A Modern
Virtualization Alternative

kcore is an API-first virtualization platform built for operators who want a cleaner, more programmable way to manage VMs. Declarative configuration, automation-friendly design, and a modern control plane.

Alpha software. Not production ready. For early testers, labs, and design partners.

Request Early Access Read the Docs

# Define a VM declaratively
resource "kcore_vm" "web" {
  name     = "web-server"
  memory   = 4096
  vcpu     = 4
  storage  = "50GB"
}

Why kcore

Virtualization platforms haven't kept up with how operators actually work

API-First Design

Every operation is available through a gRPC API. No more clicking through web UIs to do what a script should handle.

Declarative Configuration

Define your infrastructure as code. Version control your VMs, networks, and storage. Reproduce environments reliably.

Built for Automation

Designed from the ground up so tools, scripts, and agents can manage infrastructure without human intervention.

Immutable Base System

The host OS is immutable. Updates are atomic with instant rollback. No more broken nodes after a bad upgrade.

Modern Architecture

Go control plane, gRPC APIs, NixOS-based host. No legacy PHP, no Perl scripts, no decades of accumulated cruft.

Agent-Friendly

AI agents are first-class citizens. The platform is designed so automation agents can interact with it naturally through APIs and declarative workflows.

What Makes kcore Different

Proxmox works. But it was designed in a different era. kcore starts fresh with the assumption that infrastructure should be programmable, reproducible, and managed by software — not just by humans clicking through a web UI.

✓
API-First, Not UI-First
The API is the primary interface. The UI is a consumer of the API, not the other way around.
✓
Declarative Workflows
Describe what you want. kcore converges to that state. No imperative step-by-step provisioning.
✓
Agents as First-Class Citizens
The platform is designed so AI agents and automation tools can control it through the same APIs humans use. Machine-friendly by default.
✓
Clean Codebase
Written in Go. No legacy dependencies. No accumulated technical debt from two decades of patches.

kctl

$ kctl get vms
NAME            STATUS    NODE       MEMORY  VCPU
web-server      running   node-01    4096MB  4
staging-db      running   node-02    8192MB  8
dev-env         stopped   node-01    2048MB  2

$ kctl describe vm web-server
Name:        web-server
Status:      running
Node:        node-01
Memory:      4096 MB
vCPU:        4 cores
Storage:     50 GB (local-lvm)
Network:     192.168.122.100

$ █

Current Status

Honest about where we are

Project Maturity

Alpha

kcore is under active development. Core functionality is being built and tested. APIs and interfaces may change without notice.

What works today

NixOS-based immutable host OS
VM lifecycle management via CLI
gRPC API for programmatic access
Multi-node architecture with controller + agents
Local and LVM storage backends

What's in progress

Terraform provider
Networking and bridge management
MCP server for agent integration
Web dashboard
Image management and distribution

Not recommended for

Production workloads
Business-critical infrastructure
Environments that require stability guarantees

Who kcore Is For

Built for people who think about infrastructure differently

Home Lab Operators

You run your own hardware and want something cleaner than Proxmox without the complexity of OpenStack. You value simplicity and control.

Small Hosting & Edge

You manage a handful of servers for clients or at edge locations. You need something lightweight, scriptable, and easy to reason about.

Infrastructure Engineers

You want to manage VMs the same way you manage everything else — through APIs, version-controlled config, and automation pipelines.

Early Adopters

You're comfortable running alpha software. You want to shape the direction of a new virtualization platform and give feedback that matters.

Declarative by Default

Define your infrastructure with clean, readable code

resource "kcore_vm" "example" {
  name         = "debian12-test"
  cpu          = 1
  memory_bytes = 2147483648  # 2GB

  image_uri          = "https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/debian-12-generic-amd64.qcow2"
  enable_kcore_login = true

  nic {
    network = "default"
    model   = "virtio"
  }
}

apiVersion: kcore.io/v1
kind: VM
metadata:
  name: debian12-test
spec:
  cpu: 1
  memory: 2G
  image: https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/debian-12-generic-amd64.qcow2
  enableKcoreLogin: true
  nics:
    - network: default
      model: virtio

Interested in Testing kcore?

kcore is alpha software. We're looking for early testers, design partners, and operators who want to help shape a modern virtualization platform.