# kubesphere/kubekey

Install Kubernetes, and related cloud-native add-ons, it supports all-in-one, multi-node, and HA 🔥 ⎈ 🐳

Repository: https://github.com/kubesphere/kubekey
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/kubekey
Homepage: https://kubesphere.io
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: installer, kubernetes, kubeadm, k8s, kubernetes-deployment, kubernetes-cluster, hacktoberfest
Last push: 2026-08-26T07:29:18+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 86, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2359, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 19, "gap_med": 51, "n_releases_24m": 14}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2860, forks 829 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:26.122798+00:00)

## What it is
KubeKey (kk) is a lightweight task-flow execution tool written in Go for installing and managing Kubernetes clusters, supporting all-in-one, multi-node, and HA topologies. It also handles cluster lifecycle operations like adding/removing nodes, certificate renewal, offline artifact export, and can install KubeSphere and other cloud-native add-ons.

## Use cases
- install a kubernetes cluster from the command line
- set up a multi-node or HA kubernetes cluster
- deploy kubesphere together with kubernetes
- install kubernetes in an air-gapped offline environment
- add or remove worker nodes from an existing cluster
- renew expired kubernetes certificates
- scale a kubernetes cluster up or down

## When to choose
- you want a fast, CNCF-conformance-certified Kubernetes installer with online or offline support
- you need to deploy KubeSphere or cloud-native add-ons alongside Kubernetes
- you want Ansible-like task automation for cluster lifecycle without writing playbooks yourself
- you need all-in-one dev clusters or HA production clusters from one tool

## When to avoid
- you are already standardized on kubeadm, kops, or a managed Kubernetes service
- you need a general-purpose configuration management tool beyond Kubernetes provisioning
- you require the v4 web UI, which is still limited and not fully open
- you manage clusters exclusively through GitOps pipelines with other tooling

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: deployment, infrastructure-as-code, container-orchestration, configuration-management, cli
- domain: cloud-computing, infrastructure-as-code, self-hosted
- platform: go, cli, self-hosted
- tags: kubernetes-installer, kubesphere, cluster-lifecycle, task-flow, air-gapped-installation, ha-cluster, containers, devops, linux, docker, kubernetes

## Member repositories
- kubesphere/kubekey (main) score 95

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:26.122798+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 2026-08-30T07:36:27.847364+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/kubesphere/kubekey (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:26.122798+00:00, sha 6a87a4507669)
  - homepage: https://kubesphere.io (fetched 2026-08-29T09:52:07.983961+00:00, sha be759ba361ef)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.