Cloud Native Buildpacks Pack vs KIWI NG
Cloud Native Buildpacks Pack
buildpacks.ioKIWI NG
osinside.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Cloud Native Buildpacks Pack | KIWI NG |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Container Build Tools | 8.1 (#11) | 8.2 (#10) |
| License | The project is described as an Apache-2.0 licensed project. | The source repository identifies the project license as GPL-3.0. |
| Purpose | Pack is a CLI tool maintained by the Cloud Native Buildpacks project to support the use of buildpacks. | KIWI NG is a command-line image builder that creates bootable, reproducible Linux images for virtual machines, cloud platforms, removable media, containers, and specialized deployment targets. |
| Support | The project identifies CNCF Slack #buildpacks and its mailing list as contact channels for the team. | The project lists an open kiwi-images mailing list and a Matrix room for contact. |
Plans
In their own words
Cloud Native Buildpacks Pack
Cloud Native Buildpacks Pack is a free command-line tool for building applications with buildpacks and rebasing the resulting application images. It is maintained by the Cloud Native Buildpacks project and is also available as a Go library. Buildpacks turn application source code into container images that can run on any cloud. Listed capabilities include caching, automatic source detection, modular buildpacks, support for multiple languages and processes, minimal images, reproducible builds and reuse of community buildpacks. Pack supports multi-architecture builds and multiple build-cache backends, and the project lists build-time software bills of materials in CycloneDX, SPDX and Syft JSON formats. The CLI runs on Linux, macOS and Windows; installation options include package managers, container images, scripts and manual installation. Builds need a containerized environment and a daemon such as Docker or Podman, and some setups may need the local Docker socket mounted. The project documents CircleCI, GitLab Auto DevOps and Tekton integrations, as well as kpack for Kubernetes-native builds and image updates. Pack is Apache-2.0 licensed.
KIWI NG
KIWI NG is a free, daemonless command-line image builder for Linux. It turns versioned image descriptions and package repositories into bootable, reproducible artifacts. A prepared root tree can produce disk images, ISO files, or containers for virtual machines, cloud platforms, removable media, and specialized targets. Descriptions define metadata, repositories, packages, users, storage, target configuration, and image types, using config.xml or a .kiwi file. Overlays, archives, and scripts add customization. Documented package managers include apk, apt, dnf4, dnf5, microdnf, pacman, and zypper. Supported distributions include Fedora, CentOS Stream, openSUSE, Ubuntu, Debian, and Arch Linux. Builds support multiple architectures and a local cache backend. Installation is available through distribution packages, Open Build Service, or pip. A recent Linux host, Python 3.9 or newer, Git, and at least 15 GB recommended free disk space are required. QEMU can optionally boot and inspect outputs; GPL-3.0 governs the source.