# kubernetes-sigs/kwok

Kubernetes WithOut Kubelet -  Simulates thousands of Nodes and Clusters.

Repository: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kwok
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/kwok
Homepage: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: k8s-sig-scheduling, kubernetes, simulator, docker, golang, mulit-cluster, nerdctl
Last push: 2026-08-25T02:22:59+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 85/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 58, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1497, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 71, "gap_med": 300.0, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3177, forks 248 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:47.662535+00:00)

## What it is
KWOK (Kubernetes WithOut Kubelet) is a toolkit for simulating Kubernetes clusters with thousands of fake nodes and pods at very low resource cost. It provides `kwok` for simulating node/pod lifecycles and `kwokctl` for creating and managing simulated clusters.

## Use cases
- simulate thousands of kubernetes nodes on a laptop
- test kubernetes schedulers and autoscalers at scale
- create fast throwaway kubernetes clusters for CI
- test kubernetes controllers without real workloads
- benchmark cluster performance with many fake pods
- learn kubernetes without provisioning real machines

## When to choose
- you need large-scale node/pod simulation with minimal CPU and memory
- you want instant cluster creation/deletion for testing scheduling or autoscaling
- you need a kind alternative when pods don't need to actually run
- you want kubectl/helm-compatible clusters for tooling tests

## When to avoid
- you need to actually run real containerized workloads and reach them over the network
- you need exact kubelet behavior fidelity (consider kubemark)
- you need a production cluster

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: simulation, developer-tools, testing, cli, container-runtime
- domain: developer-tools, microservices
- platform: windows, cli, cross-platform, go
- tags: kubernetes, cluster-simulation, fake-nodes, kubelet-simulation, scheduling-testing, autoscaling-testing, kwokctl, lightweight, multi-cluster, ci-testing, containers, devops, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- kubernetes-sigs/kwok (main) score 85

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:47.662535+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 2026-08-30T07:25:08.338282+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kwok (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:47.662535+00:00, sha d75e204cf913)
  - homepage: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io (fetched 2026-08-29T09:39:29.451596+00:00, sha 7a4c2963fbce)
  - site_page: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io/docs/user (fetched 2026-08-29T09:39:29.453949+00:00, sha 6d5362841fd6)
  - site_page: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io/docs/user/all-in-one-image (fetched 2026-08-29T09:39:29.455520+00:00, sha 16e8268c2411)
  - site_page: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io/docs/user/github-action (fetched 2026-08-29T09:39:29.457174+00:00, sha 13431a0622eb)
  - site_page: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io/docs/user/installation (fetched 2026-08-29T09:39:29.458886+00:00, sha 9b31320db774)
  - site_page: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io/docs/user/kwok-in-cluster (fetched 2026-08-29T09:39:29.460501+00:00, sha b478c4158c83)
  - site_page: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io/docs/user/kwok-out-cluster (fetched 2026-08-29T09:39:29.462188+00:00, sha 3e8d806bb6a5)
  - site_page: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io/docs/user/kwokctl-manage-cluster (fetched 2026-08-29T09:39:29.463837+00:00, sha 9a1e5bbe7b52)
  - site_page: https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io/docs/user/kwok-manage-nodes-and-pods (fetched 2026-08-29T09:39:29.465451+00:00, sha 2d20058ecaaa)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.