Resources
What is kind?
kind is a tool for running Kubernetes locally. It uses docker to create kubelet containers, which simulates running nodes in a cluster. This makes kind a valuable tool for local development and CI alike when testing applications designed to run on Kubernetes.
Requirements and Installation
go and docker need to be installed, first. Follow the instructions in the go Installation and docker Installation resources.
kind can be installed via go install:
go install sigs.k8s.io/[email protected]
# You can also install latest
# go install sigs.k8s.io/kind@latest
Note: The kind Quick Start includes alternative installation instructions for using a package manager, release binaries, or the source code.
How to use kind
Once installed, a Kubernetes cluster can be started with this command.
kind create cluster
By default, this command tells kind to pull the latest kind node image and start a single node cluster using that image. It also sets the name of the cluster to kind.
To delete the cluster, run this command.
kind delete cluster
Both the create and delete commands use a default name of kind. To create a cluster with a different name, add the --name flag.
kind create cluster --name CLUSTER_NAME
You can delete the cluster with the same flag.
kind delete cluster --name CLUSTER_NAME
Configuration and Next Steps
It is recommended that new users install kubectl if they do not already have it. This will give us access to our Kubernetes control plane API features. Follow the instructions for your OS in the kubectl Installation resource above.
Create a directory for your kind project if you do not have one and navigate to it. Inside, create a config.yaml file with any name and the following lines:
kind: Cluster
apiVersion: kind.x-k8s.io/v1alpha4
This is a minimal valid config file for a kind cluster. The file uses Kubernetes conventions for versioning and structure, so change the v1aplha4 part of the apiVersion to the version you want to use.
Here is an example config.yaml file which maps the local port 80 to the container’s port 30000.
kind: Cluster
apiVersion: kind.x-k8s.io/v1alpha4
nodes:
- role: worker
extraPortMappings:
- containerPort: 30000
hostPort: 80
To create a single node cluster with this example file, run the following command in the same directory:
kind create cluster --config=config.yaml
The kind Configuration and kind Advanced Configuration resources have additional details and configuration examples.
Once you are familiarized with kind, you are ready to put your applications in docker containers and manage them with Kubernetes locally. Being able to access kubectl allows you to both develop and test ways to leverage Kubernetes API features.