Ansible bootstrap paths
The repository has two separate Ansible paths:
bootstrap-k3s.ymlconfigures a production-style Flatcar K3s server.bootstrap-flatcar-k3d.ymlconfigures the dedicated Flatcar k3d test host, bootstraps ArgoCD, and optionally installs Cilium.
The Flatcar k3d path is idempotent and keeps the standard profile as the
default. Cilium is enabled only when the inventory explicitly sets
cilium_enabled: true and selects a kube-proxy-free cluster configuration.
Flatcar does not include Python in the immutable host OS. The role therefore
uses Ansible raw tasks for host operations and ansible.posix.synchronize
for repository and kubeconfig transfer. Install the collection before use:
ansible-galaxy collection install -r ansible/requirements.yml
Flatcar k3d bootstrap
Copy the example inventory and replace the host, SSH key, and optional API endpoint values:
cp ansible/inventory.flatcar-k3d.example.yml ansible/inventory.flatcar-k3d.yml
ansible-playbook \
-i ansible/inventory.flatcar-k3d.yml \
ansible/bootstrap-flatcar-k3d.yml
The playbook installs pinned k3d, kubectl, and Helm binaries, starts Docker,
creates the k3d cluster, writes the core user's kubeconfig, fetches a copy into
the local artifacts/ directory, merges that config into the operator's
default ~/.kube/config, selects the new context as current, installs ArgoCD
from a pinned official manifest, and applies the GitOps root Application from
deployments/argocd/. The merge preserves existing contexts and the playbook
verifies the selected context before continuing.
Set kubeconfig_import_enabled: false when the fetched artifact should not
change the operator's default kubeconfig.
By default the playbook copies the current repository from the Ansible
controller to the host. For a private repository, set
bootstrap_repo_url, bootstrap_repo_ref, and provide
bootstrap_repo_ssh_private_key through Ansible Vault. The private key task is
marked no_log and is removed after the checkout.
When k3d exports its kubeconfig, it may use 0.0.0.0 as the API server host.
Ansible rewrites that host to kubeconfig_server_host, which defaults to the
Flatcar host address, while preserving the dynamically assigned API port. The
rewritten endpoint is verified before the config is merged into the default
kubeconfig.
For the optional Cilium path, set these variables in the inventory:
cilium_enabled: true
cilium_profile: k3d
k3d_config_source: "{{ playbook_dir }}/../local-quickstart/k3d-cilium-cluster-config.yaml"
cilium_k8s_service_host: 192.168.60.252
cilium_k8s_service_port: 0
The Cilium role selects the shared values from
deployments/cilium/values/common.yaml and the profile from
deployments/cilium/values/profiles/{{ cilium_profile }}.yaml. Supported
profiles are k3d and flatcar-k3s. It refuses to proceed if a kube-proxy
DaemonSet is present, derives the dynamically published k3d API port from the
new cluster's kubeconfig, passes the API endpoint explicitly to Helm, and waits
for the Cilium DaemonSet.
Use cilium_profile: flatcar-k3s for a dedicated VM deployment. Review the
profile's routing assumptions and provide a stable control-plane API address.
The dedicated VM profile defaults to Geneve tunneling. Native routing should
only be selected when the VM network routes the pod CIDR between nodes.
The playbook does not create Slack or Discord credentials by default. The
opt-in falco_alerting role enables Slack forwarding only when supplied with a
Vault-protected webhook value.
Store these variables in an Ansible Vault file:
falco_alerting_enabled: true
falco_slack_webhook_url: https://hooks.slack.com/services/REPLACE/ME
Then run the bootstrap with --ask-vault-pass -e @ansible/vars/falco-alerting.vault.yml. The role creates the
falco-alerting Secret without logging its value, applies the optional
Falcosidekick ArgoCD Application, and lets ArgoCD reconcile the deployment. If
the toggle is false, the role removes the optional Application and related
resources.
If CoreDNS cannot resolve external names from a nested Docker network, set
k3d_dns_servers to DNS servers reachable from the Flatcar host. Ansible
creates the supported K3s coredns-custom ConfigMap and restarts CoreDNS so
ArgoCD can resolve the Git server and Falcosidekick can resolve its webhook.
Validate the playbook before connecting to a host:
ANSIBLE_LOCAL_TEMP=/tmp/k8s-baseline-ansible-tmp \
ansible-playbook --syntax-check \
-i ansible/inventory.flatcar-k3d.example.yml \
ansible/bootstrap-flatcar-k3d.yml
Production-style K3s bootstrap
The existing production-style path applies a host baseline and installs a pinned K3s server. It is intentionally separate from the local k3d path so the portfolio can run without cloud credentials.
cp inventory.example.yml inventory.yml
# Replace the Terraform public IP and local SSH key path.
ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml bootstrap-k3s.yml
Before production use, review the pinned K3s version and extend the playbook for your organization’s OS baseline, firewall model, HA topology, and secret management. RKE2 can replace K3s here if the target environment requires it.