---
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
title: "Support Matrix"
description: ""
position: 5
---

This page lists the host platform, compute driver, software, runtime, and kernel requirements for running OpenShell.

## Supported Platforms

OpenShell publishes multi-architecture gateway images for `linux/amd64` and `linux/arm64`. The CLI, package-managed gateway, and standalone gateway binary are supported on the following host platforms:

| Platform                         | Architecture          | Status    |
| -------------------------------- | --------------------- | --------- |
| Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)            | x86_64 (amd64)        | Supported |
| Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)            | aarch64 (arm64)       | Supported |
| macOS (Docker Desktop)           | Apple Silicon (arm64) | Supported |
| Windows (WSL 2 + Docker Desktop) | x86_64                | Experimental  |

On Linux, the `openshell` CLI is a static musl binary and does not require glibc at runtime.

## Standalone Gateway Binary

OpenShell publishes standalone `openshell-gateway` release assets for manual download on these platforms:

| Platform              | Artifact pattern                               |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Linux x86_64 (amd64)  | `openshell-gateway-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu`   |
| Linux aarch64 (arm64) | `openshell-gateway-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu`  |
| macOS Apple Silicon   | `openshell-gateway-aarch64-apple-darwin`       |

These artifacts are attached to GitHub releases. Kubernetes deployments should use the Helm chart and the published gateway image.

On Linux, `openshell-gateway` requires glibc 2.28 or newer. Compatible systems include, for example, Ubuntu 20.04+, RHEL 8+, Rocky Linux 8+, Amazon Linux 2023+, and Fedora 32+.

## Compute Drivers

The gateway can manage sandboxes through several compute drivers.

| Compute Driver | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Docker | Supported for local development and single-machine gateways. | Requires Docker Desktop or Docker Engine on the gateway host. |
| Podman | Supported for rootless local and workstation workflows. | Requires a Podman-compatible socket and rootless networking setup. |
| Kubernetes | Supported through the [OpenShell Helm chart](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/blob/main/deploy/helm/openshell/README.md). | Requires a Kubernetes cluster supplied by the operator. |
| MicroVM | Supported for VM-backed sandboxes. | Uses the VM compute driver and libkrun-based runtime. |

## Software Prerequisites

Install the software for the compute driver you use:

| Component | Minimum Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Docker Desktop or Docker Engine | 28.0 | Required for Docker-backed gateways, local image builds, and Docker development workflows. |
| Podman | 5.x | Required for Podman-backed gateways. |
| Kubernetes | 1.29 | Required for Helm deployments and Kubernetes sandbox scheduling. |
| Helm | 3.x | Required to install `deploy/helm/openshell`. |
| kubectl | Compatible with your cluster | Required for Kubernetes operational inspection and secret creation. |
| Host virtualization | Host dependent | Required for MicroVM-backed gateways. MicroVM uses Hypervisor.framework on macOS and KVM on Linux. |

## Sandbox Runtime Versions

Sandbox container images are maintained in the [OpenShell Community](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell-Community) repository. Refer to that repository for the current list of installed components and their versions.

## Container Images

OpenShell publishes the gateway image for `linux/amd64` and `linux/arm64`.

| Image | Reference | Pulled When |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway | `ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/gateway:latest` | Helm chart install or upgrade, or standalone container deployment |

The Helm chart in `deploy/helm/openshell` deploys the gateway workload, service account, service, optional persistent storage, and network policy for Kubernetes. It defaults to a StatefulSet for SQLite-backed installs and can render a Deployment for external database-backed installs.

Sandbox images are maintained separately in the [OpenShell Community](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell-Community) repository.

To override the default image references, use Helm values:

| Helm value | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `image.repository` / `image.tag` | Override the gateway image reference. |
| `server.sandboxImage` | Override the default sandbox image. |

## Kernel Requirements

OpenShell enforces sandbox isolation through two Linux kernel security modules:

| Module                                                         | Requirement | Details                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Landlock LSM](https://docs.kernel.org/security/landlock.html) | Recommended | Enforces filesystem access restrictions at the kernel level. The `best_effort` compatibility mode uses the highest Landlock ABI the host kernel supports. The `hard_requirement` mode fails sandbox creation if the required ABI is unavailable. |
| seccomp                                                        | Required    | Filters dangerous system calls. Available on all modern Linux kernels (3.17+).                                                                                                                                                                   |

On macOS, these kernel modules run inside the Docker Desktop Linux VM, not on the host kernel.

## Agent Compatibility

For the full list of supported agents and their default policy coverage, refer to the [Supported Agents](/about/supported-agents) page.