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Setting Up Kubernetes using k3d

Updated Aug 19, 2022 ·

Overview​

This is a simple guide to set up a Kubernetes cluster locally using k3d.

  • k3d lets you run Kubernetes in Docker containers
  • Requires Docker and kubectl installed beforehand
  • Automatically manages Kubernetes context after cluster creation

Once it's set up, you’ll be able to start running apps locally using Kubernetes commands.

Install Docker​

Docker is needed to run the Kubernetes cluster using containers.

## Update your package list
sudo apt update

## Install required dependencies
sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl gnupg-agent software-properties-common

## Add Docker’s GPG key and repo
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
sudo apt update

## Install Docker and Containerd
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

Make Docker usable without sudo:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

Check installation:

docker version

Install kubectl​

kubectl is the tool used to interact with Kubernetes clusters.

## Download the binary
curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -Ls https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"

## Move it to a directory in your system path
chmod +x kubectl

## Make it executable
sudo mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/

Confirm the installation:

kubectl version --client

Install k3d​

Install k3d by running the official install script.

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/k3d-io/k3d/main/install.sh | bash

This downloads and installs k3d on your machine. Make sure Docker and kubectl are already installed.

To verify:

k3d version

Output:

k3d version v5.8.3
k3s version v1.31.5-k3s1 (default)

Reference: k3d official documentation

Create a Cluster​

You can create a new Kubernetes cluster using:

k3d cluster create test-k8s --servers 2 --agents 2

Where:

  • --servers 2 sets up two control-plane nodes
  • --agents 2 sets up two worker nodes
  • You can name your cluster anything you like

This ensures you have enough resources for running multiple apps later on.

Check Your Kubernetes Context​

After creating the cluster, k3d automatically sets your current kubectl context.

To confirm:

kubectl config get-contexts

You should see the context named after your cluster, and it should be selected (with a *).

CURRENT   NAME           CLUSTER        AUTHINFO             NAMESPACE
*         k3d-test-k8s   k3d-test-k8s   admin@k3d-test-k8s   
          kind-kind      kind-kind      kind-kind

This means kubectl is now connected to your new local Kubernetes cluster.

View Your Cluster​

To list all clusters created by k3d, run:

k3d cluster list

You’ll see the cluster name, number of servers and agents, and status. If everything looks good, you're ready to use it.

NAME       SERVERS   AGENTS   LOADBALANCER
test-k8s   2/2       2/2      true

Your kubectl context is already set, so you can now deploy apps and services without additional setup.

$ kubectl get nodes

NAME                    STATUS   ROLES                       AGE   VERSION
k3d-test-k8s-agent-0    Ready    <none>                      66s   v1.31.5+k3s1
k3d-test-k8s-agent-1    Ready    <none>                      66s   v1.31.5+k3s1
k3d-test-k8s-server-0   Ready    control-plane,etcd,master   87s   v1.31.5+k3s1
k3d-test-k8s-server-1   Ready    control-plane,etcd,master   70s   v1.31.5+k3s1

Deleting the Cluster​

To remove the cluster, simply run:

k3d cluster delete test-k8s