You can create a k0s cluster on top of docker. In such a scenario, by default, both controller and worker nodes are run in the same container to provide an easy local testing "cluster".
You will require a Docker environment running on a Mac, Windows, or Linux system.
The k0s containers are published both on Docker Hub and GitHub. For reasons of simplicity, the examples given here use Docker Hub (GitHub requires a separate authentication that is not covered). Alternative links include:
- docker.io/k0sproject/k0s:v{{{ extra.k8s_version }}}-k0s.0
- ghcr.io/k0sproject/k0s:v{{{ extra.k8s_version }}}-k0s.0
Note: Due to Docker Hub tag validation scheme, we have to use -
as the k0s version separator instead of the usual +
. So for example k0s version v{{{ extra.k8s_version }}}+k0s.0
is tagged as docker.io/k0sproject/k0s:v{{{ extra.k8s_version }}}-k0s.0
.
You can run your own k0s in Docker:
docker run -d --name k0s --hostname k0s --privileged -v /var/lib/k0s -p 6443:6443 --cgroupns=host docker.io/k0sproject/k0s:v{{{ extra.k8s_version }}}-k0s.0 -- k0s controller --enable-worker
Flags: -d: Runs the container in detached mode. --name k0s: Names the container k0s. --hostname k0s: Sets the hostname of the container to k0s. --privileged: Grants the container elevated privileges, required by k0s to function properly inside Docker. -v /var/lib/k0s: Uses Docker volume. Mounts the docker container’s /var/lib/k0s directory to the host, ensuring that cluster data persists across container restarts. -p 6443:6443: Exposes port 6443 on the host for the Kubernetes API server, allowing you to interact with the cluster externally. --cgroupns=host: Configures the container to share the host's cgroup namespace, allowing k0s to monitor system resources accurately. -- k0s controller --enable-worker: Starts the k0s controller and enables a worker node within the same container, creating a single-node cluster.
Note: This command starts k0s with a worker. You may disable the worker by running it without the flag --enable-worker
You can attach multiple workers nodes into the cluster to then distribute your application containers to separate workers.
For each required worker:
-
Acquire a join token for the worker:
token=$(docker exec -t -i k0s k0s token create --role=worker)
-
Run the container to create and join the new worker:
docker run -d --name k0s-worker1 --hostname k0s-worker1 --privileged -v /var/lib/k0s --cgroupns=host docker.io/k0sproject/k0s:v{{{ extra.k8s_version }}}-k0s.0 k0s worker $token
Repeat these steps for each additional worker node needed. Ensure that workers can reach the controller on port 6443.
a) Using kubectl within the Container
To check cluster status and list nodes, use:
docker exec k0s k0s kubectl get nodes
b) Using kubectl Locally
To configure local access to your k0s cluster, follow these steps:
-
Generate the kubeconfig:
docker exec k0s k0s kubeconfig admin > ~/.kube/k0s.config
-
Update kubeconfig with Localhost Access:
To automatically replace the server IP with localhost dynamically in
~/.kube/k0s.config
, use the following command:sed -i '' -e "$(awk '/server:/ {print NR; exit}' ~/.kube/k0s.config)s|https://.*:6443|https://localhost:6443|" ~/.kube/k0s.config
This command updates the kubeconfig to point to localhost, allowing access to the API server from your host machine
-
Set the KUBECONFIG Environment Variable:
export KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/k0s.config
-
Verify Cluster Access:
kubectl get nodes
c) Use Lens:
Access the k0s cluster using Lens by following the instructions here.
As an alternative you can run k0s using Docker Compose:
version: "3.9"
services:
k0s:
container_name: k0s
image: docker.io/k0sproject/k0s:v{{{ extra.k8s_version }}}-k0s.0
command: k0s controller --config=/etc/k0s/config.yaml --enable-worker
hostname: k0s
privileged: true
cgroup: host
volumes:
- "/var/lib/k0s"
ports:
- "6443:6443"
network_mode: "bridge"
environment:
K0S_CONFIG: |-
apiVersion: k0s.k0sproject.io/v1beta1
kind: ClusterConfig
metadata:
name: k0s
# Any additional configuration goes here ...
Currently, k0s nodes cannot be run if the containers are configured to use custom networks (for example, with --net my-net
). This is because Docker sets up a custom DNS service within the network which creates issues with CoreDNS. No completely reliable workaounds are available, however no issues should arise from running k0s cluster(s) on a bridge network.
- Install using k0sctl: Deploy multi-node clusters using just one command
- Control plane configuration options: Networking and datastore configuration
- Worker node configuration options: Node labels and kubelet arguments
- Support for cloud providers: Load balancer or storage configuration
- Installing the Traefik Ingress Controller: Ingress deployment information