ctlptl

Want to mess around with Kubernetes, but don't want to spend an ocean on hardware?

Maybe you need a ctlptl.

What is ctlptl?

ctlptl (pronounced "cattle patrol") is a CLI for declaratively setting up local Kubernetes clusters.

Inspired by kubectl and ClusterAPI's clusterctl, you declare your local cluster with YAML and use ctlptl to set it up.

How do I install it?

Install your cluster of choice: Docker for Desktop, Kind, k3d or Minikube. Then run:

Homebrew (Mac/Linux)

brew install tilt-dev/tap/ctlptl

Scoop (Windows)

scoop bucket add tilt-dev https://github.com/tilt-dev/scoop-bucket
scoop install ctlptl

Go install

go install github.com/tilt-dev/ctlptl/cmd/ctlptl@latest

Alternative Options

If automatic installers aren't your cup of tea, check out the installation appendix for more options.

How do I use it?

ctlptl supports 4 major commands:

• ctlptl get - see all running clusters
• ctlptl create cluster [product] - create a cluster and make it the current kubectl context
• ctlptl apply -f cluster.yaml - ensure a cluster exists, or create one
• ctlptl delete -f cluster.yaml - delete a cluster and its state

Examples

Docker for Mac: Enable Kubernetes and set 4 CPU

Create:

ctlptl docker-desktop open
ctlptl create cluster docker-desktop --min-cpus=4

or ensure exists:

cat <<EOF | ctlptl apply -f -
apiVersion: ctlptl.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Cluster
product: docker-desktop
minCPUs: 4
EOF

Docker for Mac: Reset and shutdown Kubernetes

ctlptl delete cluster docker-desktop
ctlptl docker-desktop quit

KIND: with a built-in registry at a random port

Create:

ctlptl create cluster kind --registry=ctlptl-registry

or ensure exists:

cat <<EOF | ctlptl apply -f -
apiVersion: ctlptl.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Cluster
product: kind
registry: ctlptl-registry
EOF

Then fetch the URL to push images to with:

ctlptl get cluster kind-kind -o template --template '{{.status.localRegistryHosting.host}}'

KIND: with a built-in registry at a pre-determined port

Create:

ctlptl create registry ctlptl-registry --port=5005
ctlptl create cluster kind --registry=ctlptl-registry

or ensure exists:

cat <<EOF | ctlptl apply -f -
apiVersion: ctlptl.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Registry
name: ctlptl-registry
port: 5005
---
apiVersion: ctlptl.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Cluster
product: kind
registry: ctlptl-registry
EOF

K3D: with a built-in registry at a pre-determined port

Create:

ctlptl create registry ctlptl-registry --port=5005
ctlptl create cluster k3d --registry=ctlptl-registry

or ensure exists:

cat <<EOF | ctlptl apply -f -
apiVersion: ctlptl.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Registry
name: ctlptl-registry
port: 5005
---
apiVersion: ctlptl.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Cluster
product: k3d
registry: ctlptl-registry
EOF

Minikube: with a built-in registry at Kubernetes v1.18.8

Create:

ctlptl create cluster minikube --registry=ctlptl-registry --kubernetes-version=v1.18.8

or ensure exists:

cat <<EOF | ctlptl apply -f -
apiVersion: ctlptl.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Cluster
product: minikube
registry: ctlptl-registry
kubernetesVersion: v1.18.8
EOF

Docker for Mac: Limit to 1 CPU and Disable Kubernetes

ctlptl docker-desktop set vm.resources.cpus 1
ctlptl docker-desktop set kubernetes.enabled false

More

For more details, see:

• Example configurations under ./examples
• Complete CLI docs under ./docs
• Cluster API reference under pkg.go.dev

Why did you make this?

At Tilt, we want to make Kubernetes a nice environment for local dev.

We found ourselves spending too much time helping teams debug misconfigurations in their dev environment.

We wrote docs like Choosing a local dev cluster and example repos like kind-local, minikube-local, and k3d-local to help people get set up.

ctlptl is a culmination of what we've learned.

Features

Current

• Docker for Mac
• Docker for Windows
• KIND and KIND with a registry
• Minikube and Minikube with a registry
• K3D with a registry
• Creating a cluster on a Remote Docker Host (useful in CI environments like CircleCI)
• Allocating CPUs

Future Work

• Microk8s
• Rancher Desktop
• Podman
• Minikube on Hyperkit
• Allocating Memory
• Allocating Storage

Community

ctlptl is a work in progress!

We welcome contributions from the Kubernetes community to help make this better.

We expect everyone -- users, contributors, followers, and employees alike -- to abide by our Code of Conduct.

Goals

• To support common local cluster setup operations, like create, delete, and reset

• To interoperate well with all local Kubernetes solutions, including docker-desktop, kind, minikube, k3d, or microk8s

• To connect other resources to a local cluster, like image registries, storage, and CPU/memory

• To help infra engineers manage a consistent dev environment

• To encourage standards that enable interop between devtools, like KEP 1755

Non-Goals

• ctlptl is NOT a Kubernetes setup approach that competes with kind or minikube, but rather complements these tools.

• ctlptl is NOT intended to help you setup a remote cluster, or a remote dev sandbox. If you want to declaratively set up prod clusters, check out clusterapi.

Privacy

ctlptl sends anonymized usage statistics, so we can improve it on every platform. Opt out with ctlptl analytics opt out.

License

Copyright 2022 Docker, Inc.

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0