Getting Started¶

Get up and running with k3d-local in 5 minutes.

Prerequisites¶

A modern system with: - macOS 10.14+, Linux (most distributions), or Windows 10+ - Docker or Docker Desktop pre-installed - Internet connection (for initial downloads)

Note

Other dependencies (k3d, kubectl, helm) can be automatically installed using the --auto-install flag.

Installation¶

Quick Install (Recommended)¶

brew tap gautampachnanda101/tap
brew install k3d-local

For detailed platform-specific instructions, see Installation Guide.

Your First Cluster (< 2 minutes)¶

Create a Basic Cluster¶

k3d-local create

This creates a cluster with: - 1 server node + 2 agent nodes - Kubernetes v1.31.5+ - Ready-to-use configuration

Create a Full-Featured Cluster¶

k3d-local create --with-traefik --with-apps

This includes: - ✅ k3d cluster - ✅ Traefik v3 ingress controller - ✅ Sample applications - ✅ Pre-configured DNS (sslip.io)

Access Your Services¶

Once creation completes, access services at:

Service	URL
Traefik Dashboard	http://dashboard.127.0.0.1.sslip.io:8080
Sample App	http://app.127.0.0.1.sslip.io:8080

Info

All services use port 8080 by default (the k3d host port).

Common Operations¶

Check Cluster Status¶

k3d-local status

Displays current cluster state and component health.

Deploy Your Application¶

kubectl apply -f your-app.yaml

Your cluster has kubectl pre-configured and ready to use.

Delete Cluster¶

k3d-local delete

Safely tears down all components and frees resources.