kind (Kubernetes IN Docker) Management

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

  # 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

detect_ecosystem()

detect_ecosystem()

kind_provider_info()

List Clusters

kind_list_clusters()

Get Cluster Information

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

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

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

Show Running Config

kind_config_show(name="my-cluster")

Available Images

kind_available_images()

Get Kubeconfig

kind_get_kubeconfig(name="my-cluster")

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

Export Logs

kind_export_logs(name="my-cluster")

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

Cluster Lifecycle

Create Cluster

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:

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

kind_delete_cluster(name="dev-cluster")

kind_delete_cluster()

Local Registry Integration

Create Registry

kind_registry_create()

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

Connect Cluster to Registry

kind_registry_connect(cluster_name="my-cluster")

Check Registry Status

kind_registry_status()

Registry Workflow

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

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

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

List Images on Cluster

kind_images_list(cluster="my-cluster")

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

Node Management

Inspect Node

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

Get Node Logs

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

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

Execute Command on Node

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

kind_node_restart(node="kind-worker")

Networking

Inspect Network

kind_network_inspect()

List Port Mappings

kind_port_mappings(cluster="my-cluster")

Setup Ingress

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:

kind_build_node_image()

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

Update Kubeconfig

kind_set_kubeconfig(name="my-cluster")

Development Workflow

Quick Local Development

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

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

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

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

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

kind_export_logs(name="debug")

kind_get_nodes(name="debug")

Cluster Health Check

kind_cluster_status(name="my-cluster")

Node Issues

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

kind_network_inspect()

kind_port_mappings()

Cleanup

kind_delete_cluster(name="broken-cluster")

kind_delete_cluster()

CLI Installation

Install kind CLI:

# 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