vCluster (vind) Management

Manage virtual Kubernetes clusters using kubectl-mcp-server's vind tools (14 tools).

vCluster enables running fully functional Kubernetes clusters as lightweight workloads inside a host cluster, combining multi-tenancy with strong isolation.

When to Apply

Use this skill when:

User mentions: "vCluster", "vind", "virtual cluster", "lightweight cluster"
Operations: creating dev environments, multi-tenant isolation, ephemeral clusters
Keywords: "virtual Kubernetes", "dev cluster", "pause cluster", "tenant isolation"

Priority Rules

Priority	Rule	Impact	Tools
1	Detect vCluster CLI first	CRITICAL	`vinddetecttool`
2	Check cluster status before operations	HIGH	`vindstatustool`
3	Connect before kubectl operations	HIGH	`vindconnecttool`
4	Pause unused clusters to save resources	MEDIUM	`vindpausetool`

Quick Reference

Task	Tool	Example
Detect vCluster	`vinddetecttool`	`vinddetecttool()`
List clusters	`vindlistclusters_tool`	`vindlistclusters_tool()`
Create cluster	`vindcreatecluster_tool`	`vindcreatecluster_tool(name)`
Connect to cluster	`vindconnecttool`	`vindconnecttool(name)`

Prerequisites

vCluster CLI: Required for all vind tools

``bash curl -L -o vcluster "https://github.com/loft-sh/vcluster/releases/latest/download/vcluster-$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')-$(uname -m)" chmod +x vcluster && sudo mv vcluster /usr/local/bin/ ``

Check Installation

vind_detect_tool()

List Clusters

vind_list_clusters_tool()

Get Cluster Status

vind_status_tool(name="my-vcluster", namespace="vcluster")

Get Kubeconfig

vind_get_kubeconfig_tool(name="my-vcluster", namespace="vcluster")

View Logs

vind_logs_tool(name="my-vcluster", namespace="vcluster", tail=100)

Cluster Lifecycle

Create Cluster

vind_create_cluster_tool(name="dev-cluster")

vind_create_cluster_tool(
    name="dev-cluster",
    namespace="dev",
    kubernetes_version="v1.29.0",
    connect=True
)

vind_create_cluster_tool(
    name="custom-cluster",
    set_values="sync.toHost.pods.enabled=true,sync.toHost.services.enabled=true"
)

Delete Cluster

vind_delete_cluster_tool(name="dev-cluster")

vind_delete_cluster_tool(
    name="dev-cluster",
    namespace="dev",
    delete_namespace=True
)

Pause Cluster (Save Resources)

vind_pause_tool(name="dev-cluster")

Resume Cluster

vind_resume_tool(name="dev-cluster")

Connect/Disconnect

Connect to Cluster

vind_connect_tool(name="dev-cluster")

vind_connect_tool(
    name="dev-cluster",
    namespace="dev",
    kube_config="~/.kube/vcluster-config"
)

Disconnect from Cluster

vind_disconnect_tool()

Upgrade Cluster

vind_upgrade_tool(
    name="dev-cluster",
    kubernetes_version="v1.30.0"
)

vind_upgrade_tool(
    name="dev-cluster",
    values_file="new-values.yaml"
)

Describe Cluster

vind_describe_tool(name="dev-cluster")

Platform UI

vind_platform_start_tool()

vind_platform_start_tool(host="0.0.0.0", port=9898)

Development Workflow

Quick Dev Environment

vind_create_cluster_tool(name="dev", connect=True)

kubectl_apply(manifest="""
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: my-app
  namespace: default
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: my-app
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: my-app
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: app
        image: nginx:alpine
""")

Multi-Tenant Setup

vind_create_cluster_tool(name="team-a", namespace="team-a-vcluster")
vind_create_cluster_tool(name="team-b", namespace="team-b-vcluster")

vind_list_clusters_tool()

Resource Management

vind_pause_tool(name="dev")

vind_resume_tool(name="dev")

Docker-Specific Configuration

For vCluster in Docker (vind) deployments, use --set values:

vind_create_cluster_tool(
    name="docker-cluster",
    set_values="experimental.docker.network=my-network,experimental.docker.ports[0].containerPort=80"
)

Troubleshooting

Cluster Not Starting

1. vind_detect_tool()
2. vind_logs_tool(name="my-cluster", tail=200)
3. vind_status_tool(name="my-cluster")

Connection Issues

1. vind_disconnect_tool()
2. vind_connect_tool(name="my-cluster")
3. vind_get_kubeconfig_tool(name="my-cluster")

Resource Issues

1. vind_pause_tool(name="unused-cluster")
2. vind_delete_cluster_tool(name="old-cluster", delete_namespace=True)

CLI Installation

Install vCluster CLI:

curl -L -o vcluster "https://github.com/loft-sh/vcluster/releases/latest/download/vcluster-$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')-$(uname -m)"
chmod +x vcluster
sudo mv vcluster /usr/local/bin/

vcluster version

Related Skills

[k8s-multicluster](../k8s-multicluster/SKILL.md) - Multi-cluster management
[k8s-helm](../k8s-helm/SKILL.md) - Helm chart operations
[k8s-operations](../k8s-operations/SKILL.md) - kubectl operations