https://github.com/devantler-tech/ksail

Tool for creating, maintaining and operating Kubernetes clusters with ease.
https://github.com/devantler-tech/ksail

ai app argocd cli declarative fluxcd github-copilot helm hetzner k3d k3s kind kubeconform kubectl kubernetes kustomize mcp-server talos-linux tui yaml

Last synced: 13 minutes ago
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Tool for creating, maintaining and operating Kubernetes clusters with ease.

Host: GitHub
URL: https://github.com/devantler-tech/ksail
Owner: devantler-tech
License: apache-2.0
Created: 2023-12-31T16:17:15.000Z (over 2 years ago)
Default Branch: main
Last Pushed: 2026-02-26T06:51:11.000Z (about 1 month ago)
Last Synced: 2026-02-26T06:51:51.381Z (about 1 month ago)
Topics: ai, app, argocd, cli, declarative, fluxcd, github-copilot, helm, hetzner, k3d, k3s, kind, kubeconform, kubectl, kubernetes, kustomize, mcp-server, talos-linux, tui, yaml
Language: Go
Homepage: http://ksail.devantler.tech/
Size: 697 MB
Stars: 137
Watchers: 2
Forks: 5
Open Issues: 20
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- Funding: .github/FUNDING.yml
- License: LICENSE
- Codeowners: .github/CODEOWNERS
- Security: SECURITY.md

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# 🛥️🐳 KSail

![ksail](./docs/src/assets/ksail-cli-dark.png)

KSail is a tool that bundles common Kubernetes tooling into a single binary. It provides a VSCode Extension, CLI, AI-Enabled Chat TUI or MCP interface to create clusters, deploy workloads, and operate cloud-native stacks across different distributions and providers.

## Quick Install

```bash

# macOS / Linux (Homebrew)

brew install --cask devantler-tech/tap/ksail

# Go (1.26.1+)

go install github.com/devantler-tech/ksail/v5@latest

```

> See the [Installation Guide](https://ksail.devantler.tech/installation/) for binary downloads and more options.

## Quick Start

```bash

# 1. Create a project and spin up a cluster (only requires Docker)

ksail cluster init --name my-app

ksail cluster create

# 2. Connect to your cluster with K9s

ksail cluster connect

```

That's it — zero to a running cluster in under a minute.

## What KSail Replaces

Most Kubernetes workflows require juggling multiple tools:

```text

kind + k3d + kubectl + helm + kustomize + flux + argocd + sops + k9s + kubeconform + ...

```

KSail bundles these into **one binary**:

| Category                 | Built-in Capabilities                                      |

|--------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|

| Cluster Provisioning     | Kind, K3d, Talos, VCluster (Vind)                          |

| Container Orchestration  | kubectl, Helm, Kustomize                                   |

| GitOps Engines           | Flux, ArgoCD                                               |

| Secrets Management       | SOPS with Age encryption                                   |

| Manifest Validation      | Kubeconform                                                |

| Cluster Operations       | K9s, backup & restore                                      |

| AI Integration           | Chat assistant (Copilot SDK), MCP server, VSCode extension |

| Infrastructure Providers | Docker (local), Hetzner Cloud, Sidero Omni                 |

**Only Docker is required** — no other tools to install, configure, or keep in sync.

## Why KSail?

Setting up and operating Kubernetes clusters often requires juggling multiple CLI tools, writing bespoke scripts, and dealing with inconsistent workflows. KSail removes the tooling overhead so you can focus on your workloads.

## Key Features

- 📦 **One Binary** — Embeds cluster provisioning, GitOps engines, and deployment tooling. No tool sprawl.

- ☸️ **Simple Clusters** — Spin up Vanilla, K3s, Talos, or VCluster clusters with one command. Same workflow across distributions.

- 🔓 **No Lock-In** — Uses native configs (`kind.yaml`, `k3d.yaml`, Talos patches, `vcluster.yaml`). Run clusters with or without KSail.

- 📥 **Mirror Registries** — Avoid rate limits, and store images once. Same mirrors used by different clusters.

- 📄 **Everything as Code** — Cluster settings, distribution configs, and workloads in version-controlled files.

- 🔄 **GitOps Native** — Built-in Flux or ArgoCD support with bootstrap, push, and reconcile commands.

- 🏢 **Multi-Tenancy** — Generate RBAC isolation, GitOps sync resources, and scaffold tenant repositories with `ksail tenant create` and `ksail tenant delete`.

- ⚙️ **Customizable Stack** — Select your CNI, CSI, policy engine, cert-manager, and mirror registries.

- 🔐 **SOPS Built In** — Encrypt, decrypt, and edit secrets with integrated cipher commands.

- 💾 **Backup & Restore** — Export cluster resources to a compressed archive and restore to any cluster with provenance labels.

- 🤖 **AI Assistant** — Interactive chat powered by GitHub Copilot for configuration and troubleshooting.

- 💻 **VSCode Extension** — Manage clusters from VSCode via VS Code Kubernetes extension integration (Cloud Explorer, Cluster Explorer), wizards, and command palette.

## Getting Started

### Prerequisites

KSail works on all major operating systems and CPU architectures:

| OS                                            | Architecture |

|-----------------------------------------------|--------------|

| 🐧 Linux                                      | amd64, arm64 |

|  macOS                                       | arm64        |

| ⊞ Windows (native untested; WSL2 recommended) | amd64, arm64 |

Supported distributions run on different infrastructure providers:

| Provider | Vanilla  | K3s     | Talos | VCluster |

|----------|----------|---------|-------|----------|

| Docker   | ✅ (Kind) | ✅ (K3d) | ✅     | ✅ (Vind) |

| Hetzner  | —        | —       | ✅     | —        |

| Omni     | —        | —       | ✅     | —        |

### Installation

See the [Installation Guide](https://ksail.devantler.tech/installation/) for detailed installation instructions including binary downloads and platform-specific options.

## Usage

```mermaid

flowchart TD

    Dev["🧑‍💻 Developer"]

    Dev -->|"edits"| Project

    Dev -->|"runs"| KSail

    subgraph Project ["📁 Project Repository"]

        Config["ksail.yaml"] ~~~ DistConfig["kind.yaml · k3d.yaml
vcluster.yaml"] ~~~ Manifests["k8s/ manifests"]

    end

    KSail -->|"scaffolds & reads"| Project

    KSail -->|"provisions & operates"| Cluster

    subgraph KSail ["🛥️ KSail — One Binary"]

        CLI["CLI Commands"] ~~~ Tools["Kind · K3d · Talos · vCluster
Flux · ArgoCD · SOPS
Helm · Kustomize"]

    end

    subgraph Cluster ["☸️ Kubernetes Cluster"]

        Infra["CNI · CSI · Metrics
Cert-Manager · Policy Engine"] ~~~ Workloads["Your Workloads ✅"]

    end

    Manifests -.->|"GitOps sync"| Workloads

    style Dev fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#000

    style Project fill:#7c3aed22,stroke:#7c3aed

    style KSail fill:#10b98122,stroke:#10b981

    style Cluster fill:#3b82f622,stroke:#3b82f6

    style CLI fill:#10b981,stroke:#059669,color:#000

    style Tools fill:#065f46,stroke:#10b981,color:#fff

    style Infra fill:#1e40af,stroke:#3b82f6,color:#fff

    style Workloads fill:#166534,stroke:#22c55e,color:#fff

    style Config fill:#5b21b6,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#fff

    style DistConfig fill:#5b21b6,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#fff

    style Manifests fill:#5b21b6,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#fff

```

```bash

# 1. Initialize a new project with your preferred stack

ksail cluster init \

  --name  \

  --distribution  \

  --cni  \

  --csi  \

  --metrics-server  \

  --cert-manager  \

  --policy-engine  \

  --gitops-engine  \

  --mirror-registry =

# 2. Create and start the cluster

ksail cluster create

# 3. Add your manifests to the k8s/ directory

# 4. Deploy your workloads

ksail workload apply -k ./k8s   # kubectl workflow

ksail workload reconcile        # gitops workflow

# 5. Update cluster configuration (modify ksail.yaml, then run)

ksail cluster update            # Apply configuration changes

# 6. Connect to the cluster with K9s

ksail cluster connect

```

### Native Configuration Files

KSail generates standard distribution configuration files that you can use directly with the underlying tools:

```bash

# After ksail cluster init, you'll find native configs:

# - kind.yaml       (for Vanilla/Kind clusters)

# - k3d.yaml        (for K3s clusters)

# - talos/          (for Talos clusters)

# - vcluster.yaml   (for VCluster clusters)

# You can use these configs directly without KSail:

kind create cluster --config kind.yaml

k3d cluster create --config k3d.yaml

talosctl cluster create --config-patch @talos/cluster/patches.yaml

vcluster create my-cluster --values vcluster.yaml

# Or let KSail manage the lifecycle:

ksail cluster create

```

## Documentation

Browse the documentation at  (GitHub Pages)

## Community & Support

- 💬 **[GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/devantler-tech/ksail/discussions)** — Ask questions, share ideas, and connect with other users

- 🐛 **[Issue Tracker](https://github.com/devantler-tech/ksail/issues)** — Report bugs or request features

- 📖 **[Documentation](https://ksail.devantler.tech)** — Guides, CLI reference, and architecture docs

- ⭐ **[Star the repo](https://github.com/devantler-tech/ksail)** — Help others discover KSail

## Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for details on our development process, coding standards, and how to submit pull requests.

Looking for a place to start? Check out issues labeled [`good first issue`](https://github.com/devantler-tech/ksail/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22good+first+issue%22).

## Related Projects

KSail is a powerful tool that can be used in many different ways. Here are some projects that use KSail in their setup:

| Project                                                               | Description         | Type     |

|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|----------|

| [devantler-tech/platform](https://github.com/devantler-tech/platform) | My personal homelab | Platform |

If you use KSail in your project, feel free to open a PR to add it to the list, so others can see how you use KSail.

## Presentations

- **[KSail - a Kubernetes SDK for local GitOps development and CI](https://youtu.be/Q-Hfn_-B7p8?si=2Uec_kld--fNw3gm)** - A presentation on KSail at KCD2024 (Early version of KSail that was built in .NET).

## Blog Posts

- [Local Kubernetes Development with KSail and Kind](https://devantler.tech/blog/local-kubernetes-development-with-ksail-and-kind/)

- [Local Kubernetes Development with KSail and K3d](https://devantler.tech/blog/local-kubernetes-development-with-ksail-and-k3d/)

- [Local Kubernetes Development with KSail and Talos](https://devantler.tech/blog/local-kubernetes-development-with-ksail-and-talos/)

- [Creating Kubernetes Clusters on Hetzner with KSail and Talos](https://devantler.tech/blog/creating-development-kubernetes-clusters-on-hetzner-with-ksail-and-talos/)

- [AI-first TUI for KSail with Copilot SDK and Bubbletea](https://devantler.tech/blog/building-an-ai-assistant-for-kubernetes-with-github-copilot-sdk/)

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