K3s

App in the BluixApps catalog

What it is

K3s is a lightweight Kubernetes distribution — single binary (<70MB), runs Kubernetes workloads on edge devices, IoT, small clusters, or single-node setups. CNCF Sandbox project, originally by Rancher (now SUSE).

The "Kubernetes for the rest of us" — same kubectl, same manifests, fraction of the resource footprint vs full upstream K8s.

What it's for

  • Edge Kubernetes — K8s on Raspberry Pi, edge gateways
  • Dev / staging clusters — full K8s locally without minikube friction
  • Small production clusters — single-server or 3-node SMB workloads
  • IoT orchestration — manage container fleets on remote devices
  • Learning Kubernetes — full K8s API without operational complexity

Who it's for

  • Edge / IoT operators running container workloads on low-resource devices
  • Small businesses needing K8s without the full operational team
  • Developers running K8s locally for testing
  • SMB DevOps teams with modest production workloads
  • Educational orgs teaching Kubernetes hands-on

Why teams pick K3s over alternatives

  • Apache 2.0 — fully open
  • CNCF Sandbox — vendor-neutral governance
  • Single binary — install via curl | sh, no dependencies
  • Embedded etcd or SQLite — no external DB required
  • Standard Kubernetes API — kubectl, Helm, all standard tooling
  • Active development — backed by SUSE / Rancher

Integrations

  • Helm — package manager for K8s apps
  • kubectl — standard CLI
  • Lens / Headlamp / K9s — UI / TUI for cluster mgmt
  • Bundled add-ons — Traefik ingress, ServiceLB, local-path storage, CoreDNS, Helm controller
  • Storage — local-path default, longhorn / NFS / cloud volumes via CSI
  • CNI plugins — Flannel default, swap to Calico / Cilium
  • Multi-node — agent nodes via K3S_URL + K3S_TOKEN

Notable users & community

  • 28k+ GitHub stars
  • Used by Hexagon, Rolls-Royce, edge IoT deployments
  • CNCF Sandbox project
  • Backed by SUSE / Rancher with commercial enterprise tier
  • Active Slack + community calls

Tips & operations

  • Production K3s ≠ Docker K3s — production should run as systemd service via curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh
  • Privileged container required for Docker-mode K3s
  • Persistent state/var/lib/rancher/k3s is the cluster state
  • Multi-node — agents join via API server URL + token
  • Backup snapshot — built-in etcd snapshot for disaster recovery
  • Network ports — 6443 (API), 80/443 (ingress) needed open

What we ship in BluixApps

  • Docker image: rancher/k3s:latest (privileged container)
  • Persistent volumes: /opt/k3s/data + /opt/k3s/config
  • Kubeconfig auto-generated at /opt/k3s/config/kubeconfig.yaml
  • Auto-patched kubeconfig with public IP for external kubectl access
  • Ports 6443 / 80 / 443 exposed
  • Bundled add-ons enabled (Traefik, ServiceLB, local-path, CoreDNS)
  • Pairs naturally with Headlamp (web UI) on same VPS
  • Backup hook covers /opt/k3s/data (cluster state)
Read this app's deep dive on bluix.app ↗

Get this app — pick a BluixApps plan

Same catalog. Scaling tenant isolation, white-label and support tier.

TierTenantsCatalogSupportWhite-labelMonthly
Stacks119 curated stacksStandard$19/moDetailDeploy
Starter10Full catalogStandard+$15–25/mo$49/moDetailDeploy
Pro25Full catalogPriority bugfix+$15–25/mo$149/moDetailDeploy
Growth100Full catalogPriority bugfix+$15–25/mo$349/moDetailDeploy
Scale500Full catalog7-day window+$15–25/mo$799/moDetailDeploy
EnterpriseUnlimitedFull catalogPriority 7-dayBundled$1,499/moDetailDeploy

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