What is Longhorn used for?

Longhorn is a CNCF incubating distributed block storage system for Kubernetes that replicates volumes across nodes and supports snapshots and backups. It is a good fit for providing persistent volumes in Kubernetes and backing up cluster volumes to object storage.

Is Longhorn open source?

Yes. Longhorn is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at longhorn/longhorn and is written mainly in Shell.

Yes. Longhorn is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Longhorn?

Yes. Longhorn can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Longhorn an alternative to?

Longhorn is an open-source alternative to Nutanix and Azure Files. Other open-source alternatives to Nutanix include Ceph, GlusterFS and Kubernetes.

Is Longhorn actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Longhorn was on 15 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.13.0, published on 29 September 2026. The project has 8k stars on GitHub.

Longhorn: open-source alternative to Nutanix, Azure Files

About Longhorn

Longhorn is a distributed block storage system built for Kubernetes and made from Kubernetes and container primitives. Once installed on an existing cluster, it adds persistent volume support, so stateful workloads can keep data on storage that is managed inside the cluster.

It implements storage with containers and microservices. A dedicated storage controller is created for each block device volume, and the volume is replicated synchronously across multiple replicas on different nodes. Both the controller and the replicas are orchestrated by Kubernetes. Capabilities include incremental snapshots, backups to NFSv4 or S3-compatible object storage using change block detection, recurring snapshots and backups, and automated upgrades that do not disrupt running volumes. A graphical dashboard is included.

Longhorn is an incubating project of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and is licensed under Apache-2.0. It installs with a single kubectl apply command or with Helm charts, and the release table in the repository tracks supported branches and end-of-life dates.

Key features

Distributed block storage for Kubernetes
Synchronous replication across nodes
Incremental volume snapshots
Backups to NFS or S3-compatible storage
Recurring snapshot and backup schedules
Non-disruptive software upgrades
Dashboard for managing volumes

Good fit for

Providing persistent volumes in Kubernetes
Backing up cluster volumes to object storage

Built with: Shell tools; Kubernetes tools
Tags: kubernetes; storage; block-storage; cncf; backup; snapshots; helm; cloud-native

Longhorn: questions and answers

What is Longhorn used for?: Longhorn is a CNCF incubating distributed block storage system for Kubernetes that replicates volumes across nodes and supports snapshots and backups. It is a good fit for providing persistent volumes in Kubernetes and backing up cluster volumes to object storage.
Is Longhorn open source?: Yes. Longhorn is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at longhorn/longhorn and is written mainly in Shell.
Is Longhorn free?: Yes. Longhorn is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Longhorn?: Yes. Longhorn can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Longhorn an alternative to?: Longhorn is an open-source alternative to Nutanix and Azure Files. Other open-source alternatives to Nutanix include Ceph, GlusterFS and Kubernetes.
Is Longhorn actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Longhorn was on 15 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.13.0, published on 29 September 2026. The project has 8k stars on GitHub.