gVisor

license

Apache-2.0(OSI)

source

public(Go)

governance

Google-led open project

core-gated

ungated

Fully Apache-2.0 application kernel with public source and no gated core. Some files carry MIT or BSD terms noted at the top of each file - both permissive and OSI - so the governing Apache-2.0 stands and the most restrictive part does not move the tier. The untruncated default-branch tree carries one LICENSE and the whole runtime in the open (runsc/, pkg/, shim/, sandboxexec/, webhook/, vdso/) with no ee/, enterprise/, commercial/ or proprietary/ path, and neither the README nor gvisor.dev names a paid or enterprise edition. Google runs gVisor as a hosted service inside Cloud Run and GKE Sandbox but sells no gVisor SKU and withholds no runtime feature from the source, so nothing in the core is gated.

• https://github.com/google/gvisor recorded 2026-06-04

  Apache-2.0 license; application kernel implementing Linux-like interface in userspace (Go)

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google/gvisor/master/LICENSE recorded 2026-08-13

  The verbatim Apache License 2.0, followed by two appended notices - "Some files carry the following license" (MIT text) and "Some files carry the 'BSD' license". Both are permissive OSI licenses, so the governing grant is Apache-2.0 with permissive third-party carve-outs and no restrictive part.

• https://api.github.com/repos/google/gvisor/git/trees/master recorded 2026-08-13

  Untruncated default-branch tree, 39 entries. One LICENSE. The whole runtime is present - runsc/, pkg/, shim/, sandboxexec/, webhook/, vdso/, debian/, tools/ - and there is no ee/, enterprise/, commercial/ or proprietary/ path.

• https://api.github.com/repos/google/gvisor recorded 2026-08-13

  Repo metadata - language Go, license spdx_id Apache-2.0, default branch master, not archived, pushed 2026-08-13, 19,073 stars, homepage gvisor.dev.

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google/gvisor/master/README.md recorded 2026-08-13

  Describes gVisor as an application kernel written in Go running in userspace, shipping the OCI runtime runsc, with build-from-source instructions for the full release tarball. No paid tier, enterprise edition or withheld component is named anywhere in it.

Underpins Google Cloud Run ("Powered by gVisor" on gvisor.dev) and is the sandbox layer for GKE Sandbox, App Engine and Cloud Functions, billions of container executions across Google Cloud. gvisor.dev/users states plainly that "there are millions of gVisor sandbox instances running daily", alongside named production users - Anthropic (code execution inside claude.ai), Cloudflare Pages builds, DigitalOcean App Platform, Ant Group, Modal, Beam and Docker for Mac. Reach far exceeds the >10M band, and the 19,073 GitHub stars only corroborate it. No package is measured for this level, and that is deliberate. A PyPI package named `gvisor` exists and is genuinely this project’s, but gVisor is a Go application kernel shipped as a binary (runsc) and consumed through container runtimes, and that package sees 223 downloads a month - banding on it would take this record from 5 to 1 on a channel almost nobody uses. Where a package is not the product’s primary distribution channel, banding on it is a substitution rather than a measurement. The level therefore rests on documented reach rather than on a download feed, and cannot be recomputed from one.

• https://gvisor.dev/docs/ recorded 2026-06-04

  'Powered by gVisor' linking to Google Cloud Run as a production user

• https://github.com/google/gvisor recorded 2026-06-04

  Google-developed sandbox application kernel in production

• https://gvisor.dev/docs/ recorded 2026-08-13

  The "Powered by gVisor" badge is still in the site footer and still links to https://cloud.google.com/run. The page describes gVisor as the sandbox layer for containers and links the production guide.

• https://gvisor.dev/users/ recorded 2026-08-13

  "Who's Using gVisor" lists production users with quotes. Google's own entry reads "There are millions of gVisor sandbox instances running daily. gVisor powers Google Cloud offerings GKE Sandbox, Cloud Run, App Engine, and more." Other named users include Anthropic (contains code execution within claude.ai), Cloudflare (Pages builds), DigitalOcean (App Platform), Ant Group, Modal, Beam, Grist, Blink, Tines and Docker for Mac.

• https://api.github.com/repos/google/gvisor recorded 2026-08-13

  Repo metadata - 19,073 stars, 1,912 forks, not archived, pushed 2026-08-13. Corroborates activity only; the band does not rest on it.

Frontier-definer: a novel application-kernel isolation model giving VM-class security at userspace footprint and startup, the reference sandbox for Google Cloud’s serverless containers. Co-frontier with Firecracker, which reaches the same top score by a different isolation philosophy.

• https://github.com/google/gvisor recorded 2026-06-04

  intercepts syscalls as a userspace application kernel; VM-class security benefits at userspace footprint and startup

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google/gvisor/master/README.md recorded 2026-08-13

  "gVisor takes a distinct third approach, providing many security benefits of VMs while maintaining the lower resource footprint, fast startup, and flexibility of regular userspace applications." Not a syscall filter and not a VM. Ships the OCI runtime runsc, integrating with Docker and Kubernetes.

• https://gvisor.dev/docs/ recorded 2026-08-13

  "gVisor intercepts application system calls and acts as the guest kernel, without the need for translation through virtualized hardware", described as a merged guest kernel and VMM with a flexible resource footprint, combined with rule-based execution for defense in depth. Contrasts itself against both machine-level virtualization and seccomp/SELinux/AppArmor.