Agent skill

multi-cloud-kubernetes-operator

Production-grade Kubernetes cluster provisioning and management on budget-friendly cloud providers (DigitalOcean DOKS, Hetzner K3s, Oracle OKE). Optimized for hackathon projects and learning environments where cost control is critical. Use when working with: (1) Deploying Kubernetes clusters on free/cheap cloud providers, (2) Budget-conscious hackathon deployments, (3) Multi-cloud Kubernetes portability, (4) Learning Kubernetes without expensive bills, (5) Rapid cluster spin-up and teardown, (6) Cost comparison between providers. Trigger keywords: "cheap kubernetes", "free kubernetes", "budget cloud", "hackathon deployment", "digitalocean kubernetes", "doks", "hetzner k3s", "oracle oke", "doctl", "oci cli", "tear down cluster", "kubernetes cost".

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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/other/other/multi-cloud-kubernetes-operator

SKILL.md

Multi-Cloud Kubernetes Operator

Guide for provisioning and managing Kubernetes clusters on budget-friendly cloud providers, optimized for hackathon projects and learning environments.

Supported Providers

Provider Min Cost/Month Free Tier Setup Time Complexity Best For
OCI OKE $0 Yes (Always Free) 30-60 min High Zero-cost learning
Hetzner K3s €4-8 ($4.50-9) No 5-10 min Medium Best price/performance
DigitalOcean DOKS $12+ $200 credit 3-5 min Low Fastest setup

Quick Provider Selection

Decision flowchart:

Need truly free?
├─ Yes → Oracle OKE (but allow 1-2 hours for setup)
└─ No, can pay → ┐
                  ├─ Need fastest setup? → DigitalOcean DOKS
                  └─ Need cheapest paid? → Hetzner K3s

Hackathon recommendations:

  • 24-48 hour hackathon: DigitalOcean (speed > cost)
  • Week-long hackathon: Hetzner (best value)
  • Multi-week project: Oracle OKE (free but complex)
  • Team learning: DigitalOcean (consistent experience)

Provider-Specific Guides

Each provider has detailed documentation in the references/ directory:

  • DigitalOcean DOKS - Easiest setup, $200 free credit
  • Hetzner K3s - Best price/performance, €4-8/month
  • Oracle OKE - Truly free tier, complex networking

Universal Kubernetes Operations

These commands work identically across all providers once kubectl is configured:

Context Management

bash
# List available contexts
kubectl config get-contexts

# Switch context
kubectl config use-context <context-name>

# View current context
kubectl config current-context

Basic Operations

bash
# View cluster info
kubectl cluster-info
kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods --all-namespaces

# Deploy application
kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx:latest
kubectl expose deployment nginx --port=80 --type=LoadBalancer

# Scale deployment
kubectl scale deployment nginx --replicas=3

# View logs
kubectl logs <pod-name>
kubectl logs -f <pod-name>  # Follow logs

# Delete resources
kubectl delete deployment nginx
kubectl delete service nginx

Helm Package Management

Commands verified via Context7 (/websites/helm_sh):

bash
# Add repository
helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami

# Update repositories
helm repo update

# Search charts
helm search repo bitnami

# Install chart
helm install my-release bitnami/mysql

# List releases
helm list

# Uninstall release
helm uninstall my-release

Cost Management Best Practices

Pre-Deployment Checklist

  • Estimated cluster runtime (hours/days)
  • Calendar reminder set for deletion
  • Team knows teardown procedure
  • Backup/export strategy for data

During Hackathon

bash
# Monitor cluster resources
kubectl top nodes
kubectl top pods --all-namespaces

# Avoid expensive resources:
# - LoadBalancer services (use NodePort for dev)
# - Large persistent volumes
# - High replica counts

Post-Hackathon Cleanup

Critical: Delete clusters immediately after hackathon ends.

bash
# DigitalOcean
doctl kubernetes cluster delete <cluster-name> --force

# Hetzner (requires config file, protect_against_deletion: false)
hetzner-k3s delete --config cluster_config.yaml

# Oracle OKE
oci ce node-pool delete --node-pool-id <id> --force
oci ce cluster delete --cluster-id <id> --force

Common Failures & Solutions

Authentication Issues

DigitalOcean:

bash
# Symptom: "invalid token"
# Solution:
doctl auth init  # Re-enter token
# Or regenerate at: https://cloud.digitalocean.com/account/api/tokens

Hetzner:

bash
# Symptom: "API token invalid"
# Solution:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $HETZNER_TOKEN" \
  'https://api.hetzner.cloud/v1/server_types'
# If fails, regenerate token in Hetzner Console

Oracle OCI:

bash
# Symptom: "NotAuthenticated"
# Solution:
oci setup config  # Reconfigure
oci iam region list  # Verify

Connection Issues

kubectl can't connect:

bash
# Refresh kubeconfig
# DigitalOcean:
doctl kubernetes cluster kubeconfig save <cluster-name>

# Hetzner:
export KUBECONFIG=$(pwd)/kubeconfig

# Oracle:
oci ce cluster create-kubeconfig --cluster-id <id> --file ~/.kube/config

# Verify context
kubectl config current-context
kubectl get nodes -v=6  # Verbose debugging

Provisioning Stuck

Cluster stuck "provisioning":

  1. Wait 10-15 minutes (normal for OKE, DOKS)
  2. Check provider console/dashboard
  3. If stuck >15 minutes, delete and recreate
  4. For OCI: Check Always Free quota limits

Nodes not joining:

bash
# Check node status
kubectl get nodes
kubectl describe node <node-name>

# Provider-specific debugging:
# - DigitalOcean: Check droplet status in console
# - Hetzner: SSH into node, check `systemctl status k3s`
# - Oracle: Check compute instance status, security lists

Resource Limits

Quota exceeded:

  • DigitalOcean: Contact support or upgrade account
  • Hetzner: No limits on standard instances
  • Oracle: Always Free has strict limits, try different region

Multi-Cloud Portability Patterns

Application Deployment (provider-agnostic)

yaml
# deployment.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: webapp
spec:
  replicas: 2
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: webapp
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: webapp
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: webapp
        image: nginx:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 80
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: webapp
spec:
  selector:
    app: webapp
  ports:
  - port: 80
    targetPort: 80
  type: LoadBalancer  # Works on all providers

Deploy:

bash
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
# Same command works on DOKS, K3s, OKE

Storage Considerations

Each provider has different storage classes:

bash
# List available storage classes
kubectl get storageclass

# DigitalOcean: digitalocean-block-storage
# Hetzner: hcloud-volumes
# Oracle: oci, oci-bv

# Use default for portability:
kubectl get storageclass | grep default

Load Balancer Costs

Cost implications:

  • DigitalOcean: $12/month per LoadBalancer
  • Hetzner: €5.39/month per LoadBalancer
  • Oracle: 1 free 10Mbps LB, then paid

Cost-saving alternative (dev/test):

bash
# Use NodePort instead of LoadBalancer
kubectl expose deployment webapp --port=80 --type=NodePort

# Access via node IP:port
kubectl get nodes -o wide
kubectl get svc webapp  # Check NodePort (e.g., 30080)
# Access: http://<node-ip>:<node-port>

Provider-Specific Notes

DigitalOcean DOKS

✅ Pros: Managed control plane, automatic upgrades, easy setup ⚠️ Cons: Higher cost, minimum $12/month 📖 Full guide: references/digitalocean-doks.md

Hetzner K3s

✅ Pros: Lowest cost, fast provisioning, K3s simplicity ⚠️ Cons: DIY management, requires config file, European regions only 📖 Full guide: references/hetzner-k3s.md

Oracle OKE

✅ Pros: Truly free tier, managed Kubernetes ⚠️ Cons: High setup complexity, networking prerequisites, capacity issues 📖 Full guide: references/oracle-oke.md

Documentation Grounding

All CLI commands in this skill are verified via Context7 MCP server documentation:

  • doctl: /digitalocean/doctl (Context7)
  • hetzner-k3s: /vitobotta/hetzner-k3s (Context7)
  • oci-cli: /oracle/oci-cli (Context7)
  • helm: /websites/helm_sh (Context7)
  • kubectl: K3s documentation (Context7)

Commands marked "⚠️ UNVERIFIED" require checking official documentation:

Safety Warnings

⚠️ ALWAYS:

  • Set calendar reminders to delete clusters
  • Verify deletion in provider console
  • Check for orphaned resources (load balancers, volumes)
  • Monitor costs daily during multi-day hackathons

⚠️ NEVER:

  • Hardcode credentials in config files
  • Commit API tokens to version control
  • Leave clusters running after hackathon
  • Use production credentials for testing

Quick Reference Commands

Provider CLI verification:

bash
# Check installed CLIs
doctl version
hetzner-k3s version
oci --version
kubectl version --client
helm version

# Check authentication
doctl account get
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $HETZNER_TOKEN" https://api.hetzner.cloud/v1/server_types
oci iam region list

Universal cleanup:

bash
# List all clusters
doctl kubernetes cluster list
# (Hetzner: check Hetzner Console)
oci ce cluster list --compartment-id <id>

# Delete pattern
<provider-delete-command> <cluster-name> --force

Additional Resources

Official Documentation:

Cost Calculators:

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