Kind

This project is a local Kubernetes cluster manager and tool that runs control plane and worker nodes as containers on a host machine. It provides an environment for local development and automated testing by emulating a full Kubernetes cluster within a container runtime.

The tool enables the creation of multi-node topologies and high-availability control planes through configuration files. It supports image sideloading to transfer container images directly from the host to nodes, bypassing remote registries, and allows for offline deployments using pre-built node images.

Capabilities include the automation of ephemeral clusters for continuous integration pipelines, custom node image building, and the mapping of host ports and storage into node containers. It also provides utilities for network configuration, such as custom CNI support, load balancer provisioning, and API server runtime management.

Features

Container-Based Node Emulation - Runs Kubernetes control plane and worker nodes as containers to emulate a full cluster on a single host.

Local Kubernetes Clusters - Runs a full Kubernetes cluster on a local machine using containers to develop and test applications.

CI Workflow Automations - Automates the creation and destruction of local clusters within CI pipelines to validate changes and execute tests.

Ephemeral CI Environments - Provides an automated environment for bootstrapping and destroying ephemeral Kubernetes clusters within CI pipelines.

Cluster Bootstrapping - Utilizes the standard Kubernetes installation tool within containers to initialize the cluster and join nodes.

Multi-Node Topology Emulation - Defines and deploys complex Kubernetes architectures with multiple control planes and worker nodes for high availability testing.

Kubernetes Cluster Management - Bootstraps, manages, and removes local Kubernetes clusters using container nodes with custom names and versions.

CI Cluster Automation - Automates the creation and destruction of temporary Kubernetes clusters within CI pipelines to validate changes.

Experimental Cluster Environments - Bootstraps specialized Kubernetes environments to test custom node images, specific versions, or experimental feature gates.

Cluster Configuration Management - Defines cluster architecture via configuration files to enable multi-node setups and high-availability control planes.

Container Image Management - Transfers container images from the host machine directly to cluster nodes to bypass registry authentication.

Direct Node Image Uploads - Transfers container images directly from the host filesystem into node runtimes to bypass remote registries.

Container Port Mappings - Routes traffic from the host machine to containerized nodes via port forwarding for API and service access.

Container Registry Integrations - Connects local container registries to the cluster to allow pulling images using a consistent local address.

Custom Node Images - Creates specialized node images from source code or binaries to customize the underlying cluster environment.

High Availability Clusters - Starts clusters with multiple control-plane nodes using configuration files to ensure redundancy and fault tolerance.

Air-Gapped Cluster Deployments - Sets up Kubernetes clusters without an internet connection using pre-built node images and local container registries.

Test Cluster Deployers - Bootstraps clusters using release builds compiled from source or custom images to test modifications.

Offline Deployments - Uses pre-built or locally transferred node images to create clusters without an active internet connection.

Container Directory Mounting - Links local host directories into node containers to provide persistent data and credential access.

Cluster Network Orchestration - Allows customization of cluster-wide network settings, including IP families, subnets, and API server addresses.

CNI Implementations - Supports the use of custom CNI plugins by preventing the installation of the built-in networking implementation.

Container Port Mapping - Forwards traffic from the host machine to specific ports on the cluster nodes.

Load Balancers - Creates dedicated containers to provide external IP addresses and route traffic to internal services.

Service Exposure - Routes external HTTP and HTTPS traffic to internal services using Ingress or Gateway API support.

Rootless Container Runtimes - Leverages user-namespace container runtimes to launch clusters without requiring administrative privileges on the host.

Configuration-Driven Topology Mapping - Provides a structured way to define the number and arrangement of control plane and worker nodes via configuration files.

kubernetes-sigskind

Features

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