> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://noradocs.solomontsao.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Kubernetes kind

# Kind provisioner backend

> Local-only Kubernetes provisioner for development and CI. Not for production.

<Warning>
  Kind ("Kubernetes in Docker") is for **local testing only**. Do not run production agents on a
  Kind cluster — it has no persistence guarantees, no load-balancer integration, and no high
  availability. For a self-hosted production cluster use
  [K3s](/configuration/provisioner-backends/kubernetes-k3s); for managed control planes use
  [AKS](/configuration/provisioner-backends/kubernetes-aks),
  [GKE](/configuration/provisioner-backends/kubernetes-gke), or
  [EKS](/configuration/provisioner-backends/kubernetes-eks).
</Warning>

Kind uses the same generic `k8s` backend id as every Kubernetes provider. Nora ships a single Kubernetes adapter (`workers/provisioner/backends/k8s.ts`) that serves Kind, K3s, AKS, GKE, and EKS — only the kubeconfig and exposure mode change.

## When to use Kind

* Local development of Nora itself, or local exercise of the Kubernetes adapter on a laptop.
* CI smoke runs that need a real Kubernetes API without a cloud account.
* Quick regression checks before promoting changes to a K3s or cloud cluster.

Do **not** use Kind for:

* Hosting agents you depend on — Kind clusters live and die with the local Docker daemon.
* Modeling cloud `LoadBalancer` behavior — Kind only supports NodePort routing in this overlay.
* Multi-node or multi-host scheduling — the bundled Kind config is single control-plane.

## Step-by-step setup

### 1. Prerequisites

```bash theme={null} theme={null}
docker --version && docker compose version
kubectl version --client
```

`kind` itself is auto-installed by `e2e/scripts/ensure-kind-tools.sh` when the smoke script runs.

### 2. Run the smoke script

The recommended path is the bundled smoke. It creates or reuses a Kind cluster, exports kubeconfigs for both the host and the in-container view, starts the Nora API and provisioner with `docker-compose.kubernetes.yml` plus the Kind network helper, registers the cluster in Admin, deploys an agent, verifies Kubernetes objects, and exercises stop/start/restart lifecycle.

```bash theme={null} theme={null}
cd e2e
npm run smoke:k8s-kind
```

Set `KEEP_ENV=true` to leave the cluster and Compose stack running after the script finishes.

### 3. Inspect the deployed agent

With `KEEP_ENV=true`, the smoke run leaves only `postgres`, `redis`, `backend-api`, and `worker-provisioner` running — no nginx and no frontend dashboard. The URL the script prints (default `http://127.0.0.1:4110`) is the backend REST API base (the host port maps to the backend-api container's API port 4000), **not** a UI. Inspect the agent via the API or `kubectl`:

```bash theme={null} theme={null}
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:4110/health
kubectl -n openclaw-agents get deploy,svc,pods
```

To view the agent in the operator dashboard fleet view, bring up the full stack with the command shown in [Manual stack (without the smoke script)](#manual-stack-without-the-smoke-script) below, then open the dashboard at `http://127.0.0.1:8080/app`.

<Frame caption="Nora deploy wizard — Backend dropdown with Kubernetes available">
  <img
    src="https://mintcdn.com/sttechnologyllc/hES1KHpUWDvLb_Wr/images/provisioner-backends/k8s/_nora/nora-deploy-backend-picker.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hES1KHpUWDvLb_Wr&q=85&s=9788405d5b29b781c069611db393e696"
    alt="Deploy wizard backend
picker"
    width="1512"
    height="1080"
    data-path="images/provisioner-backends/k8s/_nora/nora-deploy-backend-picker.png"
  />
</Frame>

<Frame caption="Nora deploy wizard — Kubernetes selected, namespace + exposure fields visible">
  <img
    src="https://mintcdn.com/sttechnologyllc/hES1KHpUWDvLb_Wr/images/provisioner-backends/k8s/_nora/nora-deploy-k8s-selected.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hES1KHpUWDvLb_Wr&q=85&s=83ffffd500bc21cd168808e522eec88c"
    alt="Deploy wizard Kubernetes
selected"
    width="1512"
    height="1080"
    data-path="images/provisioner-backends/k8s/_nora/nora-deploy-k8s-selected.png"
  />
</Frame>

<Frame caption="Agent detail page — status running, K8s namespace + service shown">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/sttechnologyllc/A_pk5LchBKKfnyIr/images/provisioner-backends/k8s/_nora/nora-agent-running-k8s.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=A_pk5LchBKKfnyIr&q=85&s=9c6d98571b77e4680faf11697341729e" alt="Agent detail K8s" width="1512" height="1080" data-path="images/provisioner-backends/k8s/_nora/nora-agent-running-k8s.png" />
</Frame>

## Manual stack (without the smoke script)

```bash theme={null} theme={null}
export NORA_KUBECONFIGS_DIR=/tmp
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.kubernetes.yml -f docker-compose.kind.yml up -d --build
```

Then register the Kind cluster in **Admin -> Kubernetes**:

| Field             | Value                                                                     |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Credential mode   | `Mounted kubeconfig path`                                                 |
| Kubeconfig path   | `/kubeconfigs/nora-kind.container.kubeconfig`                             |
| Exposure mode     | `NodePort`                                                                |
| Runtime host      | `host.docker.internal`, or the Kind control-plane container name on Linux |
| Runtime node port | `30909`                                                                   |
| Gateway node port | `31879`                                                                   |

The Admin **Runtime host** must be reachable from the Compose containers. On Linux without `host.docker.internal` support, set it to the Kind control-plane container name (`nora-kind-control-plane` by default) and join the `kind` Docker network.

### Register local Kind in Admin

Open **Admin -> Kubernetes**, click **Add cluster**, and use these values:

| Field               | Value                                                                                                             |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Cluster id          | `kind-local`                                                                                                      |
| Label               | `Kind Local`                                                                                                      |
| Provider            | `Generic Kubernetes`                                                                                              |
| Actual cluster name | The Kind cluster name, for example `nora-kind`                                                                    |
| Credential mode     | `Mounted kubeconfig path`                                                                                         |
| Kubeconfig path     | `/kubeconfigs/nora-kind.container.kubeconfig`                                                                     |
| Fallback namespace  | `openclaw-agents`                                                                                                 |
| OpenClaw namespace  | `openclaw-agents`                                                                                                 |
| Hermes namespace    | `openclaw-agents`                                                                                                 |
| Exposure mode       | `NodePort`                                                                                                        |
| Runtime host        | `host.docker.internal`, or the Kind control-plane container name on Linux if you joined the `kind` Docker network |
| Runtime node port   | `30909` for the bundled Kind overlay                                                                              |
| Gateway node port   | `31879` for the bundled Kind overlay                                                                              |

Do not put `/tmp/nora-kind.container.kubeconfig` in the Admin Kubeconfig path when Nora runs in Docker Compose. That is the host-side `CONTAINER_KUBECONFIG_PATH`; the containers see it under `/kubeconfigs`.

## Verification

```bash theme={null} theme={null}
kubectl -n openclaw-agents get deploy,svc,pods
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.kubernetes.yml -f docker-compose.kind.yml logs worker-provisioner
```

The smoke script exits with `{"ok":true,...}` on success. Per-agent objects follow the generated naming convention `nora-oclaw-<agent-name>-<suffix>` in the `openclaw-agents` namespace.

To smoke NemoClaw on the same Kind adapter path, run the script with
`K8S_SMOKE_CELLS=openclaw:nemoclaw` and `NVIDIA_API_KEY` set in the shell that starts the stack.

If the agent reaches `running` but the gateway is unreachable, confirm the NodePort values match the port mappings in `infra/kind/nora-kind.yaml`.

<Frame caption="Logs tab — worker-provisioner output during a successful K8s deploy">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/sttechnologyllc/A_pk5LchBKKfnyIr/images/provisioner-backends/k8s/_nora/nora-agent-logs-k8s.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=A_pk5LchBKKfnyIr&q=85&s=fed94088a03606a531285305b6e64662" alt="Agent logs K8s" width="1512" height="1080" data-path="images/provisioner-backends/k8s/_nora/nora-agent-logs-k8s.png" />
</Frame>

## See also

* [K3s](/configuration/provisioner-backends/kubernetes-k3s) — self-hosted production K8s
* [AKS](/configuration/provisioner-backends/kubernetes-aks) — Azure Kubernetes Service
* [GKE](/configuration/provisioner-backends/kubernetes-gke) — Google Kubernetes Engine
* [EKS](/configuration/provisioner-backends/kubernetes-eks) — Amazon EKS