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# Deploy a Kubernetes cluster backed by Flux
Welcome to my highly opinionated template for deploying a single Kubernetes ([k3s](https://k3s.io)) cluster with [Ansible](https://www.ansible.com) and using [Flux](https://toolkit.fluxcd.io) to manage its state.
## 👋 Introduction
The goal of this project is to make it easy for people interested in learning Kubernetes to deploy a basic cluster at home and become familiar with the GitOps tool Flux.
This template implements Flux in a way that promotes legibility and ease of use for those who are new (or relatively new) to the technology and GitOps in general. It assumes a typical homelab setup: namely, a single "home prod" cluster running mostly third-party apps.
## ✨ Features
- Automated, reproducible, customizable setup through Ansible templates and playbooks
- Opinionated implementation of Flux with [strong community support](https://github.com/onedr0p/flux-cluster-template#-support)
- Encrypted secrets thanks to [SOPS](https://github.com/getsops/sops) and [Age](https://github.com/FiloSottile/age)
- Web application firewall thanks to [Cloudflare Tunnel](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/connections/connect-apps)
- SSL certificates thanks to [Cloudflare](https://cloudflare.com) and [cert-manager](https://cert-manager.io)
- HA control plane capability thanks to [kube-vip](https://kube-vip.io)
- Next-gen networking thanks to [Cilium](https://cilium.io/)
- A [Renovate](https://www.mend.io/renovate)-ready repository
- Integrated [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/features/actions)
... and more!
## 📝 Pre-start checklist
Before we get started everything below must be taken into consideration, you must...
- [ ] bring a **positive attitude** and be ready to learn and fail a lot. _The more you fail, the more you can learn from._
- [ ] run the cluster on bare metal machines or VMs within your home network — **this is NOT designed for cloud environments**.
- [ ] have Debian 12 freshly installed on 1 or more AMD64/ARM64 bare metal machines or VMs. Each machine will be either a **control node** or a **worker node** in your cluster.
- [ ] give your nodes unrestricted internet access — _air-gapped environments won't work_.
- [ ] have a domain you can manage on Cloudflare.
- [ ] be willing to commit encrypted secrets to a public GitHub repository.
- [ ] have a DNS server that supports split DNS (e.g. Pi-Hole) deployed somewhere outside your cluster **ON** your home network.
## 💻 System Preparation
This projects supported Linux distro for running Kubernetes is Debian, Ubuntu _might_ work but it is not currently supported due to [these](https://github.com/onedr0p/flux-cluster-template/pull/830) reasons.
#### Debian for AMD64
1. Download the latest stable release of Debian from [here](https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-dvd), then follow [this guide](https://www.linuxtechi.com/how-to-install-debian-12-step-by-step) to get it installed. Deviations from the guide:
```txt
Choose "Guided - use entire disk"
Choose "All files in one partition"
Delete Swap partition
Uncheck all Debian desktop environment options
```
2. [Post install] Remove CD/DVD as apt source
```sh
su -
sed -i '/deb cdrom/d' /etc/apt/sources.list
apt update
exit
```
3. [Post install] Enable sudo for your non-root user
```sh
su -
apt update
apt install -y sudo
usermod -aG sudo ${username}
echo "${username} ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" | tee /etc/sudoers.d/${username}
exit
newgrp sudo
sudo apt update
```
4. [Post install] Add SSH keys (or use `ssh-copy-id` on the client that is connecting)
📍 _First make sure your ssh keys are up-to-date and added to your github account as [instructed](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/connecting-to-github-with-ssh/adding-a-new-ssh-key-to-your-github-account)._
```sh
mkdir -m 700 ~/.ssh
sudo apt install -y curl
curl https://github.com/${github_username}.keys > ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
```
#### Debian for RasPi4
📍 _If you choose to use a Raspberry Pi 4 for the cluster, it is recommended to have an 8GB model. Most important is to **boot from an external SSD/NVMe** rather than an SD card. This is supported [natively](https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/raspberry-pi.html), however if you have an early model you may need to [update the bootloader](https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/boot-raspberry-pi-4-usb) first._
1. Download the latest stable release of Debian from [here](https://raspi.debian.net/tested-images). _**Do not** use Raspbian or DietPi or any other flavor Linux OS._
2. Flash the image onto an SSD/NVMe drive.
3. Re-mount the drive then do the following (per the [official documentation](https://raspi.debian.net/defaults-and-settings)):
```txt
Open `sysconf.txt` in a text editor
Change `root_authorized_key` to your desired public SSH key
Change `root_pw` to your desired root password
Change `hostname` to your desired hostname
```
4. [Post install] Follow steps 3 and 4 from [Debian for AMD64](#debian-for-amd64).
5. [Post install] Install `python3` which is needed by Ansible.
```sh
sudo apt install -y python3
```
## 🚀 First Steps
The very first step will be to create a new **public** repository by clicking the big green **Use this template** button on this page. Next clone **your new repo** to you local workstation and `cd` into it.
📍 _**All commands** are run on your **local** workstation within your repository directory_
## 🔧 Workstation Tools
Lets get the required workstation tools installed and configured.
1. Install the most recent version of [task](https://taskfile.dev/)
📍 _See the task [installation docs](https://taskfile.dev/installation/) for other platforms_
```sh
# Brew
brew install go-task
```
2. Install the most recent version of [direnv](https://direnv.net/)
📍 _See the direnv [installation docs](https://direnv.net/docs/installation.html) for other platforms_
📍 _After installing `direnv` be sure to [hook it into your shell](https://direnv.net/docs/hook.html) and after that is done run `direnv allow` while in your repos directory._
```sh
# Brew
brew install direnv
```
3. Setup a Python virual env and install Ansible by running the following task command.
📍 _This commands requires Python 3.8+ to be installed_
```sh
# Platform agnostic
task deps
```
4. Install the required tools: [age](https://github.com/FiloSottile/age), [flux](https://toolkit.fluxcd.io/), [cloudflared](https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared), [kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/), [sops](https://github.com/getsops/sops)
```sh
# Brew
task brew:deps
```
## 📄 Configuration
📍 _Both `bootstrap/vars/config.yaml` and `bootstrap/vars/addons.yaml` files contain necessary information that is needed by bootstrap process._
1. Generate the `bootstrap/vars/config.yaml` and `bootstrap/vars/addons.yaml` configuration files.
```sh
task init
```
2. Setup Age private / public key
📍 _Using [SOPS](https://github.com/getsops/sops) with [Age](https://github.com/FiloSottile/age) allows us to encrypt secrets and use them in Ansible and Flux._
2a. Create a Age private / public key (this file is gitignored)
```sh
age-keygen -o age.key
```
2b. Fill out the appropriate vars in `bootstrap/vars/config.yaml`
3. Create Cloudflare API Token
📍 _To use `cert-manager` with the Cloudflare DNS challenge you will need to create a API Token._
3a. Head over to Cloudflare and create a API Token by going [here](https://dash.cloudflare.com/profile/api-tokens).
3b. Under the `API Tokens` section click the blue `Create Token` button.
3c. Click the blue `Use template` button for the `Edit zone DNS` template.
3d. Name your token something like `home-kubernetes`
3e. Under `Permissions`, click `+ Add More` and add each permission below:
```text
Zone - DNS - Edit
Account - Cloudflare Tunnel - Read
```
3f. Limit the permissions to a specific account and zone resources.
3g. Fill out the appropriate vars in `bootstrap/vars/config.yaml`
4. Create Cloudflare Tunnel
📍 _To expose services to the internet you will need to create a [Cloudflare Tunnel](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/connections/connect-apps/)._
4a. Authenticate cloudflared to your domain
```sh
cloudflared tunnel login
```
4b. Create the tunnel
```sh
cloudflared tunnel create k8s
```
4c. In the `~/.cloudflared` directory there will be a json file with details you need. Ignore the `cert.pem` file.
4d. Fill out the appropriate vars in `bootstrap/vars/config.yaml`
5. Complete filling out the rest of the `bootstrap/vars/config.yaml` configuration file.
5a. Ensure `bootstrap_acme_production_enabled` is set to `false`.
5b. [Optional] Update `bootstrap/vars/addons.yaml` and enable applications you would like included.
6. Once done run the following command which will verify and generate all the files needed to continue.
```sh
task configure
```
📍 _The configure task will create a `./ansible` directory and the following directories under `./kubernetes`._
```sh
📁 kubernetes # Kubernetes cluster defined as code
├─📁 bootstrap # Flux installation (not tracked by Flux)
├─📁 flux # Main Flux configuration of repository
└─📁 apps # Apps deployed into the cluster grouped by namespace
```
## ⚡ Node Preparation
📍 _Here we will be running an Ansible playbook to prepare your nodes for running a Kubernetes cluster._
1. Ensure you are able to SSH into your nodes from your workstation using a private SSH key **without a passphrase** (for example using a SSH agent). This lets Ansible interact with your nodes.
2. Verify Ansible can view your config
```sh
task ansible:list
```
3. Verify Ansible can ping your nodes
```sh
task ansible:ping
```
4. Run the Ansible prepare playbook (nodes wil reboot when done)
```sh
task ansible:prepare
```
---
## ⛵ Kubernetes Installation
📍 _Here we will be running a Ansible Playbook to install [k3s](https://k3s.io/) with [this](https://galaxy.ansible.com/xanmanning/k3s) Ansible galaxy role. If you run into problems, you can run `task ansible:nuke` to destroy the k3s cluster and start over from this point._
1. Verify Ansible can view your config
```sh
task ansible:list
```
2. Verify Ansible can ping your nodes
```sh
task ansible:ping
```
3. Install k3s with Ansible
```sh
task ansible:install
```
4. Verify the nodes are online
📍 _If this command **fails** you likely haven't configured `direnv` as mentioned previously in the guide._
```sh
kubectl get nodes -o wide
# NAME STATUS ROLES AGE VERSION
# k8s-0 Ready control-plane,etcd,master 1h v1.27.3+k3s1
# k8s-1 Ready worker 1h v1.27.3+k3s1
```
5. The `kubeconfig` for interacting with your cluster should have been created in the root of your repository.
## 🔹 GitOps with Flux
📍 _Here we will be installing [flux](https://fluxcd.io/flux/) after some quick bootstrap steps._
1. Verify Flux can be installed
```sh
flux check --pre
# ► checking prerequisites
# ✔ kubectl 1.27.3 >=1.18.0-0
# ✔ Kubernetes 1.27.3+k3s1 >=1.16.0-0
# ✔ prerequisites checks passed
```
2. Push you changes to git
📍 **Verify** all the `*.sops.yaml` and `*.sops.yaml` files under the `./ansible`, and `./kubernetes` directories are **encrypted** with SOPS
```sh
git add -A
git commit -m "Initial commit :rocket:"
git push
```
3. Install Flux and sync the cluster to the Git repository
```sh
task cluster:install
# namespace/flux-system configured
# customresourcedefinition.apiextensions.k8s.io/alerts.notification.toolkit.fluxcd.io created
# ...
```
4. Verify Flux components are running in the cluster
```sh
kubectl -n flux-system get pods -o wide
# NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE
# helm-controller-5bbd94c75-89sb4 1/1 Running 0 1h
# kustomize-controller-7b67b6b77d-nqc67 1/1 Running 0 1h
# notification-controller-7c46575844-k4bvr 1/1 Running 0 1h
# source-controller-7d6875bcb4-zqw9f 1/1 Running 0 1h
```
## 🎤 Verification Steps
_Mic check, 1, 2_ - In a few moments applications should be lighting up like Christmas in July 🎄
1. Output all the common resources in your cluster.
📍 _Feel free to use the provided [cluster tasks](.taskfiles/ClusterTasks.yaml) for validation of cluster resources or continue to get familiar with the `kubectl` and `flux` CLI tools._
```sh
task cluster:resources
```
2. ⚠️ It might take `cert-manager` awhile to generate certificates, this is normal so be patient.
3. 🏆 **Congratulations** if all goes smooth you will have a Kubernetes cluster managed by Flux and your Git repository is driving the state of your cluster.
4. 🧠 Now it's time to pause and go get some motel motor oil ☕ and admire you made it this far!
## 📣 Post installation
#### 🌐 Public DNS
The `external-dns` application created in the `networking` namespace will handle creating public DNS records. By default, `echo-server` and the `flux-webhook` are the only subdomains reachable from the public internet. In order to make additional applications public you must set set the correct ingress class name and ingress annotations like in the HelmRelease for `echo-server`.
#### 🏠 Home DNS
`k8s_gateway` will provide DNS resolution to external Kubernetes resources (i.e. points of entry to the cluster) from any device that uses your home DNS server. For this to work, your home DNS server must be configured to forward DNS queries for `${bootstrap_cloudflare_domain}` to `${bootstrap_k8s_gateway_addr}` instead of the upstream DNS server(s) it normally uses. This is a form of **split DNS** (aka split-horizon DNS / conditional forwarding).
📍 _Below is how to configure a Pi-hole for split DNS. Other platforms should be similar._
1. Apply this file on the server
```sh
# /etc/dnsmasq.d/99-k8s-gateway-forward.conf
server=/${bootstrap_cloudflare_domain}/${bootstrap_k8s_gateway_addr}
```
2. Restart dnsmasq on the server.
3. Query an internal-only subdomain from your workstation: `dig @${home-dns-server-ip} echo-server.${bootstrap_cloudflare_domain}`. It should resolve to `${bootstrap_internal_nginx_addr}`.
If you're having trouble with DNS be sure to check out these two GitHub discussions: [Internal DNS](https://github.com/onedr0p/flux-cluster-template/discussions/719) and [Pod DNS resolution broken](https://github.com/onedr0p/flux-cluster-template/discussions/635).
... Nothing working? That is expected, this is DNS after all!
#### 📜 Certificates
By default this template will deploy a wildcard certificate using the Let's Encrypt **staging environment**, which prevents you from getting rate-limited by the Let's Encrypt production servers if your cluster doesn't deploy properly (for example due to a misconfiguration). Once you are sure you will keep the cluster up for more than a few hours be sure to switch to the production servers as outlined in `config.yaml`.
📍 _You will need a production certificate to reach internet-exposed applications through `cloudflared`._
#### 🪝 Github Webhook
By default Flux will periodically check your git repository for changes. In order to have Flux reconcile on `git push` you must configure Github to send `push` events.
1. Obtain the webhook path
📍 _Hook id and path should look like `/hook/12ebd1e363c641dc3c2e430ecf3cee2b3c7a5ac9e1234506f6f5f3ce1230e123`_
```sh
kubectl -n flux-system get receiver github-receiver -o jsonpath='{.status.webhookPath}'
```
2. Piece together the full URL with the webhook path appended
```text
https://flux-webhook.${bootstrap_cloudflare_domain}/hook/12ebd1e363c641dc3c2e430ecf3cee2b3c7a5ac9e1234506f6f5f3ce1230e123
```
3. Navigate to the settings of your repository on Github, under "Settings/Webhooks" press the "Add webhook" button. Fill in the webhook url and your `bootstrap_flux_github_webhook_token` secret and save.
#### 🤖 Renovatebot
[Renovatebot](https://www.mend.io/renovate/) will scan your repository and offer PRs when it finds dependencies out of date. Common dependencies it will discover and update are Flux, Ansible Galaxy Roles, Terraform Providers, Kubernetes Helm Charts, Kubernetes Container Images, and more!
The base Renovate configuration provided in your repository can be view at [.github/renovate.json5](https://github.com/onedr0p/flux-cluster-template/blob/main/.github/renovate.json5). If you notice this only runs on weekends and you can [change the schedule to anything you want](https://docs.renovatebot.com/presets-schedule/) or simply remove it.
To enable Renovate on your repository, click the 'Configure' button over at their [Github app page](https://github.com/apps/renovate) and choose your repository. Renovate will create PRs for out-of-date dependencies it finds and when merged Flux will apply them to your cluster.
## 🐛 Debugging
Below is a general guide on trying to debug an issue with an resource or application. For example, if a workload/resource is not showing up or a pod has started but in a `CrashLoopBackOff` or `Pending` state.
1. Start by checking all Flux Kustomizations & Git Repository & OCI Repository and verify they are healthy.
```sh
flux get sources oci -A
flux get sources git -A
flux get ks -A
```
2. Then check all the Flux Helm Releases and verify they are healthy.
```sh
flux get hr -A
```
3. Then check the if the pod is present.
```sh
kubectl -n <namespace> get pods -o wide
```
4. Then check the logs of the pod if its there.
```sh
kubectl -n <namespace> logs <pod-name> -f
# or
stern -n <namespace> <fuzzy-name>
```
5. If a resource exists try to describe it to see what problems it might have.
```sh
kubectl -n <namespace> describe <resource> <name>
```
6. Check the namespace events
```sh
kubectl -n <namespace> get events --sort-by='.metadata.creationTimestamp'
```
Resolving problems that you have could take some tweaking of your YAML manifests in order to get things working, other times it could be a external factor like permissions on NFS. If you are unable to figure out your problem see the help section below.
## 👉 Help
- Make a post in this repository's Github [Discussions](https://github.com/onedr0p/flux-cluster-template/discussions).
- Start a thread in the `support` or `flux-cluster-template` channel in the [k8s@home](https://discord.gg/k8s-at-home) Discord server.
## ❔ What's next
The cluster is your oyster (or something like that). Below are some optional considerations you might want to review.
#### Ship it
To browse or get ideas on applications people are running, community member [@whazor](https://github.com/whazor) created [this website](https://nanne.dev/k8s-at-home-search/) as a creative way to search Flux HelmReleases across Github.
#### Storage
The included CSI (`local-path-provisioner`) is a great start for storage but soon you might find you need more features like replicated block storage, or to connect to a NFS/SMB/iSCSI server. If you need any of those features be sure to check out the projects like [rook-ceph](https://github.com/rook/rook), [longhorn](https://github.com/longhorn/longhorn), [openebs](https://github.com/openebs/openebs), [democratic-csi](https://github.com/democratic-csi/democratic-csi), [csi-driver-nfs](https://github.com/kubernetes-csi/csi-driver-nfs),
and [synology-csi](https://github.com/SynologyOpenSource/synology-csi).
#### Authenticate Flux over SSH
Authenticating Flux to your git repository has a couple benefits like using a private git repository and/or using the Flux [Image Automation Controllers](https://fluxcd.io/docs/components/image/).
By default this template only works on a public Github repository, it is advised to keep your repository public.
The benefits of a public repository include:
- Debugging or asking for help, you can provide a link to a resource you are having issues with.
- Adding a topic to your repository of `k8s-at-home` to be included in the [k8s-at-home-search](https://nanne.dev/k8s-at-home-search/). This search helps people discover different configurations of Helm charts across others Flux based repositories.
<details>
<summary>Expand to read guide on adding Flux SSH authentication</summary>
1. Generate new SSH key:
```sh
ssh-keygen -t ecdsa -b 521 -C "github-deploy-key" -f ./kubernetes/bootstrap/github-deploy.key -q -P ""
```
2. Paste public key in the deploy keys section of your repository settings
3. Create sops secret in `./kubernetes/bootstrap/github-deploy-key.sops.yaml` with the contents of:
```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
name: github-deploy-key
namespace: flux-system
stringData:
# 3a. Contents of github-deploy-key
identity: |
-----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----
...
-----END OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----
# 3b. Output of curl --silent https://api.github.com/meta | jq --raw-output '"github.com "+.ssh_keys[]'
known_hosts: |
github.com ssh-ed25519 ...
github.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 ...
github.com ssh-rsa ...
```
4. Encrypt secret:
```sh
sops --encrypt --in-place ./kubernetes/bootstrap/github-deploy-key.sops.yaml
```
5. Apply secret to cluster:
```sh
sops --decrypt ./kubernetes/bootstrap/github-deploy-key.sops.yaml | kubectl apply -f -
```
6. Update `./kubernetes/flux/config/cluster.yaml`:
```yaml
apiVersion: source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1beta2
kind: GitRepository
metadata:
name: home-kubernetes
namespace: flux-system
spec:
interval: 10m
# 6a: Change this to your user and repo names
url: ssh://git@github.com/$user/$repo
ref:
branch: main
secretRef:
name: github-deploy-key
```
7. Commit and push changes
8. Force flux to reconcile your changes
```sh
flux reconcile -n flux-system kustomization cluster --with-source
```
9. Verify git repository is now using SSH:
```sh
flux get sources git -A
```
10. Optionally set your repository to Private in your repository settings.
</details>
## 🤝 Thanks
Big shout out to all the contributors, sponsors and everyone else who has helped on this project.
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