-zos-example.json title: OCI Runtime z/OS Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-runtime-defs-freebsd-example.json title: OCI Runtime FreeBSD Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-image-config-example.json title: OCI Image Config Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-image-manifest-example.json title: OCI Image Manifest Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-image-index-example.json title: OCI Image Index Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-image-layout-example.json title: OCI Image Layout Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-image-content-descriptor-example.json title: OCI Image Content Descriptor Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-image-defs-example.json title: OCI Image Common Definitions Example - type: Example url: examples/oci-image-defs-descriptor-example.json title: OCI Image Descriptor Definitions Example - type: JSON-LD url: json-ld/youki-oci-runtime-context.jsonld title: OCI Runtime JSON-LD Context - type: JSON-LD url: json-ld/youki-oci-image-context.jsonld title: OCI Image JSON-LD Context common: - type: Documentation url: https://youki-dev.github.io/youki/ - type: GitHubOrganization url: https://github.com/youki-dev - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/youki-dev/youki - type: ReleaseNotes url: https://github.com/youki-dev/youki/releases - type: ChangeLog url: https://github.com/youki-dev/youki/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md - type: Support url: https://youki-dev.github.io/youki/community/introduction.html - type: Vocabulary url: vocabulary/youki-vocabulary.yaml title: Youki Vocabulary - type: Features data: - name: OCI Runtime Spec Compliance description: >- Implements the Open Container Initiative (OCI) runtime specification, allowing youki to run any OCI-compliant container alongside or in place of runc. - name: Memory-Safe Rust Implementation description: >- Written entirely in Rust to deliver memory safety and stronger isolation guarantees than C-based container runtimes. - name: Rootless Containers description: >- Enables running containers without root privileges to reduce host attack surface for development and multi-tenant scenarios. - name: Cgroups v1 and v2 Support description: >- Supports both legacy cgroups v1 and modern cgroups v2 hierarchies for resource management on Linux. - name: Seccomp Filtering description: >- Applies seccomp BPF filters to restrict syscalls available to containers and harden the runtime surface. - name: Systemd Integration description: >- Integrates with systemd as a cgroup manager and supports systemd-managed container processes. - name: Linux Namespaces and Capabilities description: >- Manages mount, UTS, IPC, user, PID, network, and cgroup namespaces and supports capabilities such as CAP_BPF, CAP_PERFMON, and CAP_CHECKPOINT_RESTORE. - name: Performance description: >- Benchmarks show youki performing roughly twice as fast as runc for container create-to-delete cycles. - name: CNCF Sandbox Project description: >- Maintained as a Cloud Native Computing Foundation sandbox project with open governance, public roadmap, and community contributors. - type: UseCases data: - name: Drop-In runc Replacement description: >- Use youki as a drop-in replacement for runc in container engines to gain memory safety and performance benefits with no workload changes. - name: Rootless Container Workflows description: >- Run containers as a non-root user for development, CI, or multi-tenant environments where elevated privileges are not desirable. - name: Kubernetes Workloads via containerd description: >- Use youki under containerd to execute Kubernetes pods and workloads in production clusters. - name: Podman and Docker Container Execution description: >- Configure Podman or Docker to invoke youki as the low-level OCI runtime for image execution. - name: Container Runtime Research and Education description: >- Explore and prototype container runtime features in a memory-safe codebase suitable for systems research, security analysis, and teaching. - type: Integrations data: - name: containerd description: >- containerd has passed end-to-end testing against youki, enabling its use as the OCI runtime for Kubernetes and other workloads orchestrated by containerd. - name: Podman description: >- Podman can be configured to use youki as its OCI runtime for both rootless and rootful container execution. - name: Docker description: >- Docker can call youki as the low-level OCI runtime in place of runc for compatible workloads via daemon.json configuration. - name: Kubernetes description: >- Kubernetes clusters can run youki indirectly through container runtimes such as containerd or CRI-O. - name: crun description: >- youki sits alongside crun as a modern alternative to runc, focused on memory-safe systems programming in Rust. - name: systemd description: >- Integrates with systemd for cgroup management and lifecycle control of container processes. - name: oci-spec-rs description: >- Built on oci-spec-rs, the Rust implementation of the OCI Runtime, Image, and Distribution specifications maintained by the same organization. - type: Solutions data: - name: Cloud Native Container Platforms description: >- Provides a CNCF sandbox container runtime for cloud-native platforms looking to adopt a memory-safe OCI runtime under containerd or CRI-O. - name: Secure Multi-Tenant Hosts description: >- Pairs rootless containers, seccomp filtering, and Rust memory safety to harden multi-tenant container hosts against runtime exploits. - name: Edge and Embedded Workloads description: >- A lightweight, high-performance runtime suitable for edge and embedded deployments where resource use and predictable performance matter. maintainers: - FN: Kin Lane email: kin@apievangelist.com