---
title: Firecracker
---

In this guide we will create a Kubernetes cluster using Firecracker.

## Requirements

- Linux
- a kernel with KVM enabled (`/dev/kvm` must exist)
- at least `CAP_SYS_ADMIN` and `CAP_NET_ADMIN` capabilities
- [firecracker](https://github.com/firecracker-microvm/firecracker/releases) (v0.21.0 or higher)
- `bridge`, and `firewall` CNI plugins from the [standard CNI plugins](https://github.com/containernetworking/cni), and `tc-redirect-tap` CNI plugin from the [Firecracker Go SDK](https://github.com/firecracker-microvm/firecracker-go-sdk/tree/master/cni) installed to `/opt/cni/bin`
- iptables
- `/etc/cni/conf.d` directory should exist
- `/var/run/netns` directory should exist

## Create the Cluster

```bash
sudo talosctl cluster create --provisioner firecracker
```

Once the above finishes successfully, your talosconfig(`~/.talos/config`) will be configured to point to the new cluster.

## Retrieve and Configure the `kubeconfig`

```bash
talosctl kubeconfig .
```

## Using the Cluster

Once the cluster is available, you can make use of `talosctl` and `kubectl` to interact with the cluster.
For example, to view current running containers, run `talosctl containers` for a list of containers in the `system` namespace, or `talosctl containers -k` for the `k8s.io` namespace.
To view the logs of a container, use `talosctl logs <container>` or `talosctl logs -k <container>`.

A bridge interface will be created, and assigned the default IP 10.5.0.1.
Each node will be directly accessible on the subnet specified at cluster creation time.
A loadbalancer runs on 10.5.0.1 by default, which handles loadbalancing for the Talos, and Kubernetes APIs.

You can see a summary of the cluster state by running:

```bash
$ talosctl cluster show --provisioner firecracker
PROVISIONER       firecracker
NAME              talos-default
NETWORK NAME      talos-default
NETWORK CIDR      10.5.0.0/24
NETWORK GATEWAY   10.5.0.1
NETWORK MTU       1500

NODES:

NAME                     TYPE           IP         CPU    RAM      DISK
talos-default-master-1   Init           10.5.0.2   1.00   1.6 GB   4.3 GB
talos-default-master-2   ControlPlane   10.5.0.3   1.00   1.6 GB   4.3 GB
talos-default-master-3   ControlPlane   10.5.0.4   1.00   1.6 GB   4.3 GB
talos-default-worker-1   Join           10.5.0.5   1.00   1.6 GB   4.3 GB
```

## Cleaning Up

To cleanup, run:

```bash
sudo talosctl cluster destroy --provisioner firecracker
```

> Note: In that case that the host machine is rebooted before destroying the cluster, you may need to manually remove `~/.talos/clusters/talos-default`.