# K3s

Lightweight Kubernetes

Repository: https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/k3s
Homepage: https://k3s.io
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: kubernetes, k8s
Last push: 2026-08-25T18:18:07+00:00
Link (homepage): https://k3s.io
Link (site_page): https://docs.k3s.io
Link (site_page): https://docs.k3s.io/architecture

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 84, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3017, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 29, "gap_med": 0.0, "n_releases_24m": 89}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 33828, forks 2713 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:58.495397+00:00)

## What it is
K3s is a fully conformant, production-ready lightweight Kubernetes distribution packaged as a single binary under 100MB. It bundles containerd, Flannel CNI, CoreDNS, Traefik ingress, and an embedded SQLite datastore (with etcd/MySQL/Postgres options) into an easy-to-install cluster for edge, IoT, CI, and ARM environments.

## Use cases
- run a lightweight kubernetes cluster on a raspberry pi
- set up kubernetes for edge or IoT devices
- spin up a local k8s cluster for development or CI
- deploy kubernetes in air-gapped or resource-constrained environments
- embed kubernetes into an appliance or product
- create a homelab kubernetes cluster with a single command
- run a highly available kubernetes control plane without etcd complexity

## When to choose
- you need a fast, simple Kubernetes install on ARM, edge, or low-resource hardware
- you want a batteries-included cluster with CNI, DNS, ingress, and storage out of the box
- you need a fully CNCF-conformant Kubernetes with minimal OS dependencies
- you want HA control plane options with sqlite, etcd, MySQL, or Postgres backends

## When to avoid
- you need full upstream Kubernetes with every component individually configurable
- you run large multi-tenant clusters where a full distro like kubeadm or managed EKS/GKE fits better
- you require Windows nodes or non-Linux worker support
- you need deep customization of bundled components like Flannel or Traefik

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: stable
- function: container-orchestration, deployment, container-runtime, networking, self-hosted
- domain: cloud-computing, infrastructure-as-code, iot, self-hosted
- platform: cross-platform, cli
- tags: kubernetes, k8s, lightweight-kubernetes, edge-computing, single-binary, arm, raspberry-pi, cncf, homelab, air-gapped, devops, containers, linux

## Member repositories
- k3s-io/k3s (main) score 94
- k3s-io/k3s-ansible (infra) score 94

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:58.495397+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 2026-08-29T16:28:08.499273+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:58.495397+00:00, sha 0e6d462f577e)
  - homepage: https://k3s.io (fetched 2026-08-29T07:48:30.425285+00:00, sha 1a4bb232d36d)
  - site_page: https://docs.k3s.io (fetched 2026-08-29T07:48:30.428886+00:00, sha 5e0e57af3583)
  - site_page: https://docs.k3s.io/architecture (fetched 2026-08-29T07:48:30.430735+00:00, sha 55ed87505823)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.