Day 1: Setting Up My First Kubernetes Cluster with Rancher Desktop

Today marks the beginning of my Kubernetes journey, and I kicked things off by setting up my first cluster using Rancher Desktop by SUSE. Coming from a security engineering background, my focus has always been on securing infrastructure, but now I’m diving deep into the world of Kubernetes—learning how to build, manage, and secure containerized workloads.

What is Rancher Desktop? 🤔

For those unfamiliar, Rancher Desktop is a lightweight Kubernetes environment that runs entirely on your local machine. It’s an open-source tool that simplifies Kubernetes setup, giving you a K3s-based cluster out of the box. It also integrates container management (with nerdctl or Docker CLI support), making it a solid choice for local development and testing.

Why Rancher Desktop?

• Simple Setup – No need to spin up cloud instances or deal with complex configurations.

• Built-in Kubernetes – Comes pre-packaged with K3s, a lightweight Kubernetes distribution.

• Container Runtime Support – Works with both containerd (nerdctl) and Docker.

So, after a quick install and some minor tweaks, I had my first Kubernetes cluster running—a small but satisfying milestone.

Learning VIM—Because Kubernetes Says So 😅

Now, here’s where I had a humbling moment—Kubernetes forces you to get good at VIM. I’ve always been a Nano person, but when you’re deep in Kubernetes configurations, VIM is the way (unless you enjoy suffering).

Why?

• Editing YAML files quickly in Kubernetes often involves commands like kubectl edit, which defaults to VIM.

• Efficiency: Once you get the hang of it, VIM is faster for navigating and modifying configurations.

• It’s everywhere: SSH into any Linux-based container or node? VIM is there.

So, I took the plunge and started learning basic VIM commands (yes, I even Googled how to exit VIM—we’ve all been there).

Tweaking .bashrc & .vimrc for a Smoother Experience

Since I’m optimizing my workflow, I made a few key modifications:

1. Enabled Auto-Completion for Kubectl
   I added this to my .bashrc file to enable kubectl command autocompletion:

    source <(kubectl completion bash)
    alias k=kubectl
    complete -F __start_kubectl k
   

   Now, instead of typing kubectl get pods, I can just type k get pods—saving time and making my life easier.

2. Configured .vimrc for YAML Editing
   If you’ve ever worked with YAML, you know that white spaces and indentation will break your soul. I learned that the hard way from my Docker Compose days, so I made sure my vimrc had:

    set tabstop=2
    set shiftwidth=2
    set expandtab
   

   This ensures:

   • Two-space indentation (the gold standard for YAML).

   • No tab characters (because they break YAML parsing).

   • Consistent formatting for easier troubleshooting.

Final Thoughts

Today was all about setting the foundation—getting Rancher Desktop up and running, embracing VIM, and optimizing my terminal for a smoother workflow.

🔜 Next steps: Deploying my first app in Kubernetes and understanding pods, deployments, and services. Stay tuned for Day 2!

Are you also switching from Nano to VIM for Kubernetes? Let me know your experience!