mirrord
Run local code against a real Kubernetes cluster without deploying
Founded
2022
Starting Price
$0
Category
Developer Tools
Last updated September 21, 2026
About mirrord
mirrord is a Kubernetes development platform from MetalBear that connects a locally running process to a live cluster, so file I/O, network calls, DNS, environment variables and secrets are transparently proxied through a temporary pod instead of requiring a deploy. The open-source CLI covers individual use, while the commercial mirrord for Teams adds the mirrord Operator for session isolation, queue splitting, database branching, RBAC and audit logging on a shared cluster. Teams also use it to give AI coding agents such as Claude Code, Cursor and Copilot a real feedback loop against staging infrastructure.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Removes the need for per-developer cloud environments, which is where most of the cost and drift in Kubernetes dev workflows comes from
- Language-agnostic because it hooks libc and the syscall layer rather than shipping per-framework SDKs, so Go, Java, Node, Python, Ruby, .NET and PHP all work the same way
- Transparent per-seat pricing at $50/seat/mo with self-serve signup and no credit card for the trial, which is rare in this category
- Locally run AI coding agents are included in the seat price instead of being metered separately
- Published customer outcomes are specific: monday.com runs 350+ engineers on one shared staging cluster, CoLab cut test cycle time from 15 minutes to 10 seconds
Key Features
Remocal development
Runs your code on your laptop while its file, network, DNS and environment calls are proxied into a real Kubernetes cluster, so you get production-like fidelity without deploying anything.
mirrord Operator and session isolation
A Kubernetes operator installed in your cluster that isolates concurrent sessions, so many developers and agents can target the same shared staging environment without stepping on each other.
Queue splitting
Splits message-queue traffic so a local process consumes only the messages meant for it, instead of stealing from the shared workload.
Database branching
Gives a session its own branch of the target database so writes during local testing do not contaminate the shared environment.
RBAC, mirrord Policies and audit logging
Access controls that restrict which targets and namespaces a user can connect to, plus usage monitoring and auditing for who ran what against the cluster.
mirrord for AI agents
Lets coding agents such as Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex and Windsurf run and verify their generated code against live services, read-only by default. Locally run agents are included in the seat price.
Pricing
Open Source
$0/month
- mirrord OSS CLI and IDE plugins
- Runs entirely from your machine
- No operator installed in the cluster
- Individual use, no session isolation
- Community Slack support
Best For
Local development against shared staging
Engineers run services on their laptops wired into one shared cluster's real databases, queues and dependencies, so the team stops provisioning and maintaining a full environment per developer.
Giving AI coding agents a real feedback loop
Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot and similar agents execute their generated code against live services and verify it themselves, read-only by default, instead of guessing against mocks.
CI integration tests against real infrastructure
Enterprise teams point CI integration suites at the actual staging cluster rather than spinning up ephemeral clusters or maintaining mock services that drift from production.
