kind (Kubernetes IN Docker) Management

Manage kind (Kubernetes IN Docker) local clusters. Use when creating, testing, or developing with local Kubernetes clusters in Docker containers.

Manage local Kubernetes clusters using kubectl-mcp-server's kind tools (32 tools).

Requires the kind toolset: start kubectl-mcp-server with --toolsets default,kind (or MCP_TOOLSETS=default,kind).

kind enables running local Kubernetes clusters using Docker container "nodes". It's ideal for local development, CI/CD testing, and testing across Kubernetes versions.

When to Apply

Use this skill when:

• User mentions: "kind", "local cluster", "Kubernetes in Docker", "dev cluster"
• Operations: creating local clusters, loading images, CI/CD testing
• Keywords: "local development", "test cluster", "load image", "multi-node"

Priority Rules

Priority	Rule	Impact	Tools
1	Detect kind CLI first	CRITICAL	detect_ecosystem
2	Generate config for complex setups	HIGH	kind_config_generate
3	Load images after cluster creation	HIGH	kind_load_image
4	Export logs for debugging	MEDIUM	kind_export_logs

Quick Reference

Task	Tool	Example
Detect kind	detect_ecosystem	detect_ecosystem()
Create cluster	kind_create_cluster	kind_create_cluster(name)
Load image	kind_load_image	kind_load_image(images, name)
Get kubeconfig	kind_get_kubeconfig	kind_get_kubeconfig(name)

Prerequisites

• kind CLI: Required for all kind tools

  bash

  # macOS
  brew install kind
  # or download binary
  curl -Lo ./kind https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/dl/latest/kind-$(uname)-amd64
  chmod +x ./kind && sudo mv ./kind /usr/local/bin/kind
  

• Docker: Required (kind runs clusters in Docker containers)

Check Installation

python

detect_ecosystem()

detect_ecosystem()

kind_provider_info()

List Clusters

python

kind_list_clusters()

Get Cluster Information

python

kind_cluster_info(name="my-cluster")

kind_cluster_status(name="my-cluster")

kind_get_nodes(name="my-cluster")

kind_node_labels(name="my-cluster")

Configuration Management

Generate Config

python

kind_config_generate()

kind_config_generate(workers=2, control_planes=1)

kind_config_generate(workers=2, ingress=True, registry=True)

kind_config_generate(control_planes=3, workers=3)

Validate Config

python

kind_config_validate(config_path="/path/to/kind.yaml")

Show Running Config

python

kind_config_show(name="my-cluster")

Available Images

python

kind_available_images()

Get Kubeconfig

python

kind_get_kubeconfig(name="my-cluster")

kind_get_kubeconfig(name="my-cluster", internal=True)

Export Logs

python

kind_export_logs(name="my-cluster")

kind_export_logs(name="my-cluster", output_dir="/tmp/kind-logs")

Cluster Lifecycle

Create Cluster

python

kind_create_cluster()

kind_create_cluster(name="dev-cluster")

kind_create_cluster(
    name="v129-cluster",
    image="kindest/node:v1.29.0"
)

kind_create_cluster(
    name="multi-node",
    config="kind-config.yaml"
)

Multi-Node Config Example

Create a file kind-config.yaml:

yaml

kind: Cluster
apiVersion: kind.x-k8s.io/v1alpha4
nodes:
- role: control-plane
  extraPortMappings:
  - containerPort: 30000
    hostPort: 30000
    protocol: TCP
- role: worker
- role: worker

Delete Cluster

python

kind_delete_cluster(name="dev-cluster")

kind_delete_cluster()

Local Registry Integration

Create Registry

python

kind_registry_create()

kind_registry_create(name="my-registry", port=5001)

Connect Cluster to Registry

python

kind_registry_connect(cluster_name="my-cluster")

Check Registry Status

python

kind_registry_status()

Registry Workflow

python

kind_registry_create()

config = kind_config_generate(registry=True)

kind_create_cluster(name="dev", config="/tmp/kind.yaml")

kind_registry_connect(cluster_name="dev")

Image Loading (Key Feature!)

The ability to load local Docker images directly into kind clusters is one of its most powerful features for local development.

Load Docker Images

python

kind_load_image(images="myapp:latest", name="my-cluster")

kind_load_image(
    images="myapp:latest,mydb:latest,myweb:v1",
    name="my-cluster"
)

Load from Archive

python

kind_load_image_archive(
    archive="/path/to/images.tar",
    name="my-cluster"
)

List Images on Cluster

python

kind_images_list(cluster="my-cluster")

kind_images_list(cluster="my-cluster", node="my-cluster-worker")

Node Management

Inspect Node

python

kind_node_inspect(node="kind-control-plane")

Get Node Logs

python

kind_node_logs(node="kind-control-plane")

kind_node_logs(node="kind-control-plane", tail=200)

Execute Command on Node

python

kind_node_exec(
    node="kind-control-plane",
    command="crictl images"
)

kind_node_exec(
    node="kind-control-plane",
    command="journalctl -u kubelet --no-pager -n 50"
)

Restart Node

python

kind_node_restart(node="kind-worker")

Networking

Inspect Network

python

kind_network_inspect()

List Port Mappings

python

kind_port_mappings(cluster="my-cluster")

Setup Ingress

python

kind_ingress_setup(cluster="my-cluster")

kind_ingress_setup(cluster="my-cluster", ingress_type="contour")

Advanced: Build Node Image

Build custom node images from Kubernetes source:

python

kind_build_node_image()

kind_build_node_image(
    image="my-custom-node:v1.30.0",
    kube_root="/path/to/kubernetes"
)

Update Kubeconfig

python

kind_set_kubeconfig(name="my-cluster")

Development Workflow

Quick Local Development

python

kind_create_cluster(name="dev")

kind_load_image(images="myapp:dev", name="dev")

kubectl_apply(manifest="""
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: myapp
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: myapp
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: myapp
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: myapp
        image: myapp:dev
        imagePullPolicy: Never
""")

Development with Local Registry

python

kind_registry_create()

config = kind_config_generate(workers=1, ingress=True, registry=True)

kind_create_cluster(name="dev", config="/tmp/kind-config.yaml")

kind_registry_connect(cluster_name="dev")

kind_ingress_setup(cluster="dev")

CI/CD Testing

python

kind_create_cluster(
    name="ci-test",
    image="kindest/node:v1.29.0",
    wait="3m"
)

kind_load_image(images="test-image:ci", name="ci-test")

kind_delete_cluster(name="ci-test")

Version Testing

python

kind_create_cluster(name="v128", image="kindest/node:v1.28.0")
kind_create_cluster(name="v129", image="kindest/node:v1.29.0")
kind_create_cluster(name="v130", image="kindest/node:v1.30.0")

kind_list_clusters()

Troubleshooting

Cluster Creation Issues

python

kind_create_cluster(name="debug", retain=True)

kind_export_logs(name="debug")

kind_get_nodes(name="debug")

Cluster Health Check

python

kind_cluster_status(name="my-cluster")

Node Issues

python

kind_node_inspect(node="kind-control-plane")

kind_node_logs(node="kind-control-plane")

kind_node_exec(
    node="kind-control-plane",
    command="crictl ps"
)

kind_node_restart(node="kind-worker")

Network Issues

python

kind_network_inspect()

kind_port_mappings()

Cleanup

python

kind_delete_cluster(name="broken-cluster")

kind_delete_cluster()

CLI Installation

Install kind CLI:

bash

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -Lo ./kind https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/dl/latest/kind-darwin-arm64
chmod +x ./kind
sudo mv ./kind /usr/local/bin/kind

# macOS (Intel)
curl -Lo ./kind https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/dl/latest/kind-darwin-amd64
chmod +x ./kind
sudo mv ./kind /usr/local/bin/kind

# Linux
curl -Lo ./kind https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/dl/latest/kind-linux-amd64
chmod +x ./kind
sudo mv ./kind /usr/local/bin/kind

# Verify
kind version

Tool Reference

Read-Only Tools (20)

Tool	Description
detect_ecosystem	Detect CLI installation
detect_ecosystem	Get CLI version
kind_list_clusters	List all clusters
kind_get_nodes	List nodes in cluster
kind_get_kubeconfig	Get kubeconfig
kind_export_logs	Export cluster logs
kind_cluster_info	Get cluster info
kind_node_labels	Get node labels
kind_config_validate	Validate config file
kind_config_generate	Generate config YAML
kind_config_show	Show running config
kind_available_images	List K8s versions
kind_registry_status	Check registry status
kind_node_logs	Get node logs
kind_node_inspect	Inspect node details
kind_network_inspect	Inspect Docker network
kind_port_mappings	List port mappings
kind_cluster_status	Get cluster health
kind_images_list	List images on nodes
kind_provider_info	Get provider info

Write Tools (12)

Tool	Description
kind_create_cluster	Create cluster
kind_delete_cluster	Delete cluster
kind_delete_cluster	Delete all clusters
kind_load_image	Load Docker images
kind_load_image_archive	Load from archive
kind_build_node_image	Build node image
kind_set_kubeconfig	Set kubeconfig context
kind_registry_create	Create local registry
kind_registry_connect	Connect to registry
kind_node_exec	Execute on node
kind_node_restart	Restart node
kind_ingress_setup	Setup ingress

kind vs vind (vCluster)

Feature	kind	vind (vCluster)
Purpose	Local dev/CI clusters	Virtual clusters in existing K8s
Isolation	Full clusters in Docker	Virtual namespaces with isolation
Resource Usage	Higher (full cluster)	Lower (shares host cluster)
Best For	Local testing, CI/CD	Multi-tenancy, dev environments
Requires	Docker	Existing K8s cluster

Related Skills

• k8s-vind - vCluster management
• k8s-multicluster - Multi-cluster management
• k8s-helm - Helm chart operations
• k8s-operations - kubectl operations