Quick Start

Get up and running with BeKind in just a few minutes.

Table of contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Create a Configuration File
3. Start the Cluster
4. Verify the Deployment
5. Explore Your Cluster
   1. Check the Podinfo Application
   2. Check the Example Pod
   3. Access Podinfo (Port Forward)
6. Clean Up
7. Next Steps
8. Troubleshooting
   1. Docker Not Running
   2. Cluster Already Exists
   3. Image Pull Issues

---

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

• Docker installed and running
• kubectl installed
• BeKind installed (see Installation)

---

Create a Configuration File

Create a configuration file at /tmp/config.yaml:

cat << 'EOF' > /tmp/config.yaml
helmCharts:
  - url: "oci://ghcr.io/stefanprodan/charts/podinfo"
    repo: "podinfo"
    chart: "podinfo"
    release: "podinfo"
    namespace: "demo"
    wait: true
    valuesObject:
      replicaCount: 2
      image:
        pullPolicy: "IfNotPresent"
      ingress:
        enabled: "false"
kindConfig: |
  kind: Cluster
  name: mycluster
  apiVersion: kind.x-k8s.io/v1alpha4
  nodes:
  - role: control-plane
loadDockerImages:
  images:
    - stefanprodan/podinfo:latest
postInstallManifests:
  - "https://tinyurl.com/example-pod"
EOF

This configuration will:

• Create a KIND cluster named mycluster
• Install the Podinfo Helm chart with 2 replicas
• Pre-load the Podinfo image
• Deploy an example pod from a remote manifest

---

Start the Cluster

Run BeKind with your configuration:

bekind start --config /tmp/config.yaml

BeKind will:

1. Create the KIND cluster
2. Load the specified Docker images
3. Install the Helm chart
4. Apply the remote manifest

This process typically takes 1-2 minutes.

---

Verify the Deployment

Once BeKind completes, check that everything is running:

kubectl get pods -A

You should see your instance running with the Helm chart and pod deployed:

NAMESPACE            NAME                                              READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
default              example-pod-1                                     1/1     Running   0          6s
demo                 podinfo-d8689c8b7-qdjt4                           1/1     Running   0          24s
demo                 podinfo-d8689c8b7-v7r9d                           1/1     Running   0          24s
kube-system          coredns-66bc5c9577-2ndxz                          1/1     Running   0          24s
kube-system          coredns-66bc5c9577-8gfzx                          1/1     Running   0          24s
kube-system          etcd-mycluster-control-plane                      1/1     Running   0          31s
kube-system          kindnet-85crs                                     1/1     Running   0          24s
kube-system          kube-apiserver-mycluster-control-plane            1/1     Running   0          30s
kube-system          kube-controller-manager-mycluster-control-plane   1/1     Running   0          32s
kube-system          kube-proxy-dvxrq                                  1/1     Running   0          24s
kube-system          kube-scheduler-mycluster-control-plane            1/1     Running   0          30s
local-path-storage   local-path-provisioner-7b8c8ddbd6-8t47f           1/1     Running   0          24s

---

Explore Your Cluster

Check the Podinfo Application

kubectl get pods -n demo
kubectl describe pod -n demo -l app.kubernetes.io/name=podinfo

Check the Example Pod

kubectl get pod example-pod-1
kubectl logs example-pod-1

Access Podinfo (Port Forward)

kubectl port-forward -n demo svc/podinfo 9898:9898

Then visit http://localhost:9898 in your browser.

---

Clean Up

When you’re done, destroy the cluster:

bekind destroy --name mycluster

---

Next Steps

Now that you’ve seen BeKind in action, explore more:

• Installation Guide - Different ways to install BeKind
• CLI Commands - All available commands
• Configuration Reference - All configuration options
• Features - Deep dive into each feature
• Profiles - Create reusable configurations

---

Troubleshooting

Docker Not Running

If you see errors about Docker:

# Check Docker is running
docker ps

Cluster Already Exists

If a cluster named mycluster already exists:

# Destroy the existing cluster first
bekind destroy --name mycluster

# Or use a different name in your config.yaml

Image Pull Issues

If images fail to pull:

# Pre-pull the image manually
docker pull stefanprodan/podinfo:latest

# Then run bekind again
bekind start --config /tmp/config.yaml