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cncf
[Sandbox] k0s
Application contact emails
[email protected], [email protected]
Project Summary
k0s is a CNCF-certified lightweight, Kubernetes distribution with zero dependencies and zero opinion.
Project Description
k0s is a fully conformant, CNCF-certified Kubernetes distribution that offers a zero-dependency, statically compiled, vanilla Kubernetes experience. Designed to run anywhere—from bare metal to cloud environments—k0s provides a minimal footprint with a low attack surface. It enforces a strong separation between controllers and workers, enhancing security and operational efficiency.
k0s aligns with the CNCF mission by fostering an open-source, vendor-neutral Kubernetes distribution that emphasizes choice and flexibility within the cloud-native ecosystem. By providing diversity of choice, k0s encourages innovation and collaboration, strengthening the Kubernetes community.
Org repo URL (provide if all repos under the org are in scope of the application)
https://github.com/k0sproject
Project repo URL in scope of application
https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s
Additional repos in scope of the application
https://github.com/k0sproject/k0sctl
Website URL
https://k0sproject.io/
Roadmap
https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/milestones
Roadmap context
In our monthly office hours and community channels, we openly discuss roadmap items, gathering input and prioritizing items through collaborative discussions. Our approach is strongly oriented towards fostering a thriving ecosystem, and we actively seek opportunities for interoperability with CNCF projects and other open-source initiatives. This commitment helps us better address the interests and needs of our community.
We are working towards a more formal roadmap.
Contributing Guide
https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/blob/main/docs/contributors/overview.md
Code of Conduct (CoC)
https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
Adopters
https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/blob/main/ADOPTERS.md
Contributing or Sponsoring Org
https://mirantis.com
Maintainers file
https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/blob/main/MAINTAINERS.md
IP Policy
- [X] If the project is accepted, I agree the project will follow the CNCF IP Policy
Trademark and accounts
- [X] If the project is accepted, I agree to donate all project trademarks and accounts to the CNCF
Why CNCF?
k0s seeks to apply to CNCF in order to find a vendor-neutral home. The k0s community has seen significant adoption and has matured rapidly, recently adding additional non-Mirantis maintainers from Replicated.com. With over 7,500 weekly active clusters in the wild that average over 300+ days in age, we believe the time is right to become an official project of the CNCF.
We want to demonstrate our commitment to managing expansion in an open-source manner and ensure neutral governance for our growing community of users and contributors. The CNCF platform will serve as an additional catalyst for community adoption and encourage contributions from developers. Additionally, being a part of CNCF allows k0s to learn from other projects and actively contribute back to the cloud-native community, aligning with the maintainer's ethos.
k0s wants to establish itself as a clear alternative k8s distribution for those who want an ultra lightweight, secure, vanilla distribution that supports all x86 and ARM platforms.
Benefit to the Landscape
The CNCF ecosystem would benefit from having additional conformant k8s distributions, especially ones with a specific niche, such as k0s: lightweight, no opinion, works anywhere and on any platform.
Key Features Include:
- Different installation methods: single-node, multi-node, airgap and Docker
- Automatic lifecycle management with k0sctl: upgrade, backup and restore
- Modest system requirements (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM)
- Vanilla upstream Kubernetes (with no changes)
- Available as a single binary with no external runtime dependencies besides the kernel
- Flexible deployment options with control plane isolation as default
- Scalable from a single node to large, high-available clusters
- Supports custom Container Network Interface (CNI) plugins (Kube-Router is the default, Calico is offered as preconfigured alternative)
- Supports custom Container Runtime Interface (CRI) plugins (containerd is the default)
- Supports all Kubernetes storage options with Container Storage Interface (CSI)
- Supports a variety of datastore backends: etcd (default for multi-node clusters), SQLite (default for single node clusters), MySQL, and PostgreSQL
- Supports x86-64, ARM64 and ARMv7
- Konnectivity service, CoreDNS, Metrics Server
Cloud Native 'Fit'
k0s is about as cloud-native as you can get, given it is basically the purest and simplest form of a k8s distribution.
Cloud Native 'Integration'
Nothing besides core Kubernetes.
Cloud Native Overlap
There is some overlap with k3s, but ultimately, we believe there is a enough difference in approach to allow both distributions in the Kubernetes ecosystem.
Here are some different perspectives from around the web for this year, comparing k0s and k3s:
- https://medium.com/@thakur.ajay/kubernets-vs-k3s-vs-k0s-32f1da81a306
- https://shipyard.build/blog/k0s-k3s-k8s/
- https://www.nops.io/blog/k0s-vs-k3s-vs-k8s/
Perhaps more importantly, here are a couple of k0s users explaining why they preferred k0s over k3s:
- https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/issues/3248#issuecomment-1649672501
- https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/issues/3248#issuecomment-1780158625
Similar projects
k3s
Landscape
Yes, k0s is listed in the landscape.
Business Product or Service to Project separation
Some Mirantis products do leverage k0s, but the project is maintained completely separately from our products and has been since inception. Originally Mirantis products used other k8s distributions, but recently migrated to k0s. A close inspection of GitHub issues will show you that there is a clear firewall between k0s and our enterprise products. Putting k0s into the CNCF will further help maintain it's independence.
Project presentations
Runtime TAG in 2021:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hja-cGXZ5Q&ab_channel=CNCFTAGRuntime
Edge/IoT WG in 2022:
https://youtu.be/L5jWfM6kn5M?t=1695
Project champions
TBD
Additional information
We collect anonymous usage data. Attached is a screenshot of our k0s dashboard with some detailed statistics showing our accelerated growth over the past year.
As a representative of Replicated, I'd like to express our support for the k0s project's application to join the CNCF as a sandbox project.
-
At Replicated, we have carefully evaluated and selected k0s for our needs, and it has become an integral part of our technology stack.
-
During our selection process, we reviewed several available projects. What truly sets k0s apart is its commitment to a zero-ops approach. While there are other easy-to-install distributions like k3s, k0s uniquely defines installing, upgrading, and maintaining the cluster as core features within its scope. The built-in Autopilot feature is a prime example of this philosophy, demonstrating a distinctive approach to handling upgrades that's integrated directly into the distribution. This aligns perfectly with our goals of simplifying Kubernetes operations for our users.
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We have already implemented k0s in production environments and are seeing great results. Our intention is to continue expanding its use within our infrastructure. We would be delighted to see k0s become part of the CNCF, as we believe this would ensure its continued growth as an open-source community project.
Given our positive experience with k0s and its unique features, we strongly support its inclusion in the CNCF and look forward to its continued development and adoption within the wider community.
@caniszczyk I'm not sure what you mean here by 3rd party dependencies?
As for any Golang project, our Golang dependencies are managed via go modules: https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/blob/main/go.mod
The components we embed as binaries are: runc, containerd, Kubernetes (api-server, controller-manages, scheduler, kubelet), kine, etcd, iptables and keepalived All the embedded bins are statically compiled so we can run them on all Linux OSes and thus have no separate builds or packaging for each distro. The versions for these embedded bins are declared at https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/blob/main/embedded-bins/Makefile.variables
We also produce SBOM for all the releases: https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/releases/download/v1.30.4%2Bk0s.0/spdx.json
As for Kubernetes itself, it still has some "3rd party" dependencies, i.e. it does call some tools on the host like mount for example.
@jnummelin this is exactly what I need, essentially we need the runtime dependencies and their associated licenses to ensure they are compliant with CNCF's IP Policy: https://github.com/cncf/foundation/blob/main/allowed-third-party-license-policy.md
ok, I've checked the dependency data (attached in CSV format). All the golang modules adhere to the CNCF policy. Some of the embedded binaries, iptables and keepalived, are GPLv2, but IMO they go into this category from the policy:
It is either (A) stored unmodified in a designated third-party folder, or (B) not stored in the CNCF project repository and instead retrieved at installation or build time from the upstream third party repository or package repository
In this case we get the sources for those components directly from upstream repos, build them and "just" include the binary. Here is an example how we do it for iptables, all other components follow the same pattern.
Per @jnummelin:
On Oct 27th k0s crossed another threshold in adoption. We crossed the threshold of seeing 400k unique[^1] clusters throughout the telemetry collection period starting March 2021. Couldn't be more proud of the k0s team for making k0s what is is today and the dedication to make it better every day.
Onwards and upwards!
[^1]: We determine unique clusters based on kube-system UUID as k8s uses type 4 UUIDs which makes them globally unique, or at least the chance for collisions is extremely low.
Replicated recently shared a YouTube video with more details on their use case as well as additional k0s proof points.
https://youtu.be/95LhxbmH-t0?si=4ScS3jDQBRErX1MP
@randybias and team, thanks for your submission! I have a couple of questions:
- Has there been organized efforts to broaden the set of folks who are regular committers? (looking at https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/graphs/contributors?from=12%2F16%2F2023)
- Has there been examples of good back-and-forth between k0s and its upstream (k8s) on issues that matter to your end users?
thanks!
TAG Contributor strategy has reviewed this project and found the following:
- The contributor guide is fairly minimal, with some useful detail on Git. (Note that the link in the OP above is incorrect)
- The project has no written governance, yet.
- The roadmap is Github milestones, was adopted one release ago and is actively in use
- There are 8 maintainers, most of whom work for Mirantis and two of whom work for Replicated
- The project has a moderate amount of public contributor activity, including a few dozen one-time contributors.
This review is for the TOC’s information only. Sandbox projects are not required to have full governance or contributor documentation.
The project has no written governance, yet.
We're setting all this up in a centralized community repo.
Has there been organized efforts to broaden the set of folks who are regular committers?
There is an organized effort to broaden the set of folks who are regular committers by adding personnel to the Open Source Program Office team here at Mirantis which one of the two major maintainer companies to the k0s project. Beyond this the regular community calls have invited contributions externally on issues of focus and there are equal efforts behind k0s (known) users requesting them to contribute on issues they have raised time to time. k0s usage has mostly been tracked through telemetry data but there has been a dedicated effort starting late last year by community manager @prithvi1307 and team to identify community users and to invite community members to our recently formed #k0s-users and #k0s-dev channels on the k8s slack workspace to contribute back to the project. The project identifies great usage. Around 9k+ active clusters per day and moving ahead is looking to strengthen its adopter count and regular committer count over this year with a focus on future CNCF incubation.
Has there been examples of good back-and-forth between k0s and its upstream (k8s) on issues that matter to your end users?
https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/96115, example of getting rid of dependencies in k8s to better align with k0s goal of "zero dependencies". https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/116477, fix for armv7 arch which is used by k0s users https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/apiserver-network-proxy/pull/363, driven by k0s user request
Here's an example of an end user in the k0s-dev channel on Kubernetes slack thanking the k0s team for help with getting k0s working with a non-default configuration using NATS and Cilium:
https://kubernetes.slack.com/archives/C07VAPJUECS/p1736700692754159
We just merged the (draft) GTR and security self-assessment docs into the main repo: https://github.com/k0sproject/k0s/tree/main/cncf
thanks @randybias and @jnummelin
Also, did you all get a chance to review the telemetry policy for LF projects? https://www.linuxfoundation.org/legal/telemetry-data-policy
@dims Is that something that needs to be tackled BEFORE the sandbox phase or can it be handled while in sandbox?
@jnummelin while in a the sandbox is fine. just surfacing it so you are not surprised.
k0s presented to TAG-Runtime on Dec. 19th, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_i2XIAqKLE
Vote created
@mrbobbytables has called for a vote on [Sandbox] k0s (#125).
The members of the following teams have binding votes:
| Team |
|---|
| @cncf/cncf-toc |
Non-binding votes are also appreciated as a sign of support!
How to vote
You can cast your vote by reacting to this comment. The following reactions are supported:
| In favor | Against | Abstain |
|---|---|---|
| 👍 | 👎 | 👀 |
Please note that voting for multiple options is not allowed and those votes won't be counted.
The vote will be open for 2months 30days 2h 52m 48s. It will pass if at least 66% of the users with binding votes vote In favor 👍. Once it's closed, results will be published here as a new comment.
![git-vote[bot] avatar](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/in/206179?v=4 "Published by a pub.dev verified publisher"){kind=small}
from this link: https://www.nops.io/blog/k0s-vs-k3s-vs-k8s/
Shared in the description as example of relevant comparison between k0s, k3s and k8s. I don't know what to make of this... was that just AI generated?
K0s is a container native platform based on distributed systems, such as Apache Kafka and Apache Mesos. It has a strong focus on stream processing and data-driven applications. With a distributed architecture featuring high fault tolerance and scalability, this platform ensures robust performance and availability.
K0s was developed by Google and is used in many of its products, such as Google Ads and Google Photos. This container-native platform was engineered to efficiently run containerized applications in a distributed computing environment. It can manage millions of containers and provide a reliable and scalable platform to handle enterprise-level workloads.
from this link: https://www.nops.io/blog/k0s-vs-k3s-vs-k8s/
Shared in the description as example of relevant comparison between k0s, k3s and k8s. I don't know what to make of this... was that just AI generated?
K0s is a container native platform based on distributed systems, such as Apache Kafka and Apache Mesos. It has a strong focus on stream processing and data-driven applications. With a distributed architecture featuring high fault tolerance and scalability, this platform ensures robust performance and availability.
K0s was developed by Google and is used in many of its products, such as Google Ads and Google Photos. This container-native platform was engineered to efficiently run containerized applications in a distributed computing environment. It can manage millions of containers and provide a reliable and scalable platform to handle enterprise-level workloads.
My bad. Should have read the entire thing. Removed it.
The TOC has reviewed the project for sandbox inclusion and suggests the following:
- Reach out TAG observability to give an introduction around how you are considering telemetry.
- Review and follow the telemetry data collection and usage policy for gathering the data that you mentioned in the application. This can be done during the onboarding period if k0s passes the vote.
Vote status
So far 72.73% of the users with binding vote are in favor and 0.00% are against (passing threshold: 66%).
Summary
| In favor | Against | Abstain | Not voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Binding votes (8)
| User | Vote | Timestamp |
|---|---|---|
| dims | In favor | 2025-01-14 21:29:42.0 +00:00:00 |
| linsun | In favor | 2025-01-15 3:26:14.0 +00:00:00 |
| TheFoxAtWork | In favor | 2025-01-14 16:45:12.0 +00:00:00 |
| kgamanji | In favor | 2025-01-15 8:16:04.0 +00:00:00 |
| angellk | In favor | 2025-01-14 22:15:40.0 +00:00:00 |
| rochaporto | In favor | 2025-01-14 21:45:19.0 +00:00:00 |
| nikhita | In favor | 2025-01-15 2:23:13.0 +00:00:00 |
| kevin-wangzefeng | In favor | 2025-01-15 13:52:17.0 +00:00:00 |
| @mauilion | Pending | |
| @dzolotusky | Pending | |
| @cathyhongzhang | Pending |
Non-binding votes (26)
| User | Vote | Timestamp |
|---|---|---|
| adamancini | In favor | 2025-01-14 16:50:55.0 +00:00:00 |
| laverya | In favor | 2025-01-14 16:56:24.0 +00:00:00 |
| grantmiller | In favor | 2025-01-14 16:57:43.0 +00:00:00 |
| Skaronator | In favor | 2025-01-14 17:09:55.0 +00:00:00 |
| ajp-io | In favor | 2025-01-14 17:23:07.0 +00:00:00 |
| AmberAlston | In favor | 2025-01-14 17:32:47.0 +00:00:00 |
| tzabbi | In favor | 2025-01-14 17:42:27.0 +00:00:00 |
| jtuchscherer | In favor | 2025-01-14 18:17:57.0 +00:00:00 |
| ramessesii2 | In favor | 2025-01-14 20:16:17.0 +00:00:00 |
| pschichtel | In favor | 2025-01-14 22:15:33.0 +00:00:00 |
| iggy | In favor | 2025-01-14 22:27:48.0 +00:00:00 |
| danielr1996 | In favor | 2025-01-14 22:38:20.0 +00:00:00 |
| wagnst | In favor | 2025-01-14 23:22:39.0 +00:00:00 |
| randybias | In favor | 2025-01-15 0:19:01.0 +00:00:00 |
| CmdrSharp | In favor | 2025-01-15 1:11:28.0 +00:00:00 |
| serbrech | In favor | 2025-01-15 2:45:41.0 +00:00:00 |
| bnallapeta | In favor | 2025-01-15 3:21:25.0 +00:00:00 |
| ferama | In favor | 2025-01-15 6:19:40.0 +00:00:00 |
| prithvi1307 | In favor | 2025-01-15 6:38:15.0 +00:00:00 |
| Pogyeah | In favor | 2025-01-15 7:13:20.0 +00:00:00 |
| Faithcaio | In favor | 2025-01-15 7:47:11.0 +00:00:00 |
| jnummelin | In favor | 2025-01-15 9:45:26.0 +00:00:00 |
| adityasonittyl | In favor | 2025-01-15 10:11:05.0 +00:00:00 |
| pierreozoux | In favor | 2025-01-15 11:25:48.0 +00:00:00 |
| iapicca | In favor | 2025-01-15 12:29:13.0 +00:00:00 |
| danmx | In favor | 2025-01-15 12:56:12.0 +00:00:00 |
Vote closed
The vote passed! 🎉
90.91% of the users with binding vote were in favor and 0.00% were against (passing threshold: 66%).
Summary
| In favor | Against | Abstain | Not voted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Binding votes (10)
| User | Vote | Timestamp |
|---|---|---|
| @dzolotusky | In favor | 2025-01-15 16:31:18.0 +00:00:00 |
| @kevin-wangzefeng | In favor | 2025-01-15 13:52:17.0 +00:00:00 |
| @TheFoxAtWork | In favor | 2025-01-14 16:45:12.0 +00:00:00 |
| @dims | In favor | 2025-01-14 21:29:42.0 +00:00:00 |
| @linsun | In favor | 2025-01-15 3:26:14.0 +00:00:00 |
| @nikhita | In favor | 2025-01-15 2:23:13.0 +00:00:00 |
| @kgamanji | In favor | 2025-01-15 8:16:04.0 +00:00:00 |
| @rochaporto | In favor | 2025-01-14 21:45:19.0 +00:00:00 |
| @angellk | In favor | 2025-01-14 22:15:40.0 +00:00:00 |
| @mauilion | In favor | 2025-01-15 16:52:34.0 +00:00:00 |
Non-binding votes (28)
| User | Vote | Timestamp |
|---|---|---|
| @adamancini | In favor | 2025-01-14 16:50:55.0 +00:00:00 |
| @laverya | In favor | 2025-01-14 16:56:24.0 +00:00:00 |
| @grantmiller | In favor | 2025-01-14 16:57:43.0 +00:00:00 |
| @Skaronator | In favor | 2025-01-14 17:09:55.0 +00:00:00 |
| @ajp-io | In favor | 2025-01-14 17:23:07.0 +00:00:00 |
| @AmberAlston | In favor | 2025-01-14 17:32:47.0 +00:00:00 |
| @tzabbi | In favor | 2025-01-14 17:42:27.0 +00:00:00 |
| @jtuchscherer | In favor | 2025-01-14 18:17:57.0 +00:00:00 |
| @ramessesii2 | In favor | 2025-01-14 20:16:17.0 +00:00:00 |
| @pschichtel | In favor | 2025-01-14 22:15:33.0 +00:00:00 |
| @iggy | In favor | 2025-01-14 22:27:48.0 +00:00:00 |
| @danielr1996 | In favor | 2025-01-14 22:38:20.0 +00:00:00 |
| @wagnst | In favor | 2025-01-14 23:22:39.0 +00:00:00 |
| @randybias | In favor | 2025-01-15 0:19:01.0 +00:00:00 |
| @CmdrSharp | In favor | 2025-01-15 1:11:28.0 +00:00:00 |
| @serbrech | In favor | 2025-01-15 2:45:41.0 +00:00:00 |
| @bnallapeta | In favor | 2025-01-15 3:21:25.0 +00:00:00 |
| @ferama | In favor | 2025-01-15 6:19:40.0 +00:00:00 |
| @prithvi1307 | In favor | 2025-01-15 6:38:15.0 +00:00:00 |
| @Pogyeah | In favor | 2025-01-15 7:13:20.0 +00:00:00 |
| @Faithcaio | In favor | 2025-01-15 7:47:11.0 +00:00:00 |
| @jnummelin | In favor | 2025-01-15 9:45:26.0 +00:00:00 |
| @adityasonittyl | In favor | 2025-01-15 10:11:05.0 +00:00:00 |
| @pierreozoux | In favor | 2025-01-15 11:25:48.0 +00:00:00 |
| @iapicca | In favor | 2025-01-15 12:29:13.0 +00:00:00 |
| @danmx | In favor | 2025-01-15 12:56:12.0 +00:00:00 |
| @emosbaugh | In favor | 2025-01-15 17:29:48.0 +00:00:00 |
| @p5ntangle | In favor | 2025-01-15 23:34:19.0 +00:00:00 |
Congrats! With the vote completed, I've created https://github.com/cncf/sandbox/issues/333 for following up on sandbox onboarding. I'll go ahead and close this out and further follow up can occur there :)