Retool
Retool is retiring standalone Assist while folding the same capability into the app builder.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Kubeshark vs rgm
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Kubeshark and rgm — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Kubeshark vs rgm: at a glance
What is Kubeshark?
Kubeshark rebuilt its backend for V2 and is redrawing the free tier around it.
Kubeshark is mid-transition from V1 to V2, announced for January 2026. The v52.11.0 release rewrote the backend entirely — V2 runs on the new implementation while V1 stays on the legacy one — and added cluster-wide L4 PCAP export plus L7-to-L4 mapping that ties API calls back to the TCP and UDP connections carrying them. Since then the releases have been smaller: connectivity map performance, per-flow PCAP files in snapshot archives, and a migration of every service domain from kubehq.com to kubeshark.com.
What is rgm?
A microbiome network model that got itself un-archived by deleting the dependency that killed it.
rgm implements the random graphical model for microbiome interactions across related environments, published in JABES in 2026. The package was archived from CRAN in February 2026 because of its dependency on huge; the recovery release drops that dependency entirely, which cost it the graphical-lasso warm start that used to seed the initial graph — the default is now an empty graph, with warm starts left to the user. A post-processing function returning ggplot diagnostics arrived in the same release.
Kubeshark vs rgm: editorial side-by-side
Kubeshark
0.0INFRA · APIS
Kubeshark rebuilt its backend for V2 and is redrawing the free tier around it.
◆ Current state
Kubeshark is mid-transition from V1 to V2, announced for January 2026. The v52.11.0 release rewrote the backend entirely — V2 runs on the new implementation while V1 stays on the legacy one — and added cluster-wide L4 PCAP export plus L7-to-L4 mapping that ties API calls back to the TCP and UDP connections carrying them. Since then the releases have been smaller: connectivity map performance, per-flow PCAP files in snapshot archives, and a migration of every service domain from kubehq.com to kubeshark.com.
◆ Where it's heading
The product is moving down the stack. It started as an API-level traffic viewer and the recent work is all about L4 — connectivity maps, raw PCAP export, mapping L7 calls onto the connections beneath them — which puts it closer to a cluster-wide packet capture tool than a service-mesh observability dashboard. The licensing is moving in the opposite direction of the feature set: an almost-unlimited complimentary licence through the end of 2025 was replaced by one capped at 100 nodes, so the free tier is being defined rather than left open. Two releases also mention agentic infrastructure being staged but not yet usable.
◆ Prediction
Expect V2 to consolidate onto the new backend and the legacy V1 path to be dropped once the transition completes, since the release notes already describe V1 as being sunset. The staged agentic infrastructure is the most likely candidate for the next substantive feature, given it has been shipped inert twice.
rgm
0.0INFRA · APIS
A microbiome network model that got itself un-archived by deleting the dependency that killed it.
◆ Current state
rgm implements the random graphical model for microbiome interactions across related environments, published in JABES in 2026. The package was archived from CRAN in February 2026 because of its dependency on huge; the recovery release drops that dependency entirely, which cost it the graphical-lasso warm start that used to seed the initial graph — the default is now an empty graph, with warm starts left to the user. A post-processing function returning ggplot diagnostics arrived in the same release.
◆ Where it's heading
Three tags shipped inside two hours on one day, and the notes are candid about why: 1.1.0 held the actual work but was never released, 1.2.0 restated it under a higher version to signal the size of the change, and 1.2.1 answered CRAN pre-test feedback. Beyond the archival recovery, the visible work is housekeeping that had accumulated — a shadowed rmvnorm() definition, roxygen import tags that were silently emitting nothing, leftover C++ template scaffolding, and build artifacts under version control. The diagnostics function is the only genuinely new user-facing capability in the window.
◆ Prediction
The immediate task was restoring availability, and that is done; the open question the entries raise is whether losing the graphical-lasso warm start affects convergence in practice, which the new diagnostic plots are positioned to answer.
Alternatives to Kubeshark and rgm
Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Kubeshark or rgm.
WPML
WPML made machine translation the default, and its point releases keep chasing WordPress and page builders.
forestploter
A forest plot package that keeps handing users control of one more graphical detail.
ggInterval
Interval-valued data plotting, spending 2026 making its function names and examples survive CRAN.
contagionchannels
Three releases in ten days, every one of them a CRAN reviewer's correction rather than a code change.
tidyaudit
Pipeline provenance for tidyverse workflows, recording what changed at each step without keeping the data.
See all Kubeshark alternatives → · See all rgm alternatives →
Recent activity from Kubeshark and rgm
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3mo agorgmJournal DOI replaces the preprint; promotional wording removed
- 3mo agorgmBack on CRAN after dropping the dependency that caused archival
- 3mo agorgmUnreleased twin of the CRAN recovery release
- 6mo agoKubesharkv52.12.0 moves every service domain to kubeshark.com
- 7mo agoKubesharkComplimentary licence is redefined as free up to 100 nodes
- 7mo agoKubesharkBackend fully rewritten for V2, with L7-to-L4 traffic mapping ⚡
- 8mo agoKubesharkNear-unlimited complimentary licence bundled into the Helm chart
- 2y agorgmFirst release: simulation, estimation and post-processing
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Kubeshark and rgm?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Kubeshark and rgm are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Kubeshark better than rgm?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Kubeshark and rgm are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Kubeshark?
Top Kubeshark alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Kubeshark alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/kubeshark for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rgm?
Top rgm alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rgm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rgm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.