Source: https://seerepo.com/compare/google/gvisor/vs/opencontainers/runc
Markdown source: https://seerepo.com/compare/google/gvisor/vs/opencontainers/runc.md
Description: gvisor and runc share 3 technologies: containerd, github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22, and github.com/sirupsen/logrus. Both are written in Go.

# gvisor vs runc

gvisor and runc share 3 technologies: containerd, github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22, and github.com/sirupsen/logrus. Both are written in Go.

- [google/gvisor](https://seerepo.com/r/google/gvisor): Application Kernel for Containers
- [opencontainers/runc](https://seerepo.com/r/opencontainers/runc): CLI tool for spawning and running containers according to the OCI specification

## What they share and what sets them apart

- In common: containerd, github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22, github.com/sirupsen/logrus
- Only in gvisor: net/http, Sinatra, Redis, Google, github.com/containerd/console, cloud.google.com/go/compute/metadata, puma, github.com/containerd/containerd/v2, github.com/containerd/go-runc
- Only in runc: github.com/checkpoint-restore/go-criu/v8

## Side by side

| | gvisor | runc |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 814,952 lines written, 1,669 code files | 32,216 lines written, 128 code files |
| Who writes it | 0.3% of its commits signed by AI. With Claude Code and Gemini CLI | 0.4% of its commits signed by AI. With Claude Code |
| Activity | Last push November 5, 2026, 11,902 commits, 19,877 stars | Last push November 9, 2026, 5,225 commits, 13,543 stars |
| Tests | 921 test files. 55.1% of its code files have a test that imports them | 51 test files. 43% 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, gvisor or runc?

gvisor, with 814,952 lines written; runc has 32,216.

The proof: [google/gvisor's code at commit da95e9b](https://github.com/google/gvisor/tree/da95e9bce7391557f4cd4102a96ed7f97156f214)

### Which has more GitHub stars, gvisor or runc?

gvisor, with 19,877 stars; runc has 13,543.

The proof: [google/gvisor on GitHub](https://github.com/google/gvisor)

### Which has more tests, gvisor or runc?

gvisor, with 921 test files; runc has 51.

The proof: [google/gvisor's code at commit da95e9b](https://github.com/google/gvisor/tree/da95e9bce7391557f4cd4102a96ed7f97156f214)

### Which was updated more recently, gvisor or runc?

runc: its last push was on November 9, 2026, and gvisor's on November 5, 2026.

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

### Which has more commits signed by AI, gvisor or runc?

runc: an AI signed 0.4% of its commits, with Claude Code; in gvisor, 0.3%.

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

## Sources

- google/gvisor: Read on November 5, 2026, at commit da95e9b (https://github.com/google/gvisor/tree/da95e9bce7391557f4cd4102a96ed7f97156f214)
- opencontainers/runc: Read on November 10, 2026, at commit 817ee95 (https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/tree/817ee95c66f78831b8f57c7bc3185c230240f648)

## 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.