Container Runtime Interface

E184349

Kubernetes API container runtime integration specification plugin interface

The Container Runtime Interface (CRI) is a plugin API in Kubernetes that allows the orchestration system to interact with and manage different container runtimes in a standardized way.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (7)

Label	Occurrences
Container Runtime Interface canonical	6
Kubernetes Container Runtime Interface	4
Kubernetes CRI	1
Kubernetes CRI API specification	1
Kubernetes Container Runtime Interface design	1
Kubernetes container runtime interface	1
Kubernetes runtime classes	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1636502 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Container Runtime Interface
Context triple: [Kubernetes, component, Container Runtime Interface]

A. Docker
Docker is an open-source platform that uses containerization to package, distribute, and run applications consistently across different computing environments.
B. Kubernetes
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications across clusters of machines.
C. LXD
LXD is a system container and virtual machine manager that provides a user-friendly, image-based way to run and manage Linux environments.
D. CNI
CNI is the stock ticker symbol for Canadian National Railway, a major North American freight railway company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange.
E. Fedora CoreOS
Fedora CoreOS is an automatically updating, minimal, container-focused operating system designed for running containerized workloads at scale.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Container Runtime Interface
Target entity description: The Container Runtime Interface (CRI) is a plugin API in Kubernetes that allows the orchestration system to interact with and manage different container runtimes in a standardized way.

A. Docker
Docker is an open-source platform that uses containerization to package, distribute, and run applications consistently across different computing environments.
B. Kubernetes
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications across clusters of machines.
C. LXD
LXD is a system container and virtual machine manager that provides a user-friendly, image-based way to run and manage Linux environments.
D. CNI
CNI is the stock ticker symbol for Canadian National Railway, a major North American freight railway company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange.
E. Fedora CoreOS
Fedora CoreOS is an automatically updating, minimal, container-focused operating system designed for running containerized workloads at scale.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Kubernetes API ⓘ container runtime integration specification ⓘ plugin interface ⓘ
category	cloud native technology ⓘ container orchestration interface ⓘ
communicatesOver	gRPC ⓘ
definedBy	Kubernetes project ⓘ linked to: Kubernetes
designedFor	backward compatibility across Kubernetes versions ⓘ extensibility of container runtimes ⓘ
enables	runtime-agnostic pod and container management ⓘ support for multiple container runtimes in a Kubernetes cluster ⓘ
hasAbbreviation	CRI ⓘ
hasComponent	ImageService API ⓘ RuntimeService API ⓘ
hasMethod	Attach ⓘ CreateContainer ⓘ Exec ⓘ ExecSync ⓘ ImageStatus ⓘ ListContainers ⓘ ListImages ⓘ PortForward ⓘ PullImage ⓘ RemoveContainer ⓘ RemoveImage ⓘ RunPodSandbox ⓘ StartContainer ⓘ StopContainer ⓘ StopPodSandbox ⓘ
introducedTo	replace hard-coded Docker integration in kubelet ⓘ
maintainedBy	Kubernetes community ⓘ
partOf	Kubernetes ⓘ
purpose	decouple Kubernetes kubelet from specific container runtime implementations ⓘ enable pluggable container runtimes in Kubernetes ⓘ standardize communication between Kubernetes and container runtimes ⓘ
replaces	dockershim integration in kubelet ⓘ
specifiedIn	Kubernetes enhancement proposals ⓘ linked to: Kubernetes
supports	container lifecycle management ⓘ image management ⓘ logging configuration ⓘ pod sandbox management ⓘ streaming APIs for exec attach and port-forward ⓘ
supportsRuntime	CRI-O ⓘ Kata Containers via CRI-compatible shims ⓘ Mirantis Container Runtime via CRI shim ⓘ containerd ⓘ gVisor via CRI-compatible shims ⓘ
usedBy	Kubernetes control plane components indirectly ⓘ kubelet ⓘ
uses	protocol buffers for API definitions ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (15)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Kubernetes → component → Container Runtime Interface ⓘ

kubelet → uses → Container Runtime Interface ⓘ

Container Network Interface → relatedTo → Container Runtime Interface ⓘ

CRI-O → implements → Container Runtime Interface ⓘ

CRI-O → compatibleWith → Kubernetes Container Runtime Interface ⓘ