knot knot

Local Containers

Deploy knot with Local Containers for the simplest path to powerful development environments. No Nomad, Kubernetes, or other orchestrator required.

Overview

Local Containers mode runs knot directly on Docker, Podman, or Apple Containers. You can deploy:

  • Single Server: One machine managing all spaces
  • Multi-Server: Multiple servers with automatic load balancing and node selection

Key Benefits

  • Zero Additional Dependencies: Just Docker, Podman, or Apple Containers
  • Fast Setup: Running in under 5 minutes
  • Multi-Runtime Support: Use Docker, Podman, or Apple Containers simultaneously
  • Automatic Node Selection: Multi-server deployments automatically choose the best server
  • Leaderless Clustering: No single point of failure with multi-server setups

Supported Runtimes

Runtime Description Platform Notes
Docker Most common container runtime Linux, macOS, Windows Widely supported, mature ecosystem
Podman Daemonless, rootless container engine Linux, macOS, Windows Enhanced security, Docker-compatible
Apple Containers Native macOS containerization macOS (Apple Silicon only) Built into macOS, no additional software

Choose Your Path

Single Server Setup

Quick setup on one machine

Best for:

  • Individual developers
  • Small teams (< 10 users)
  • Testing and evaluation
  • Local development

Setup time: ~5 minutes

Multi-Server Setup

Scale across multiple servers

Best for:

  • Growing teams (10+ users)
  • High availability requirements
  • Geographic distribution
  • Resource isolation

Setup time: ~10 minutes

What’s Next