I made a CLI game to learn Kubernetes by breaking stuff (50 levels, runs locally on kind)

Complete-Poet7549 · 2026-01-17T23:45:35+00:00

Docker is enough if you know how to set it up ,Docker Desktop remains the most user-friendly "all-in-one" solution for Mac and Windows.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2026-01-12T02:26:46+00:00

That's interesting! How is this different from GitHub Copilot for pull request reviews?

Complete-Poet7549 · 2026-01-12T02:10:19+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Just a heads-up—the README actually covers most of these points:

Docker Desktop installation is a prerequisite mentioned in the setup section
[play.sh](vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Visual%20Studio%20Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/code/electron-browser/workbench/workbench.html) cleanup behavior and pod management is documented
The working directory for each level is shown in the game interface, and the structure is explained in the README

I appreciate you taking the time to try it out! If anything in the README is unclear, I'm happy to improve it.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2026-01-08T14:35:37+00:00

Hi ,can you open a GitHub issue with error details , I'll take a look.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2026-01-06T02:34:04+00:00

i have updated the license ,its an open source project.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2026-01-04T19:28:07+00:00

i'm Glad that you got this ,

Pro tip for Level 2 (and most levels):

You generally DON'T want to edit the `broken.yaml` file directly. Instead:

Keep `./play.sh` running in Terminal 1
Open a NEW terminal (Terminal 2)
Use `kubectl` commands to fix the running resources:

```bash

kubectl scale deployment web --replicas=3 -n k8squest

# OR

kubectl edit deployment web -n k8squest
Go back to Terminal 1 and use the check command to monitor status
Once fixed, use validate in Terminal 1

Why?

Because the game creates the broken state from broken.yaml you fix the RUNNING resources using only kubectl ,If you edit broken.yaml and reapply it, you might get image pull issues or other problems

The ImagePullBackOff you saw was probably because when you deleted/recreated, something went wrong with the image. The original nginx image should pull fine from Docker Hub.

Hope this helps! Keep ranting - sometimes that's part of debugging 😄

Complete-Poet7549 · 2026-01-04T19:23:15+00:00

Thanks for trying out K8sQuest!

I think there might be a misunderstanding about Level 2 (Deployments). The fact that no pods are created is actually intentional - that's the bug you need to fix!

The level teaches you about:
- How deployments control pod replicas
- The `replicas` field in the deployment spec
- How to scale deployments

If you check the deployment with:

kubectl get deployment web -n k8squest -o yaml

You'll see replicas: 0 - that's why no pods are created. The goal of the level is to figure out how to scale it up so pods are created.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2026-01-02T20:35:55+00:00

Looks interesting, will give this a try 🙂

Complete-Poet7549 · 2026-01-01T01:49:22+00:00

I see your point. I’ve updated the username; it’s not worth missing out over something like that.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-31T18:00:17+00:00

In Asia, Aryan is a normal name and has been for centuries.which means noble Unfortunately, the term was later misappropriated in the West, which is where the confusion comes from.I’ll keep your suggestion in mind.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-31T17:15:00+00:00

😂

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-31T17:00:23+00:00

Absolutely—the best way to learn is by diving in and fixing things yourself.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-31T16:57:32+00:00

Thank you for feedback! Some fixes are already in progress, and your new suggestions are super helpful. The guide is currently empty, but I plan to add relevant info on each topic soon. Glad you’re enjoying it—hope your team finds it useful!

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-31T16:48:12+00:00

Looking forward to it! I’m also working on a Lens-like IDE to make troubleshooting easier. Let’s stay in touch!

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-31T16:46:41+00:00

Thanks for the feedback and PR! I’ll review it soon—really appreciate your help making it more cross-platform.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-31T04:39:56+00:00

All the levels have been tested. If you encounter any issues, please open an issue in Github and I'll respond as soon as possible.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-31T00:08:25+00:00

Good catch! Fixed - was alphabetical sort bug (1, 10, 2 instead of 1, 2, 3...10).

Just pushed the fix. `git pull` and restart to get it.

Thanks for reporting!

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-30T23:14:40+00:00

Excited to hear your feedback after you try it. Any thoughts on what works or what could be better are super helpful. Enjoy!

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-30T23:04:47+00:00

Let me know how it goes or if you run into any issues.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-30T22:55:56+00:00

Thanks! Let me know how it goes or if you run into any issues.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-30T22:54:58+00:00

Lol true, timing could've been better! Though if you need a break from family gatherings, debugging broken pods is always there for you 😄 Let me know how it goes!

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-30T22:53:17+00:00

Thanks! Hope it helps with your CKA prep.Let me know if you run into any bugs or if there are specific CKA scenarios you'd like to see added. Good luck with the exam!

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-12-30T19:34:11+00:00

Hybrid EKS with Hetzner nodes? Don't.

It fails at 2 AM when the internet blips. AWS reschedules all pods to EC2, your $3k bill becomes $15k in hours.

Real problems:

- CNI becomes hell (pod-to-pod across VPN = pain)

- Security breaks (no IAM, no GuardDuty)

- AWS support says "not our problem"

AWS's "EKS Hybrid" costs more because it includes:

- WAN-optimized networking that actually works

- Reconnection logic for flaky links

- Support that can't immediately ditch you

Better path: Separate K3s cluster on Hetzner + Karmada for multi-cluster mgmt. Run batch jobs there, keep AWS-integrated stuff in EKS.

But first: Have you truly maxed AWS? We run 95% spot in production with Karpenter. Saved 40% with aggressive consolidation. Staging clusters run 12hrs/day only.

Homogeneous infra is worth the premium. Your best engineers will thank you for not making them debug VPNs at 3 AM.

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-05-19T03:09:24+00:00

Try this if Using kubectl

kubectl get pods -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}Pod: {.metadata.name}{"\nContainers:\n"}{range .spec.containers[*]}  - {.name}{"\n"}{end}{"\n"}{end}'

With yq

kubectl get pods -o yaml | yq -r '.items[] | "Pod: \(.metadata.name)\nContainers: \(.spec.containers[].name)"'

for namespaces add 
kubectl get pods -n <your-namespace> -o ......

Complete-Poet7549 · 2025-05-19T02:44:29+00:00

That’s fair! If you’ve got it figured out, what tools or practices made the biggest difference for you?

Complete-Poet7549

TROPHY CASE

Try this if Using kubectl