Knarr

Knarr is a cross-platform desktop application that provides a unified, native GUI over first-party OS containerization CLIs:

• macOS — container (Apple Container)
• Windows — wslc (Windows Subsystem for Linux Container CLI)

Knarr is not a new runtime. It is a thin, auditable GUI orchestration layer that detects the host OS and delegates 1:1 to the correct vendor CLI, surfacing the exact command executed for every action.

Current capabilities

• Browse containers and run lifecycle actions.
• Configure and run a container with environment variables, published ports, volumes, and resource limits.
• View container logs and live statistics.
• Browse images, inspect them, and pull images from a registry.

Networks, volumes, registries, and application preferences are planned but are not yet implemented.

Name

A knarr was a Norse cargo vessel used to carry goods across long distances. The name reflects Knarr's role as a practical vessel for carrying container workloads across the first-party container platforms provided by macOS and Windows.

Tech stack

• .NET
• Avalonia UI (AXAML) with compiled bindings
• MVVM via CommunityToolkit.Mvvm
• Central Package Management (Directory.Packages.props)

Project structure

Knarr.slnx                     Solution
Directory.Packages.props       Central NuGet package versions
.editorconfig                  Code style
docs/                          PRD and design mockups
src/
  Knarr.App/                   Application project
    Features/                  One folder per UI feature
      Shell/                   Main window (view + view model)
      Sidebar/                 Navigation sidebar (view + view model)
    Common/                    Shared base types (ViewModelBase)
    Models/                    Domain/data types
    Services/                  Platform service interfaces + implementations
    Converters/                Avalonia value converters
    Themes/                    Resource dictionaries
    Assets/                    Bundled resources
tests/
  Knarr.App.Tests/
    Features/                  Tests mirroring src/Features layout

Build & run

dotnet build
dotnet run --project src/Knarr.App

Releases

Release packaging and signing are not configured yet. When downloadable releases are published, they will be available from the GitHub releases page. The maintainer process and release prerequisites are documented in docs/RELEASING.md.

Code signing policy

Knarr intends to use a SignPath Foundation certificate for future Windows releases. Until the signing process is configured and approved, no Knarr release is represented as SignPath-signed.

Free code signing provided by SignPath.io, certificate by SignPath Foundation.

• Committers and reviewers: the contributors to the Knarr repository. Changes proposed by non-committers must be reviewed by a maintainer before merge.
• Approver: the repository owner approves each code-signing request until a public maintainer team is established.
• Access controls: maintainers with source-control or signing authority must use multi-factor authentication.
• Artifact provenance: only binaries built from this repository's source and approved release process may be submitted for signing.
• Privacy: Knarr does not transfer information to networked systems unless explicitly requested by its operator.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

Licensed under the MIT License.