No. 12 of 24 ·Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools

KubeLinter

Mac · 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 widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

KubeLinter is ranked #12 of 24 in infrastructure policy as code tools on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

KubeLinter plans and pricing

All plans

KubeLinter Free Apache License 2.0 github.com · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on infrastructure policy as code tools

Free plan: Yes
Policy language: YAML configuration; CEL expressions
IaC formats: Kubernetes YAML, Helm, Kustomize
Policy testing: Yes
CI/CD integration: Yes
Policy reporting: Yes

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The record

What it does: KubeLinter statically analyzes Kubernetes YAML, Helm charts, and Kustomize manifests for best practices, production readiness, and security.
Default checks: Its default checks cover issues such as running containers as non-root, enforcing least privilege, and storing sensitive information only in secrets.
Custom policies: Users can enable or disable checks and create custom checks to match organizational policies.
Findings: When a lint check fails, KubeLinter reports remediation recommendations and returns a non-zero exit code.
Input types: KubeLinter can lint Kubernetes YAML files, Helm chart directories, and Kustomize directories.
Report formats: It supports plain text, JSON, and SARIF output, including writing multiple formats in one run.
Integrations: The project documents use with pre-commit hooks, a Docker-based pre-commit hook, and a GitHub Action for CI.
Installation: The project documents installation using Go, release binaries, Homebrew or LinuxBrew, nix-shell, and Docker.
Image verification: KubeLinter container images are signed with cosign, and the project provides a public key for verification.
Security reporting: The security policy directs people reporting vulnerabilities to Red Hat's Product Security team for confidential disclosure.
License: KubeLinter is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.
Support and community: The project points users to its Slack workspace to engage with maintainers and other users.
Notable limitation: The project notes that command usage, flags, and configuration file formats may change in the future.
Maker: The repository says KubeLinter was created by StackRox and is now powered by Red Hat.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Infrastructure Policy as Code Tools in 2026#12 of 24

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Sources

github.com/stackrox/kube-linter· checked 5 Oct 2026
github.com/stackrox/kube-linter/blob/main/docs/usi· checked 5 Oct 2026
github.com/stackrox/kube-linter/blob/main/SECURITY· checked 5 Oct 2026