Source: https://seerepo.com/compare/containerd/nerdctl/vs/moby/buildkit
Markdown source: https://seerepo.com/compare/containerd/nerdctl/vs/moby/buildkit.md
Description: nerdctl and buildkit share 7 technologies: github.com/containerd/console, containerd, github.com/containerd/stargz-snapshotter, github.com/containerd/stargz-snapshotter/estargz, github.com/containernetworking/plugins, github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22, and github.com/Microsoft/hcsshim. Both are written in Go.

# nerdctl vs buildkit

nerdctl and buildkit share 7 technologies: github.com/containerd/console, containerd, github.com/containerd/stargz-snapshotter, github.com/containerd/stargz-snapshotter/estargz, github.com/containernetworking/plugins, github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22, and github.com/Microsoft/hcsshim. Both are written in Go.

- [containerd/nerdctl](https://seerepo.com/r/containerd/nerdctl): contaiNERD CTL - Docker-compatible CLI for containerd, with support for Compose, Rootless, eStargz, OCIcrypt, IPFS, ...
- [moby/buildkit](https://seerepo.com/r/moby/buildkit): concurrent, cache-efficient, and Dockerfile-agnostic builder toolkit

## What they share and what sets them apart

- In common: github.com/containerd/console, containerd, github.com/containerd/stargz-snapshotter, github.com/containerd/stargz-snapshotter/estargz, github.com/containernetworking/plugins, github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22, github.com/Microsoft/hcsshim
- Only in nerdctl: github.com/compose-spec/compose-go/v2, github.com/moby/moby/v2, github.com/containernetworking/cni, github.com/fahedouch/go-logrotate, github.com/fluent/fluent-logger-golang, github.com/moby/moby/client
- Only in buildkit: net/http, s3, etcd, github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-go/sdk/storage/azblob, github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/feature/s3/transfermanager, github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2, github.com/morikuni/aec, github.com/tonistiigi/vt100, github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/credentials, github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-go/sdk/azidentity, github.com/tonistiigi/go-csvvalue, OpenTelemetry, github.com/sirupsen/logrus, go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/google.golang.org/grpc/otelgrpc, github.com/containerd/accelerated-container-image, github.com/containerd/nydus-snapshotter, github.com/containerd/go-runc, github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2, github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/config, github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-go/sdk/azcore, github.com/containerd/fuse-overlayfs-snapshotter/v2, github.com/prometheus/client_golang, go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/net/http/otelhttp, go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/jaeger, go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/prometheus

## Side by side

| | nerdctl | buildkit |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 134,383 lines written, 543 code files | 223,276 lines written, 672 code files |
| Who writes it | 1.8% of its commits signed by AI. With Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor | 0.2% of its commits signed by AI. With Codex, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor |
| Activity | Last push November 12, 2026, 3,824 commits, 10,480 stars | Last push November 12, 2026, 6,140 commits, 10,418 stars |
| Tests | 282 test files. 33% of its code files have a test that imports them | 361 test files. 53.7% of its code files have a test that imports them |

- Size: Lines written by people and agents, without generated ones; code files, without tests.
- Who writes it: A commit counts as AI's when it carries its signature: a Co-Authored-By line, its author name or the merge of its branch.
- Activity: From GitHub and its history, on the day SeeRepo read it.
- Tests: The files that test the code, and the share of code files a test imports.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is bigger, nerdctl or buildkit?

buildkit, with 223,276 lines written; nerdctl has 134,383.

The proof: [moby/buildkit's code at commit d667ec0](https://github.com/moby/buildkit/tree/d667ec05a024e65a79bd07c8c241adddaf30f550)

### Which has more GitHub stars, nerdctl or buildkit?

nerdctl, with 10,480 stars; buildkit has 10,418.

The proof: [containerd/nerdctl on GitHub](https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl)

### Which has more tests, nerdctl or buildkit?

buildkit, with 361 test files; nerdctl has 282.

The proof: [moby/buildkit's code at commit d667ec0](https://github.com/moby/buildkit/tree/d667ec05a024e65a79bd07c8c241adddaf30f550)

### Which was updated more recently, nerdctl or buildkit?

Both got their last push on November 12, 2026.

The proof: [containerd/nerdctl's commits on GitHub](https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl/commits)

### Which has more commits signed by AI, nerdctl or buildkit?

nerdctl: an AI signed 1.8% of its commits, with Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor; in buildkit, 0.2%.

The proof: [the commits each tool signed in containerd/nerdctl](https://seerepo.com/r/containerd/nerdctl/ai)

## Sources

- containerd/nerdctl: Read on November 13, 2026, at commit 27dac94 (https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl/tree/27dac9462451c6f2ebde1889230480111521c766)
- moby/buildkit: Read on November 13, 2026, at commit d667ec0 (https://github.com/moby/buildkit/tree/d667ec05a024e65a79bd07c8c241adddaf30f550)

## What is your repo built with?

Any public repo, with no account: https://seerepo.com/r/owner/repo/built, with the owner and name it has on GitHub.