k3s Homelab Kubernetes Starter Kit
Stand up a 3-node k3s cluster on your homelab hardware in an afternoon — annotated manifests, Helm quickstart, persistent storage config, and a troubleshooting cheat sheet for the ops engineer graduating from Docker Compose.
- ▸Cluster setup scripts — annotated install scripts for your control plane and worker nodes, plus a post-install health check that confirms nodes, DNS, and storage are all green
- ▸Annotated YAML manifests — Deployment, Service, Ingress, ConfigMap, and Secret examples with WHAT/WHY/GOTCHA comments at every non-obvious line
- ▸Helm quickstart — install the k3s-maintained chart repos, deploy Traefik as your ingress controller, and route real traffic to a real app
- ▸Persistent storage guide — how k3s's built-in local-path provisioner works, the node-pin gotcha that breaks StatefulSets, and annotated PVC examples
- ▸NFS storage config — add shared persistent storage across all three nodes when you outgrow local-path
- ▸Troubleshooting cheat sheet — the 15 failure patterns that stop homelab clusters cold, with exact kubectl diagnostic commands and fix procedures
- ▸Docker Compose migration guide — side-by-side mapping of Compose concepts to Kubernetes equivalents so nothing feels alien
## goes-well-with
From the same shelf
Homelab Beginner Starter Kit
Your first homelab in a weekend — no rabbit holes required.
Homelab DR Kit v2 — Advanced Edition
Expand beyond the published v1 with automated backup validation scripts, tested restoration runbooks, and a DR drill scoring rubric for homelabs running Proxmox, TrueNAS, and containerized services.
Build 5 Real Infrastructure Projects from Zero
Escape tutorial hell for sysadmins — five hands-on homelab projects (monitoring, automation, DR, networking, security) with guided specs, code stubs, and a 30-day progress tracker.
## not-ready-to-buy
Take the field notes instead
One practical write-up a week from the same workbench these kits come from — plus reader pricing when new kits ship.