CoreOS Inc. has been working away on an alternative container runtime system for more than a year, and yesterday it finally took the lid off of Rocket (rkt) 1.0.

The new release is the only stable container runtime engine that meets the Open Container Initiative (OCI)’s container image specification and also its own App Container specs. The OCI is an industry body made up of multiple vendors that aims to erase barriers to shared container tools and images. In addition, rkt 1.0 also runs Docker images, which are about the closest thing containers have to a de facto standard. The new release also introduces a number of important security features, and will be backwards compatibile with any future changes made to the command line interface and on-disk format.

Rkt 1.0 is believed to be the only container runtime that supports both Docker’s and the App Container image specification, which means it’s possible to build containers with Docker and run them under rkt, CoreOS CEO Alex Polvi told InfoWorld.

“Rocket will convert the Docker image on the fly to the standard spec,” Polvi said. “Develop with Docker, run on CoreOS,”

CoreOS has also added an API service to rkt that makes it easier to integrate with scheduling and orchestration platforms like Kubernetes or Nomad. In addition, rkt 1.0 has been enhanced with more granular visibility and controls for handling security configurations, and users can now opt out of certain security features, rather than opting in.

Because it’s a 1.0 release, CoreOS is planning to integrate the new rkt into its commercial Tectonic platform, which provides a kind of Google-esque platform for application development and orchestration.

Some might question the wisdom of having two highly visible, competing container runtimes but it’s likely that doing so will help to push container technologies forward, especially when one considers that standardization efforts have only just begun.

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