Carvel kapp-controller

Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.4

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely1 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Carvel kapp-controller is ranked #9 of 32 in GitOps tools on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

Carvel kapp-controller plans and pricing

All plans

kapp-controller Free Open source · Apache 2.0 license carvel.dev · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on GitOps tools

Free plan: Yes
Reconciliation scope: applications
Supported Git sources: Git repositories
Supported deployment targets: Kubernetes

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The record

Purpose: kapp-controller provides declarative APIs to customize, install, and update Kubernetes applications and packages.
Continuous delivery: Its App custom resource supports declarative installation, management, and upgrades of applications on a Kubernetes cluster.
Package management: Package, PackageMetadata, PackageRepository, and PackageInstall custom resources support authoring and consuming software packages.
Fetch sources: It can fetch configuration and OCI images from Git repositories, ConfigMaps, Helm charts, and OCI registries.
Templates: It supports customizing software with ytt templates, Helm templates, and other tools.
GitOps: Carvel describes kapp-controller as supporting GitOps, including using a Git repository as the single source of truth for Kubernetes package management.
CLI: The kctrl CLI helps users observe and interact with kapp-controller custom resources and helps package consumers get started faster.
Integrations: kapp-controller integrates with Mozilla SOPS to decrypt secret material in fetched configuration, with GPG and age encryption support.
Security model: Each App resource must specify a service account or kubeconfig Secret, making the privileges for managing app resources explicit.
Multi-tenancy: The security documentation says App resources can reference service accounts or kubeconfig Secrets only from the same namespace, supporting use in multi-tenant environments.
Air-gapped use: Package repositories and packages can be relocated and run in air-gapped environments.
Kubernetes compatibility: The install guide says versions at or below v0.36.1 cannot reconcile App and PackageInstall resources with Kubernetes v1.24's default LegacyServiceAccountTokenNoAutoGeneration feature gate.
Support: Carvel provides community support through GitHub project issues and invites users to its Kubernetes Slack channel.
Project status: Carvel identifies kapp-controller as a Cloud Native Computing Foundation sandbox project.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best GitOps Tools in 2026#9 of 32
Best Kubernetes Deployment Tools in 2026#12 of 27

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Sources

carvel.dev/kapp-controller/docs/v0.57.x/· checked 4 Oct 2026
carvel.dev/kapp-controller/· checked 4 Oct 2026
github.com/carvel-dev/kapp-controller· checked 4 Oct 2026
carvel.dev/kapp-controller/docs/v0.57.x/sops/· checked 4 Oct 2026
carvel.dev/kapp-controller/docs/v0.57.x/security-m· checked 4 Oct 2026
carvel.dev/kapp-controller/docs/v0.57.x/install/· checked 4 Oct 2026
carvel.dev· checked 4 Oct 2026