# K3s

> K3s is a lightweight, certified Kubernetes distribution packaged as a single binary, ideal for development, edge and small clusters.

- Source: https://www.itwonderlab.com/k3s/
- Published: 2026-09-05
- Updated: 2026-09-05
- Author: Javier Ruiz Jiménez (https://www.javierruizjimenez.com/)
- Site: IT Wonder Lab (https://www.itwonderlab.com/)

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**K3s** is a CNCF project, originally from Rancher, that bundles Kubernetes with containerd, Traefik and a simple installer into one small binary. It runs on a laptop or a Raspberry Pi and is the cluster inside [Rancher Desktop](https://www.itwonderlab.com/rancher-desktop/).

### Key concepts

- **Server and agent**: control plane and worker nodes.
- **Traefik**: the bundled ingress controller. See [Traefik](https://www.itwonderlab.com/traefik/).
- **containerd**: the container runtime. See [containerd](https://www.itwonderlab.com/containerd/).

### Learn it

See how to [install K3s](https://www.itwonderlab.com/install-kubernetes-k3s/).