Overview Open-Source KubeVirt Management

Open-Source KubeVirt Management Platform

Shepherd is an Apache 2.0 KubeVirt management platform for teams that want governed VM self-service without coupling the operating model to a commercial platform stack.

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What Shepherd adds above KubeVirt

KubeVirt provides the core virtualization capability inside Kubernetes. Shepherd focuses on the management and governance layer: request workflows, approval, multi-cluster visibility, RBAC-aware UI paths, and auditable operations.

A focused alternative path

For organizations evaluating OpenShift Virtualization, Shepherd is relevant when the requirement is a lightweight, open-source governance and self-service layer for KubeVirt rather than a complete commercial Kubernetes distribution.

Operationally conservative stack

Shepherd intentionally keeps the runtime stack small: Go backend, PostgreSQL persistence and queueing, and a web UI. That does not automatically make it the right fit for every organization, but it can reduce operational moving parts for teams already standardized on Kubernetes and PostgreSQL.

Related KubeVirt guides

KubeVirt Self-Service

Self-Service Portal

A request-approve-deliver portal for KubeVirt VMs with RBAC, audit history, and multi-cluster placement controls.

 KubeVirt UI

UI & Dashboard

A KubeVirt dashboard for teams that need more than a generic Kubernetes resource view: VM requests, approvals, access control, and audit history.

 KubeVirt VM Management

VM Management

Govern create, modify, power, delete, export, and console workflows for KubeVirt virtual machines.

 KubeVirt Governance

Approval Workflow

Govern VM create, change, power, delete, export, and console access flows through approval-aware operations.

 Multi-Tenant KubeVirt

Multi-Tenant RBAC

A governance layer for teams that need KubeVirt self-service without giving every user direct cluster-wide control.

 Multi-Cluster KubeVirt

Multi-Cluster

A cluster-aware KubeVirt management layer for teams operating VMs across environments, namespaces, and Kubernetes clusters.

 KubeVirt Console

Console Access

VNC and serial console entrypoints for KubeVirt VMs, tied to the same access and audit model as other VM lifecycle operations.

Questions teams ask

Is Shepherd an OpenShift Virtualization replacement?

Shepherd can be an alternative for teams whose main requirement is KubeVirt VM governance and self-service. It is not a full replacement for every OpenShift platform capability.

Is Shepherd open source?

Yes. KubeVirt Shepherd is released under the Apache License 2.0 and developed publicly at github.com/kv-shepherd/shepherd.