Knot Core vs Knot Pro
Choose the Edition That Fits Your Team
Knot Core is the open-source Apache 2.0 edition for teams that want a self-hosted platform for managed development environments with full control over infrastructure and deployment.
Knot Pro builds on Core with commercial features for authentication, security, observability, and operator workflows.
Knot Core
Open source and production ready
Run Knot as a single server or across multiple servers using Docker, Podman, or Apple Containers with no extra control plane.
- Apache 2.0 licensed
- Self-hosted web UI and CLI
- Templates, spaces, roles, groups, volumes, AI, and clustering
Knot Pro
Advanced controls for growing teams
Add commercial features that help larger teams standardize login, access, activity visibility, and secret handling.
- Includes everything in Core
- License-gated server features
- Commercial binaries and container images
Feature Comparison
| Area | Knot Core | Knot Pro |
|---|---|---|
| License | Apache 2.0 open source | Commercial licensed edition |
| Deployment models | Single server, multi-server, leaf nodes, Nomad support | Everything in Core |
| Runtime support | Docker, Podman, Apple Containers | Everything in Core |
| Spaces and templates | Managed spaces, templates, volumes, startup scripts, terminal, SSH, Code Server, VS Code Tunnels | Everything in Core |
| Access control | Users, groups, roles, permissions, quotas | Everything in Core |
| AI and MCP | AI assistant, skills, MCP server, MCP tools, Scriptling | Everything in Core |
| OAuth / OIDC sign-in | Not included | Included GitHub, GitLab, Google, Auth0, and compatible OIDC providers |
| Disable password auth | Not included | Included when OAuth providers are configured |
| Secret providers | Not included | Included external secret resolution for Vault and 1Password Connect |
| Visual port forwarding | Not included | Included UI-driven forwarded port management |
| Audit log filtering | Not included | Included richer audit log search and filtering workflows |
| User and space activity views | Not included | Included activity tracking with per-template disable controls |
| Commercial binaries | Open-source releases | Knot Pro releases |
| Container image | paularlott/knot |
paularlott/knot-pro |
What Most Teams Choose
Choose Core if you want
- An open-source self-hosted platform
- CLI and web-based space management
- Templates, access control, clustering, and AI features without a commercial license
- To integrate your own authentication and secret workflows outside Knot
Choose Pro if you want
- Everything included in Knot Core, plus commercial features for authentication, secrets, and observability
- OAuth or OIDC login for users
- External secret manager integration at render time
- Activity and audit workflows in the UI
- Additional operator convenience features for larger teams
Get Started
Start with Core
Deploy the open-source edition
Use Knot Core if you want the Apache 2.0 release with self-hosted control over your infrastructure.
Upgrade to Pro
Unlock commercial features
Use Knot Pro if you need OAuth, secret providers, activity views, and other advanced operational features.