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Podman & kind Guide

[containers][docker][kubernetes][devops]
Container / K8s
Install
# Podman:
brew install podman
sudo apt install podman
# WSL/Windows: podman machine init

# kind:
brew install kind
go install sigs.k8s.io/kind@latest

Podman is a drop-in replacement for Docker that doesn't require a daemon. Every docker command has a podman equivalent (podman run, podman ps, podman-compose). It runs containers rootless by default — better security and no sudo needed.

kind (Kubernetes IN Docker) runs Kubernetes clusters as Docker containers. It's the standard for local K8s testing. `kind create cluster` creates a cluster in 60 seconds. The kubeconfig is auto-exported. Use `kind load docker-image myapp:latest` to push images.

Podman supports pods (like Kubernetes), systemd integration, and Mac/Windows via podman machine. kind supports multi-node clusters and mounts host directories. GUI alternatives: Docker Desktop, Rancher Desktop, Lens.

Podman Basics

Podman run container— Drop-in docker replacement.
podman run -d -p 8080:80 nginx:alpine
podman ps
podman stop $(podman ps -q)
podman rm $(podman ps -aq)

# All docker flags work:
podman run -it --rm ubuntu bash
podman exec -it <container> sh
Podman compose— Run docker-compose files.
pip install podman-compose
podman-compose up -d
podman-compose down
podman-compose logs -f

# Or use docker-compose with podman socket:
export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/1000/podman/podman.sock
docker-compose up
Podman rootless tips— No sudo needed.
podman info | grep rootless
podman run --rm hello-world

# Port forwarding (rootless uses high ports):
podman run -p 8080:80 nginx

# Systemd integration:
podman generate systemd --name mycontainer > ~/.config/systemd/user/mycontainer.service
systemctl --user enable mycontainer

Podman Pods

Podman pods— Kubernetes-like pod groups.
podman pod create --name mypod -p 8080:80
podman run -d --pod mypod --name app nginx
podman run -d --pod mypod --name sidecar alpine:latest sleep infinity

# Generate K8s YAML from pod:
podman generate kube mypod > mypod.yaml
kubectl apply -f mypod.yaml

kind Setup

kind create cluster— Start local K8s.
kind create cluster
kind create cluster --name dev
kind get clusters
kubectl cluster-info --context kind-kind

# Multi-node:
kind create cluster --config - <<EOF
kind: Cluster
apiVersion: kind.x-k8s.io/v1alpha4
nodes:
- role: control-plane
- role: worker
- role: worker
EOF
kind delete— Teardown cluster.
kind delete cluster
kind delete cluster --name dev
kind delete clusters --all
kubectl config get-contexts

kind Workloads

kind load images— Use local Docker images.
docker build -t myapp:latest .
kind load docker-image myapp:latest
kind load docker-image myapp:latest --name dev

# Check:
kubectl run nginx --image=nginx:alpine
kubectl get pods
kind ingress— Enable NGINX ingress.
kind create cluster --config - <<EOF
kind: Cluster
apiVersion: kind.x-k8s.io/v1alpha4
nodes:
- role: control-plane
  kubeadmConfigPatches:
  - |
    kind: InitConfiguration
    nodeRegistration:
      kubeletExtraArgs:
        node-labels: "ingress-ready=true"
  extraPortMappings:
  - containerPort: 80
    hostPort: 80
EOF

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/main/deploy/static/provider/kind/deploy.yaml