kind vs Tokaido
kind
kind.sigs.k8s.ioTokaido
tokaido.ioSide by side
| Figure | kind | Tokaido |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Container Development Environments | 8.5 (#7) | 8.0 (#17) |
| Purpose | kind runs local Kubernetes clusters using Docker container nodes and is designed primarily for Kubernetes testing, with local development and CI as other uses. | Tokaido is a command-line tool and collection of Docker containers for running local Drupal development environments. |
| Support | The project directs users to its Kubernetes Slack #kind channel, GitHub issue tracker, and SIG-Testing mailing list for help and issues. | The FAQ invites users to contact the maintainers when documentation does not resolve an issue. |
| Windows limitation | Windows containers are listed as unsupported or infeasible in the known issues guide. | The Windows installation guide says running `docker-compose exec` requires the `winpty` prefix to address TTY compatibility. |
Plans
In their own words
kind
kind runs local Kubernetes clusters with Docker container nodes, mainly for Kubernetes testing; local development and CI are also listed uses. It bootstraps cluster nodes with kubeadm and supports multi-node setups, including high availability. A configuration file can define worker and control-plane nodes, port mappings, and Kubernetes versions.
The tool can build Kubernetes release builds from source or use pre-published builds. It can detect Docker, Podman, or nerdctl as its container provider, including rootless providers subject to host and provider requirements. Users can load Docker images or an image archive into a cluster. Documentation covers ingress and Gateway API configuration with cloud-provider-kind, private registry workflows, and Kubernetes API audit logging.
Tokaido
Tokaido is a free, open-source tool for creating local Drupal development environments with Docker and the `tok` command-line interface. Its containers can run PHP, Nginx, and MySQL, with optional services including Solr, Memcache, Mailhog, and Adminer. The `tok up` command starts an environment and sets up HTTPS. Project settings can be kept in `.tok/config.yml` in the Git repository, allowing teammates to share configuration. An SSH endpoint provides access to tools such as Drush, Composer, Gulp, Yarn, and Npm. Tokaido supports Linux, macOS, and Windows, though its Windows build is described as beta and experimental. Its local environment is ephemeral: the database resets on restart, and files outside `/tokaido/site` are lost. Drupal multisite is supported, but `tok snapshot` and `tok test` do not account for multisite databases. The project lists Drupal 7 or 8, PHP 7.1, and a Git repository as requirements. Tokaido was founded in 2016, is headquartered in Melbourne, and is primarily maintained by Ironstar.