K3D

K3D, a lightweight and versatile tool, simplifies the management and deployment of Kubernetes clusters by bringing the power of Kubernetes into a single-node environment. Designed for simplicity and speed, K3D allows developers and operators to spin up Kubernetes clusters with ease, making it an ideal choice for local development, testing, and CI/CD pipelines. Leveraging containerd and other containerization technologies, K3D offers a minimalistic yet efficient Kubernetes experience. Users can create, scale, and delete clusters effortlessly, making it a valuable tool for scenarios where resource constraints or rapid cluster provisioning are crucial. With K3D, developers can focus on building and testing applications in a Kubernetes-like environment without the complexity of managing large-scale clusters, thereby accelerating the development lifecycle.

Sample K3D Commands#

Below is a list of basic K3D CLI commands for managing Kubernetes clusters:

Creating a Kubernetes Cluster#

Create a new Kubernetes cluster using k3d:

 k3d cluster create <cluster-name>

Listing Kubernetes Clusters#

List all existing Kubernetes clusters managed by k3d:

 k3d cluster list

Getting Information about a Cluster#

Retrieve detailed information about a specific Kubernetes cluster:

 k3d cluster get <cluster-name>

Accessing Kubernetes Cluster#

Set the kubeconfig context to the newly created Kubernetes cluster:

 export KUBECONFIG="$(k3d kubeconfig write <cluster-name>)"

Deleting a Kubernetes Cluster#

Delete a Kubernetes cluster managed by k3d:

 k3d cluster delete <cluster-name>

Starting a Kubernetes Cluster#

Start a previously stopped Kubernetes cluster:

 k3d cluster start <cluster-name>

Stopping a Kubernetes Cluster#

Stop a running Kubernetes cluster:

 k3d cluster stop <cluster-name>

Scaling Nodes#

Scale the number of worker nodes in the cluster:

 k3d node create <node-name> --replicas <num-replicas>

Exporting kubeconfig#

Export the kubeconfig file for a cluster:

 k3d kubeconfig write <cluster-name>

Further Reading#

• Read k3d Official Documentation