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Cluster Lifecycle

These commands manage the local Kubernetes cluster itself — the k3d-backed control plane that LaraKube CLI projects deploy into. Project-level commands (up, down, stop, start) live inside this cluster; these commands run one level up on the cluster itself.

You usually don't think about these

For day-to-day work, larakube up will set up the cluster on first run and reuse it after. These commands are for cluster lifecycle moments: initial provisioning, low-memory cleanup, multi-machine bootstrapping, or a clean restart.

cluster:setup​

The "Cluster Installer." Installs and configures a local Kubernetes cluster using k3d (Docker-backed K3s).

  • What it installs: k3d cluster, Traefik ingress controller, the LaraKube Local CA for wildcard SSL.
  • Idempotent: Safe to re-run; existing clusters are left alone.
  • First-time setup: Automatically invoked by larakube up if no cluster is detected.

cluster:start​

The "Cluster Resume." Resumes the local LaraKube CLI cluster after cluster:stop. Brings k3d containers back online without losing data.

cluster:stop​

The "Cluster Pause." Pauses the local LaraKube CLI cluster — stops the k3d containers without deleting them. Data (PVCs, configs, images) remains intact.

  • Use when: You want to free up memory or CPU on your laptop without losing work.
  • Resume with: larakube cluster:start.

cluster:destroy​

The "Cluster Wipe." Completely removes the local Kubernetes cluster, including all data, projects, and images.

  • Destructive: Everything in the cluster — every project's PVCs, secrets, configmaps — is permanently deleted.
  • Confirmation: Requires explicit confirmation.
  • Recovery: Run cluster:setup (or just up) afterward to start fresh.