# kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api

Home for Cluster API, a subproject of sig-cluster-lifecycle

Repository: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/cluster-api
Homepage: https://cluster-api.sigs.k8s.io
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: k8s-sig-cluster-lifecycle
Last push: 2026-08-26T16:03:39+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 85, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3102, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 22, "gap_med": 0, "n_releases_24m": 68}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4288, forks 1546 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:41.357365+00:00)

## What it is
Cluster API is a Kubernetes subproject providing declarative APIs and tooling for provisioning, upgrading, and operating multiple Kubernetes clusters. It uses Kubernetes-style APIs and a provider model to manage cluster infrastructure (VMs, networks, load balancers) consistently across environments.

## Use cases
- provision kubernetes clusters declaratively
- manage lifecycle of multiple kubernetes clusters
- upgrade kubernetes clusters across cloud providers
- create consistent cluster deployments on aws azure vsphere
- bootstrap kubernetes control planes with kubeadm
- manage cluster infrastructure as kubernetes resources

## When to choose
- you operate many kubernetes clusters across heterogeneous infrastructure
- you want declarative, Kubernetes-native cluster lifecycle management
- you need a provider-agnostic abstraction over cluster provisioning

## When to avoid
- you only need a single cluster and can use kubeadm, kops, or a managed service
- your infrastructure has no Cluster API provider available
- you cannot run a management cluster

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: stable
- function: infrastructure-as-code, container-orchestration, deployment, configuration-management, cloud
- domain: cloud-computing, infrastructure-as-code, microservices
- platform: go, cloud, self-hosted, cross-platform
- tags: kubernetes, cluster-lifecycle, declarative-apis, kubeadm, infrastructure-providers, multi-cluster, gitops, containers, devops

## Member repositories
- kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api (main) score 94

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:41.357365+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:21:55.440669+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:41.357365+00:00, sha 18a3bf8bf8a5)
  - homepage: https://cluster-api.sigs.k8s.io (fetched 2026-08-29T09:11:12.260628+00:00, sha 2c5d9f6c7a3c)
  - site_page: https://cluster-api.sigs.k8s.io/developer/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T09:11:12.269741+00:00, sha 10fac096ab5d)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.