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kubernetes/kompose

★ 10,524GoAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TLDR

A command-line tool that converts a Docker Compose file into Kubernetes configuration files automatically, saving you from manually translating your local multi-container setup into production cluster format.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((kompose))
    What it does
      Converts Compose to K8s
      Single command tool
      Generates YAML files
    Generated Resources
      Deployments
      Services
      ConfigMaps
    Install Options
      Binary download
      Homebrew macOS
      Linux packages
    Audience
      DevOps engineers
      Backend developers
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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Convert an existing Docker Compose file to Kubernetes Deployment and Service files with a single command

USE CASE 2

Move a local multi-container development stack to a Kubernetes cluster without writing Kubernetes YAML by hand

USE CASE 3

Bootstrap Kubernetes config files for a new project by starting from a simpler Compose file you already have

Tech stack

GoKubernetesDocker Compose

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

In plain English

Kompose is a command-line tool that converts Docker Compose files into configuration files for Kubernetes. Docker Compose is a popular way to define and run multi-container applications on a local machine using a single text file that lists all the services, their settings, and how they connect. Kubernetes is a system for running those same containerized applications on a cluster of servers, but it uses a different and more complex set of configuration files. Kompose bridges the gap by reading your existing Compose file and generating the Kubernetes equivalents automatically. The conversion is not perfectly one-to-one in every case, because Docker Compose and Kubernetes have different concepts and not everything maps directly. However, for most common application setups, running one command with your Compose file produces a set of ready-to-use Kubernetes deployment and service files that you can apply immediately. This saves a significant amount of manual translation work when moving a project from local development to a production cluster. Installing Kompose is straightforward: you download a single binary file from the project's GitHub releases page and put it on your system path. There are also packages available through Homebrew on macOS, several Linux package managers, and Windows. The tool supports shell autocompletion for Bash, Zsh, and Fish. Kompose is an official Kubernetes project, maintained under the Kubernetes GitHub organization and following the broader Kubernetes community guidelines. Documentation is available on the project's website and covers installation, a user guide, and details about how specific Compose features are translated.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Using kompose, convert my docker-compose.yml to Kubernetes files, then explain what each generated file, Deployment, Service, ConfigMap, does and how to apply them to a cluster.
Prompt 2
I ran 'kompose convert' on my Compose file and got Kubernetes YAMLs. Walk me through applying them to a local minikube cluster with kubectl and verifying all pods are running.
Prompt 3
What Docker Compose features does kompose not convert cleanly to Kubernetes, and what do I need to add or adjust manually in the generated files?
Prompt 4
How do I install kompose on macOS using Homebrew and enable shell autocompletion for Zsh so I get suggestions when typing kompose commands?
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