# inlets/inlets-operator

Get public TCP LoadBalancers for local Kubernetes clusters

Repository: https://github.com/inlets/inlets-operator
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/inlets-operator
Homepage: https://docs.inlets.dev/reference/inlets-operator
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: loadbalancer, kind, k3d, minikube, kubernetes, tunnel, local-cluster, devops, tcp, encrypted, load-balancer, private-cloud, nat-traversal, cloud-native, hacktoberfest
Last push: 2026-08-18T15:36:41+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 86, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2547, "days_push": 15, "days_rel": 15, "gap_med": 82, "n_releases_24m": 8}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1436, forks 98 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:43.631331+00:00)

## What it is
A Kubernetes operator that gives local clusters (kind, k3d, minikube) real public TCP LoadBalancer IPs by provisioning cloud VMs running inlets tunnel servers. It watches Services of type LoadBalancer, creates Tunnel custom resources, and writes the public IP back to the Service just like a managed cloud provider would.

## Use cases
- expose local kubernetes services with a public IP
- get LoadBalancer services working on kind or minikube
- turn pending LoadBalancer into real external IP
- give my home k3d cluster a public TCP endpoint
- tunnel kubernetes ingress controller to the internet
- demo local cluster services over the web
- self-hosted alternative to ngrok for kubernetes

## When to choose
- you run a local or private-cloud Kubernetes cluster and need real LoadBalancer IPs
- you want cloud-provider-style ingress for kind, k3d, or minikube
- you prefer self-hosted tunnels over SaaS tunnel services
- you want tunnel lifecycle tied to Kubernetes Services via CRDs

## When to avoid
- your cluster runs on a managed cloud that already provisions LoadBalancers
- you only need HTTP dev tunnels without Kubernetes integration
- you cannot run VMs in a public cloud or lack an inlets subscription for inlets Pro servers

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: active
- function: networking, deployment, infrastructure-as-code, proxy
- domain: networking, self-hosted, cloud-computing
- platform: go, cloud
- tags: kubernetes-operator, tcp-loadbalancer, tunnel, nat-traversal, local-kubernetes, kind, k3d, minikube, inlets, helm-chart, custom-resource-definition, containers, devops, kubernetes, docker, linux

## Member repositories
- inlets/inlets-operator (main) score 94

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:43.631331+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 2026-08-30T04:36:47.917175+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/inlets/inlets-operator (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:43.631331+00:00, sha c1ec7d7acc78)
  - homepage: https://docs.inlets.dev/reference/inlets-operator (fetched 2026-08-29T11:47:40.203496+00:00, sha 0f0696195ed4)
  - site_page: https://docs.inlets.dev/reference/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T11:47:40.206370+00:00, sha ba433faecc32)
  - site_page: https://docs.inlets.dev/uplink/installation (fetched 2026-08-29T11:47:40.208832+00:00, sha 0adfc5652810)
  - site_page: https://inlets.dev/pricing (fetched 2026-08-29T11:47:40.210841+00:00, sha ef43a9656bb8)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.