Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Nestybox

Run Docker and Kubernetes in Containers

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Nestybox launched in 2020; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Devbox – Easy, predictable shells and containers▲515

   Devbox is a command-line tool that lets you easily create isolated shells and containers. You start by defining the list of packages required by your development environment, and devbox uses that definition to create an isolated environment just for your application. In practice, Devbox works similar to a package manager like yarn – except the packages it manages are at the operating-system level (the sort of thing you would normally install with brew or apt-get). See it in action: https://youtu.be/WMBaXQZmDoA

   2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2RC
   Rootless Containers/Pods that run systemd, Docker, and even Kubernetes▲10

   Hi HN, this is Cesar and Rodny, developers of an open-source container runtime called Sysbox, and co-founders of a startup called Nestybox (YC S20). We launched on HN almost a year ago and got excellent feedback then (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24084758). Happy to say that over the past year, Sysbox has continued to gain traction, particularly for securing containers in production, CI/CD, and containerized dev environments. We wanted to announce an important new feature: integration between Sysbox and Kubernetes. As a quick refresher, Sysbox is a "runc" that…

   2021 · its alternatives →

3. 3DC
   Devbox – Containers for better dev environments▲116

   I've been frustrated with dependency hell and clutter on my VPS from dev, so I built Devbox: a lightweight, open-source CLI tool that spins up isolated development environments using Docker. Each project runs in its own container, but your code stays in simple flat folders on the host machine—no messing with volumes or sync issues. Environments are disposable, so you can nuke and recreate them without losing your work. Key features: - Instant setup: `devbox init my-project` and you're in a fresh env with `devbox shell`. - Configurable via JSON: Define packages, services, and more in a…

   2025 · devbox.ar0.eu · its alternatives →

4. 4AO
   An online interactive Kubernetes playground▲164

   2017 · play-with-k8s.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Google Cloud Run▲98

   Bringing serverless to containers

   2019 · cloud.google.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Run WASM in Containerd▲77

   I've been working with a partner team to integrate wasm workloads with existing container toolchains with the goal of enabling wasm workloads anywhere, be it on the edge, in kubernetes, or wherever. To that end, this project implements a containerd shim which runs those wasm workloads. It is designed as a library to bring your own host implementation, but also includes an implementation for WASI. Right now the library assumes you are using wasmtime, which is embedded in. It works either standalone (run with containerd directly) or in kubernetes. Kubernetes networking and storage are wired…

   2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Kubernetes-in-Docker – Like dind but with Kubernetes, for CI testing.▲9

   Kubernetes-in-Docker - A single node cluster to run your CI tests against thats ready in 30 seconds - bsycorp/kind

   2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   #!/usr/bin/env docker run▲496

   #!/usr/bin/env docker run. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

   2024 · gist.github.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   DevSpace▲65

   Build, test and run code directly in any Kubernetes cluster.

   2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Simplenetes – I replaced Kubernetes with 17k lines of shell script▲296

    The sns tool is used to manage the full life cycle of your Simplenetes clusters. It integrates with the Simplenetes Podcompiler project podc to compile pods. - simplenetes-io/simplenetes

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11IR
    InstaDocker – Run any Docker container on the cloud instantly▲54

    2015 · instadocker.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Garden▲95

    Automation platform for Kubernetes development & testing

    2020 · docs.garden.io · its alternatives →

13. 13
    BoxBox▲89

    File manager for Linux homelab and NAS-style servers

    Jun 2026 · boxbox.radhey.dev · its alternatives →

14. 14RP
    Raspberry Pi3 cluster with Docker/Kubernetes▲86

    2016 · sweclockers.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Instantly run anything▲12

    Deploy Docker apps instantly—no Kubernetes, no YAML.

    2025 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Own your Kubernetes: installation, addons, best practices – as code▲122

    Fully fledged (HA) Kubernetes Cluster using official kubeadm, ansible and helm. Tested on RHEL/CentOS/Ubuntu with support of http_proxy, dashboard installed, ingress controller, heapster - using official helm charts - ReSearchITEng/kubeadm-playbook

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Portainer – A lightweight management UI for Docker▲146

    Portainer is one platform to deploy, run, secure, and govern Kubernetes across your whole fleet, from a single control plane. A platform is a product, not a project.

    2016 · portainer.io · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Coasts – Containerized Hosts for Agents▲99

    Hi HN - We've been working on Coasts (“containerized hosts”) to make it so you can run multiple localhost instances, and multiple docker-compose runtimes, across git worktrees on the same computer. Here’s a demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRiySdGQZZA. There are also videos in our docs that give a good conceptual overview: https://coasts.dev/docs/learn-coasts-videos. Agents can make code changes in different worktrees in isolation, but it's hard for them to test their changes without multiple localhost runtimes that are isolated and scoped to those…

    Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    CNO▲68

    Ship apps confidently to Production in Kubernetes

    2023 · cno.app · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Zerobox – Sandbox any command with file, network, credential controls▲141

    I'm excited to introduce Zerobox, a cross-platform, single binary process sandboxing CLI written in Rust. It uses the sandboxing crates from the OpenAI Codex repo and adds additional functionalities like secret injection, SDK, etc. Watch the demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZiPm9BOPCg Zerobox follows the same sandboxing policy as Deno which is deny by default. The only operation that the command can run is reading files, all writes and network I/O are blocked by default. No VMs, no Docker, no remote servers. Want to block reads to /etc? zerobox…

    Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21IR
    Instantly run commands in the cloud using Docker▲34

    2013 · orchardup.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Google Container Engine▲90

    Service for building and running Docker container-based apps

    2014 · cloud.google.com · its alternatives →

23. 23DR
    docker-run.com enables to “docker run” in the clould with a subdomain▲25

    2019 · docker-run.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Plash – Build and run containers▲66

    Build and run layered root filesystems. Contribute to ihucos/plash development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →