KINGC Kubernetes in Google Cloud

kingc is a tool for running vanilla Kubernetes clusters in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using standard GCE VM instances.

It is primarily designed to provide a "Kind-like" experience for cloud-based development and CI, where real cloud integrations (LoadBalancers, PD CSI, Cross-Zone networking) are required.

Note: kingc is a bootstrapper, not a lifecycle manager. It does not maintain state files.

Installation

From Source

If you have go (1.21+) installed:

go install github.com/your-username/kingc/cmd/kingc@latest

From Release

Binary releases are available on the releases page.

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Google Cloud SDK (gcloud) installed and authenticated.
• SSH Keys configured (gcloud compute config-ssh).
• Quota for at least 3 CPUs (if using defaults).

Create a Cluster

Option A: Simple

This will provision a VPC, a Control Plane (n1-standard-2), and a Worker MIG (2 nodes).

$ kingc create cluster --name sandbox

Creating cluster "sandbox" ...
 ✓ Ensuring VPC network "sandbox-net" 
 ✓ Provisioning Load Balancer "sandbox-api" (34.x.x.x)
 ✓ Starting control-plane "sandbox-cp" 
 ✓ Bootstrapping Kubernetes (kubeadm init) ...
 ✓ Joining workers (Instance Group "sandbox-workers") ...
Set kubectl context to "kind-sandbox"
You can now use your cluster:
kubectl get nodes

Option B: Advanced (Config File)

Create kingc.yaml:

version: v1alpha1
spec:
  # Region applies globally, per example to Networking and API LB
  region: us-central1
  
  controlPlane:
    name: cp
    zone: us-central1-a
    machineType: n1-standard-2

  workerGroups:
  - name: workers
    replicas: 2
    zone: us-central1-b # Can be different from CP
    machineType: n1-standard-2

Run: kingc create --config kingc.yaml --name sandbox

Export Kubeconfig

The create command automatically merges the kubeconfig into ~/.kube/config (or $KUBECONFIG).

kubectl cluster-info --context kind-sandbox

Deleting a Cluster

kingc is stateless. It discovers resources via the kingc-cluster: label.

kingc delete cluster --name sandbox

Architecture

kingc wraps kubeadm and gcloud to adhere to Kubernetes best practices on GCE without the complexity of managed services.

• Control Plane: A dedicated, unmanaged instance (allows for static IP attachment and etcd stability).

• API Server Endpoint: A TCP Passthrough Network Load Balancer (ensures the API server is accessible even if the VM is replaced).

• Workers: A Managed Instance Group (MIG).

• Cloud Provider: Configures cloud-provider-gcp (external) so Service type LoadBalancer works natively.

Configuration

kingc uses a declarative YAML configuration file to define complex cluster topologies (e.g., multi-network setups).

Where is the CNI?

Like Kind, kingc installs kindnet by default, but users can disable the default CNI and install their own.

Thanks

Special thanks to @bentheelder for creating Kind and inspiring the design and philosophy of this project.