sicutdeux@blog:~/links$cat stripped-down-kubernetes-on-the-raspberry-pi.md
Stripped-down Kubernetes on the Raspberry Pi
---
source_url:
source_name:
blog.alexellis.io
published:
2026-06-08
status:
published
---
k3s is a stripped-down Kubernetes distribution that comes in at around 40mb and bundles all low-level components required such as containerd, runc and kubectl. Unlike kubeadm which assumes high CPU/memory and low-latency, k3s boots several times quicker on resource-constrained hardware and works first-time without manual hacks.
practical walkthrough of running k3s on raspberry pi clusters. ellis covers the real constraints—kubeadm’s assumptions don’t hold on arm hardware, wifi latency kills kubernetes, fake sd cards ruin your day. the tradeoff here is purposeful: stripped binaries and containerd over docker saves ram but limits some workflows. worth reading if you’re actually building small clusters rather than just theorizing about them. prior work (bare-metal arm clusters) shows this is iterative improvement, not novelty.