HomeK8s
Learn Kubernetes on real hardware

Build a Kubernetes cluster from bare Raspberry Pis. Then pull the plug on one.

HomeK8s kits arrive with the OS, containerd and kubeadm installed, and nothing else. You prepare the nodes, run kubeadm init, install the network and break things on purpose, guided step by step from your browser. No screen or keyboard needed.

Choose a kit How it works

From $228 · ships from Australia · leave any time and keep the cluster

Lesson 3 · Step 2
Run kubeadm init
pi-1 online
$ sudo kubeadm init --pod-network-cidr=10.244.0.0/16Run
[init] Using Kubernetes version: v1.37.1
[preflight] Running pre-flight checks
[certs] Generating "ca" certificate and key
[control-plane] Creating static Pod manifest for "kube-apiserver"
[etcd] Creating static Pod manifest for local etcd
Your Kubernetes control-plane has initialized successfully!
Check passed API server answers on :6443
Hands-on lessons
6
From a bare node to rolling upgrades
Nodes per kit
1 · 3 · 5
Single node, HA control plane, or both plus workers
Lock-in
None
Offboard in one click and keep everything

The kits

1 node
Solo

One Pi. Build a real cluster from a bare node.

  • Node prep: swap, kernel modules, sysctls
  • kubeadm init and a pod network
  • Deployments, services, self-healing
from
$228
includes 6 months of tutorials
Configure Solo
3 nodes
Trio

Three control-plane nodes. Pull a plug, watch it survive.

  • Everything in Solo
  • Highly available control plane with stacked etcd
  • Quorum: what fails when two of three go down
from
$566
includes 9 months of tutorials
Configure Trio
5 nodes
Quint

Three control-plane nodes, two workers. Closest to production.

  • Everything in Trio
  • Draining, cordoning and rolling upgrades
  • Pod spreading, disruption budgets, chaos drills
from
$894
includes 12 months of tutorials
Configure Quint
Already have a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5?
Get the full curriculum for $15/month. One install command, no reflashing.
Bring your own Pi

How it works

01
Plug it in

Power and an ethernet cable. The Pi comes up in tutorial mode and checks in with the portal.

02
Claim it

Enter the code from the card in the box and read exactly what the Pi will share. Nothing happens until you agree.

03
Build from the browser

A real terminal on your Pi in a browser tab, from anywhere. Each step checks your work on the Pi itself.

04
Leave when you like

Offboard in one click: the agent removes itself and the cluster is entirely yours, even for production.

What your Pi does
your PiHTTPS out homek8s.io
Outbound only

The Pi keeps one connection out to HomeK8s, and your terminal travels through it. Nothing ever connects in, and your router needs no changes.

  • Terminals open only for you, or an admin you approve, for a time you choose
  • Your kubeconfig, certificates and join tokens never leave the Pi
  • One small program. No extra packages, and gone completely when you offboard
Read exactly what's shared →
The curriculum

6 lessons, from a bare node to rollouts

  1. 01
    Meet your Pi
    Open a terminal on your Pi from anywhere, and run your first commands.
    5 min
  2. 02
    Prepare the node
    Swap, kernel modules, sysctls and the container runtime: what kubelet needs before a cluster can exist.
    15 min
  3. 03
    Create the control plane
    kubeadm init: certificates, etcd, the API server, and your kubeconfig.
    20 min
  4. 04
    Install a pod network
    Give pods addresses and routes with Flannel, then let workloads run.
    10 min
  5. 05
    Your first deployment
    Run nginx, expose it with a Service, and write a manifest in the editor.
    15 min
  6. 06
    Self-healing and rollouts
    Delete pods, watch them come back, scale up and roll out a new image.
    15 min

Trio and Quint add a highly available control plane, quorum drills, draining and upgrades.

Questions

Why kubeadm and not k3s?

k3s hides the parts you're here to learn. kubeadm is what the CKA exam and most self-managed clusters use: certificates, static pods, etcd, CNI, all visible.

What happens after the included months?

Keep going for a small monthly subscription, or offboard for free. Either way the hardware and the cluster are yours.

Can I use it for real work afterwards?

Yes. Offboarding removes HomeK8s completely. What's left is a standard kubeadm cluster on Raspberry Pi OS.

Do I need a monitor or keyboard?

No. Plug in power and ethernet (Wi-Fi works too). Everything else happens in your browser, and SSH is there if you want it.