lazydocker vs Skaffold

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted developer tools & git options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeaturelazydockerSkaffold
CategoryDeveloper Tools & GitDeveloper Tools & Git
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageGoGo
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB512 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcebinary, source
GitHub stars★ 52,348★ 15,885
First released20192018
ReplacesDocker DesktopTilt, Garden

Why pick each one

Choose lazydocker if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Mature project with 52.3k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
lazydocker details

Choose Skaffold if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Mature project with 15.9k GitHub stars
  • Written in Go
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Skaffold details

Frequently asked questions

Is lazydocker or Skaffold better?

lazydocker is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Skaffold if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are lazydocker and Skaffold free and open-source?

Yes. lazydocker is licensed under MIT and Skaffold under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run lazydocker and Skaffold with Docker?

lazydocker: check the project docs for container support. Skaffold: check the project docs for container support.

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