🏗️ k3d-cluster-on-demand

Instant 3-node Kubernetes (k3d) cluster inside your GitHub Codespaces.

⚡ Quick Start

• Should be Logged into Github —> Press , (comma) on this repo —> Click Create new codespace

Boom! Your cluster is ready in minutes! GUI on Port 9090.

🎨 Visual Landscape (Headlamp UI)

• UI is Ready: Go to Ports > Port 9090 > Open in Browser 🌐. Hit Refresh.
• Find login token at .cluster-token.txt in root.

Done! You wasted NO time on local setup. You've a fully working Multi-Node cluster, up and running!

🛜 Modern Networking via Gateway API (Optional)

North-South traffic is managed through the Kubernetes Gateway API, which is enabled and preconfigured in your cluster.

• Use the provided example listener: kubectl apply -f examples/Gateway.yaml
• Or, create custom Gateway listeners to define specific ports, protocols, and routing rules for your services.

🚀 Deploy "Hello World" Demo App in 30 sec inside cluster! (Optional)

• Deploy kubectl apply -f examples/all-in-one.yaml
• Check Running pods kubectl get pods -n kube-system & Head to Port 8080. Hello World!
• Important! Delete when done kubectl delete -f examples/all-in-one.yaml to free the port for your app use.

🎯 Why this Template?

• Zero-Config: Skip the hassel of manual setup. Just get to your work!
• Modern Networking: Pre-loaded with the Kubernetes Gateway API (the successor to Ingress).
• Helm Ready: Native support for Helm charts to deploy your apps instantly, remote!
• Visual-First, GUI: Headlamp UI Dashboard pre-configured to see your "breathing" pods live, with Secure Auth RBAC!
• Free: Codespace is free upto $10 per month! Enough to play around and implement something cool in the cluster.
• Resource Lite: Fine-tuned to run smoothly on GitHub's 2-core / 8GB RAM basic Free tier.
• Zero-Footprint: No local install, no junk, no risk. Delete when done.
• Fully Open: No black boxes. Leverage IaC-powered open-source infrastructure you can customize and control.
• Dogfooding: I built this to host my own backend services and experiments!

🛠️ Handy Commands

The default cluster name is vinzcodz-cluster.

• To Stop Cluster: k3d cluster stop vinzcodz-cluster
• To Start Cluster: k3d cluster start vinzcodz-cluster
• Cluster/Endpoints frozen: docker restart $(docker ps -q)
• If your token expires or you missed it, just run:

kubectl create token headlamp-admin -n headlamp --duration=24h > .cluster-token.txt
cat .cluster-token.txt

🌟 Support the Project

If this one-click setup saved you hassles of YAML-wrangling today, please:

• Star this repo to help others find it! ⭐️
• Fork it and build your own Gateway API experiments. 🍴
• Share it on LinkedIn & tag me! 🐦

🤝 Contribute & Support

Found a bug or have a better way to optimize for 2-core machines? Open an Issue or submit a Pull Request. Let's make the "Instant K8s" experience even faster together!

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Use for Dev | Test | CI/CD Actions | Practice | Basically a throw away cluster after use!

Go ahead, give it a spin! 🚀