https://github.com/alicefr/bink
Bootc in Kubernetes, tool for creating bootc kuberntes clusters
https://github.com/alicefr/bink
bootc kubernetes
Last synced: 18 days ago
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Bootc in Kubernetes, tool for creating bootc kuberntes clusters
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/alicefr/bink
- Owner: alicefr
- License: apache-2.0
- Created: 2026-05-20T06:05:26.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-05-28T12:36:34.000Z (28 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-05-28T13:25:17.932Z (28 days ago)
- Topics: bootc, kubernetes
- Language: Go
- Homepage:
- Size: 7.08 MB
- Stars: 3
- Watchers: 2
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 15
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
- Agents: AGENTS.md
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README
# bink
A CLI tool for creating Kubernetes dev clusters from bootc images.
Its primary audience is K8s developers who want a "real enough" Kubernetes
cluster running on real bootc hosts for hacking and CI. It's easy to use, fast,
and runs unprivileged. It includes a local OCI registry for sharing images with
the cluster, networking for seamless cross-node communications, and HAProxy for
the API server.
## Prerequisites
Bink uses the Podman client API. Make sure you have a Podman socket (e.g.
`systemctl --user start podman.socket`) or remote connection available (via
`CONTAINER_HOST`).
## Installation
```bash
go install ./cmd/bink
```
(We're working on making bink run as a container as well!)
## Running via Container
Instead of building the binary locally, you can run bink directly from a container image:
```bash
# Start a cluster (mount host Podman socket)
podman run --rm -ti --network=host --security-opt label=disable \
-v $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman/podman.sock:/run/podman/podman.sock \
-e CONTAINER_HOST=unix:///run/podman/podman.sock \
-v $(pwd):/output \
ghcr.io/alicefr/bink/bink:latest \
cluster start
# Expose the API (kubeconfig is written to the mounted directory)
podman run --rm -ti --network=host --security-opt label=disable \
-v $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman/podman.sock:/run/podman/podman.sock \
-e CONTAINER_HOST=unix:///run/podman/podman.sock \
-v $(pwd):/output \
ghcr.io/alicefr/bink/bink:latest \
api expose
```
For convenience, create a shell alias:
```bash
alias bink='podman run --rm -ti --network=host --security-opt label=disable \
-v $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman/podman.sock:/run/podman/podman.sock \
-e CONTAINER_HOST=unix:///run/podman/podman.sock \
-v $(pwd):/output \
ghcr.io/alicefr/bink/bink:latest'
```
Then use it like the native binary: `bink cluster start`, `bink api expose`, etc.
### Nested containerization (no socket mount)
If you don't want to mount the host podman socket, bink can run podman inside the container. The container starts a podman service and all bink commands are run via `podman exec`:
```bash
# Start the bink container (runs podman service in the background)
podman run -d --name bink --privileged \
--device /dev/kvm \
-v bink-storage:/var/lib/containers \
-v $(pwd):/output \
ghcr.io/alicefr/bink/bink:latest
# Wait for podman service to be ready inside the container
until podman exec bink podman info &>/dev/null; do sleep 0.5; done
# Run bink commands
podman exec bink bink cluster start
podman exec bink bink api expose
podman exec bink bink cluster list
# Use kubectl from inside the bink container
podman exec bink kubectl --kubeconfig /output/kubeconfig-podman get nodes
# Stop and remove when done
podman exec bink bink cluster stop --remove-data
podman rm -f bink
```
The `bink-storage` volume persists container images across runs so they don't need to be re-downloaded each time.
**Note:** In nested mode the cluster and its API ports live inside the bink container. Use `kubectl` from inside the container, or use the socket-mount mode for host-level access.
## Create a Cluster
```bash
# Create cluster with control plane
bink cluster start
# Access the cluster
bink api expose
export KUBECONFIG=$PWD/kubeconfig-podman
kubectl get pods -A
# Add worker nodes (optional)
bink node add node2
bink node add node3
kubectl get nodes
```
## List Clusters
```bash
# List all running clusters
bink cluster list
```
## Delete a Cluster
```bash
# Stop and remove all nodes
bink cluster stop
# Stop and also remove persistent data (SSH keys, kubeconfig)
bink cluster stop --remove-data
```