Source: https://seerepo.com/compare/k3s-io/k3s/vs/siderolabs/talos
Markdown source: https://seerepo.com/compare/k3s-io/k3s/vs/siderolabs/talos.md
Description: k3s and talos share 9 technologies: net/http, etcd, k8s.io/apiserver, github.com/sirupsen/logrus, containerd, k8s.io/klog/v2, k8s.io/kubelet, go.uber.org/zap, and k8s.io/kube-proxy. Both are written in Go.

# k3s vs talos

k3s and talos share 9 technologies: net/http, etcd, k8s.io/apiserver, github.com/sirupsen/logrus, containerd, k8s.io/klog/v2, k8s.io/kubelet, go.uber.org/zap, and k8s.io/kube-proxy. Both are written in Go.

- [k3s-io/k3s](https://seerepo.com/r/k3s-io/k3s): Lightweight Kubernetes
- [siderolabs/talos](https://seerepo.com/r/siderolabs/talos): Talos Linux is a modern Linux distribution built for Kubernetes.

## What they share and what sets them apart

- In common: net/http, etcd, k8s.io/apiserver, github.com/sirupsen/logrus, containerd, k8s.io/klog/v2, k8s.io/kubelet, go.uber.org/zap, k8s.io/kube-proxy
- Only in k3s: go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3, go.etcd.io/etcd/server/v3, go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3, github.com/ipfs/go-ds-leveldb, MinIO, Kubernetes, Prometheus, github.com/go-logr/logr, github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22, Docker, github.com/natefinch/lumberjack, github.com/containerd/zfs/v2, github.com/google/cadvisor/lib, github.com/ipfs/go-log/v2, github.com/Microsoft/hcsshim, github.com/prometheus/common
- Only in talos: github.com/rivo/tview, github.com/gdamore/tcell/v2, github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-go/sdk/azidentity, golang.org/x/oauth2, github.com/digitalocean/go-libvirt, github.com/moby/moby/client, github.com/containernetworking/cni, cloud.google.com/go/compute/metadata, github.com/moby/moby/api, github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/feature/ec2/imds, github.com/containernetworking/plugins, github.com/u-root/u-root, github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/config, github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-go/sdk/azcore, go.uber.org/zap/exp

## Side by side

| | k3s | talos |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 61,448 lines written, 244 code files | 582,559 lines written, 2,108 code files |
| Who writes it | 0.1% of its commits signed by AI. With Claude Code | 0.1% of its commits signed by AI. With Claude Code |
| Activity | Last push November 7, 2026, 3,674 commits, 34,351 stars | Last push November 12, 2026, 7,232 commits, 11,517 stars |
| Tests | 107 test files. 33.2% of its code files have a test that imports them | 1,075 test files. 74.7% 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, k3s or talos?

talos, with 582,559 lines written; k3s has 61,448.

The proof: [siderolabs/talos's code at commit 790ef2e](https://github.com/siderolabs/talos/tree/790ef2ed4c157f8194f57cea4273c7255b3a8819)

### Which has more GitHub stars, k3s or talos?

k3s, with 34,351 stars; talos has 11,517.

The proof: [k3s-io/k3s on GitHub](https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s)

### Which has more tests, k3s or talos?

talos, with 1,075 test files; k3s has 107.

The proof: [siderolabs/talos's code at commit 790ef2e](https://github.com/siderolabs/talos/tree/790ef2ed4c157f8194f57cea4273c7255b3a8819)

### Which was updated more recently, k3s or talos?

talos: its last push was on November 12, 2026, and k3s's on November 7, 2026.

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

### Which has more commits signed by AI, k3s or talos?

In both, an AI signed 0.1% of their commits.

## Sources

- k3s-io/k3s: Read on November 7, 2026, at commit dca306c (https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/tree/dca306c81c44fed1dd0621d5579785c980080ae8)
- siderolabs/talos: Read on November 12, 2026, at commit 790ef2e (https://github.com/siderolabs/talos/tree/790ef2ed4c157f8194f57cea4273c7255b3a8819)

## 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.