Edge Kubernetes
K8s on Raspberry Pi, edge gateways
// official site: k3s.io ↗
KUBERNETES · PRO TIER
K3spro
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).
// What it is
A closer look.
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.
// Use cases
What it's for.
Concrete scenarios where teams pick K3s over the SaaS alternative.
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
Built for these teams.
If your team profile matches one of these, K3s is a strong fit out of the box.
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
// Differentiators
Why teams pick K3s.
When evaluating self-hosted options for this category, here are the dimensions on which K3s consistently lands above the 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
Connects to.
The stack you'll plug K3s into — services, protocols, and adjacent apps in the BluixApps catalog.
◇
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
// Adoption & deployment
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
What we ship
- 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)
// Tips & operations
Run it properly.
Operational guidance from running this in production — what to lock down, what surprises people.
// PERFORMANCE
Production K3s ≠ Docker K3s
production should run as systemd service via curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh
// SECURITY
Privileged container
required for Docker-mode K3s
// OPERATIONS
Persistent state
/var/lib/rancher/k3s is the cluster state
// RELIABILITY
Multi-node
agents join via API server URL + token
// DEPLOYMENT
Backup snapshot
built-in etcd snapshot for disaster recovery
// SCALING
Network ports
6443 (API), 80/443 (ingress) needed open
1024
// min ram (MB)
8
// min disk (GB)
6443
// access port
https
// protocol
pro
// bluixapps tier
Project resources
Official sitek3s.io ↗