Files
kubesolo-os/README.md
Adolfo Delorenzo e372df578b feat: initial Phase 1 PoC scaffolding for KubeSolo OS
Complete Phase 1 implementation of KubeSolo OS — an immutable, bootable
Linux distribution built on Tiny Core Linux for running KubeSolo
single-node Kubernetes.

Build system:
- Makefile with fetch, rootfs, initramfs, iso, disk-image targets
- Dockerfile.builder for reproducible builds
- Scripts to download Tiny Core, extract rootfs, inject KubeSolo,
  pack initramfs, and create bootable ISO/disk images

Init system (10 POSIX sh stages):
- Early mount (proc/sys/dev/cgroup2), cmdline parsing, persistent
  mount with bind-mounts, kernel module loading, sysctl, DHCP
  networking, hostname, clock sync, containerd prep, KubeSolo exec

Shared libraries:
- functions.sh (device wait, IP lookup, config helpers)
- network.sh (static IP, config persistence, interface detection)
- health.sh (containerd, API server, node readiness checks)
- Emergency shell for boot failure debugging

Testing:
- QEMU boot test with serial log marker detection
- K8s readiness test with kubectl verification
- Persistence test (reboot + verify state survives)
- Workload deployment test (nginx pod)
- Local storage test (PVC + local-path provisioner)
- Network policy test
- Reusable run-vm.sh launcher

Developer tools:
- dev-vm.sh (interactive QEMU with port forwarding)
- rebuild-initramfs.sh (fast iteration)
- inject-ssh.sh (dropbear SSH for debugging)
- extract-kernel-config.sh + kernel-audit.sh

Documentation:
- Full design document with architecture research
- Boot flow documentation covering all 10 init stages
- Cloud-init examples (DHCP, static IP, Portainer Edge, air-gapped)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-11 10:18:42 -06:00

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2.9 KiB
Markdown

# KubeSolo OS
An immutable, bootable Linux distribution purpose-built for [KubeSolo](https://github.com/portainer/kubesolo) — Portainer's ultra-lightweight single-node Kubernetes.
> **Status:** Phase 1 — Proof of Concept
## What is this?
KubeSolo OS combines **Tiny Core Linux** (~11 MB) with **KubeSolo** (single-binary Kubernetes) to create an appliance-like K8s node that:
- Boots to a functional Kubernetes cluster in ~30 seconds
- Runs entirely from RAM with a read-only SquashFS root
- Persists K8s state across reboots via a dedicated data partition
- Targets < 100 MB total image size (OS + K8s)
- Requires no SSH, no package manager, no writable system files
- Supports atomic A/B updates with automatic rollback (Phase 3)
**Target use cases:** IoT/IIoT edge, air-gapped deployments, single-node K8s appliances, kiosk/POS systems, resource-constrained hardware.
## Quick Start
```bash
# Fetch Tiny Core ISO + KubeSolo binary
make fetch
# Build bootable ISO
make iso
# Test in QEMU
make dev-vm
```
## Requirements
**Build host:**
- Linux x86_64 with root/sudo (for loop mounts)
- Tools: `cpio`, `gzip`, `wget`, `curl`, `syslinux` (or use `make docker-build`)
**Runtime:**
- x86_64 hardware or VM
- 512 MB RAM minimum (1 GB+ recommended)
- 8 GB disk (for persistent data partition)
## Architecture
```
Boot Media → Kernel + Initramfs (kubesolo-os.gz)
├── SquashFS root (read-only, in RAM)
├── Persistent data partition (ext4, bind-mounted)
│ ├── /var/lib/kubesolo (K8s state, certs, SQLite)
│ ├── /var/lib/containerd (container images)
│ └── /etc/kubesolo (node configuration)
├── Custom init (POSIX sh, staged boot)
└── KubeSolo (exec replaces init as PID 1)
```
See [docs/design/kubesolo-os-design.md](docs/design/kubesolo-os-design.md) for the full architecture document.
## Project Structure
```
├── CLAUDE.md # AI-assisted development instructions
├── Makefile # Build orchestration
├── build/ # Build scripts, configs, rootfs overlays
├── init/ # Custom init system (POSIX sh)
├── update/ # Atomic update agent (Go, Phase 3)
├── cloud-init/ # First-boot configuration (Phase 2)
├── test/ # QEMU-based automated tests
├── hack/ # Developer utilities
└── docs/ # Design documents
```
## Roadmap
| Phase | Scope | Status |
|-------|-------|--------|
| 1 | PoC: boot Tiny Core + KubeSolo, verify K8s | 🚧 In Progress |
| 2 | Persistent storage, cloud-init, networking | Planned |
| 3 | A/B atomic updates, GRUB, rollback | Planned |
| 4 | Production hardening, signing, Portainer Edge | Planned |
| 5 | OCI distribution, ARM64, fleet management | Planned |
## License
TBD