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nerdctl vs crictl: catalog facts
nerdctl	crictl
Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license.	Free Free to use; the source is published on GitHub.
Linux, Command line	Linux, Command line
Same commands as docker, so existing habits carry over Runs Docker Compose files	Works with any CRI-compatible container runtime Useful for debugging directly on a Kubernetes node
Requires containerd rather than working with an existing Docker daemon Many advanced features are optional extras that need separate setup	Aimed at debugging, not at running workloads day to day Requires a CRI runtime and knowledge of Kubernetes
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.