k3d vs K9s

k3d is a free, community-driven wrapper that runs k3s, Rancher Lab’s minimal Kubernetes distribution, inside Docker. It creates single-node and multi-node clusters for local Kubernetes development and can support hot-reloading, Tilt build-deploy-test workflows, and Drone CI service use. Docker is required, while kubectl is used to interact with clusters. For k3d v5.x.x, the overview specifies Docker v20.10.5 or later and runc v1.0.0-rc93 or later. A registries.yaml file configures registries, authentication, and certificates, and documentation covers local registries managed by k3d. Services can be exposed through Ingress or NodePort by mapping container ports to the host. Covered k3s integrations include CoreDNS, local-path-provisioner, Traefik, and the Klipper service load balancer. Installation options include release binaries, Homebrew, AUR, Chocolatey, Scoop, arkade, asdf, and Go. k3d runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted setups. It is not an official Rancher (SUSE) product.

K9s is a free, open-source terminal interface for navigating, observing, and managing Kubernetes clusters and applications. It watches cluster changes, tracks resource activity in real time, and shows metrics for pods, containers, and nodes. Standard Kubernetes resources and custom resource definitions are supported. Users can view logs, scale resources, restart them, and create port forwards. Pulses summarizes cluster state, while XRay shows resource dependencies. Skins, columns, aliases, and hotkeys are customizable, and plugins add cluster commands with resource and cluster context variables. K9s displays RBAC rules and can show what a user, group, or ServiceAccount may do. Read-only mode disables resource modification commands. Integration with Hey supports HTTP endpoint benchmarking through port forwards and services; those forwards end when the K9s session exits. K9s runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, has no graphical interface, and is licensed under Apache License 2.0. The project prefers Kubernetes 1.28 or later and warns that older versions or insufficient RBAC permissions can cause problems.