Skip to content

docs: new k8 docs + new Operator doc#420

Open
quetzalliwrites wants to merge 13 commits intomainfrom
docs-new-k8-section
Open

docs: new k8 docs + new Operator doc#420
quetzalliwrites wants to merge 13 commits intomainfrom
docs-new-k8-section

Conversation

@quetzalliwrites
Copy link
Collaborator

@quetzalliwrites quetzalliwrites commented Feb 3, 2026

@quetzalliwrites quetzalliwrites requested review from a team and mmaureenliu February 3, 2026 22:55
@quetzalliwrites quetzalliwrites self-assigned this Feb 3, 2026
@quetzalliwrites quetzalliwrites added the documentation Improvements or additions to documentation label Feb 3, 2026
@cloudflare-workers-and-pages
Copy link

cloudflare-workers-and-pages bot commented Feb 3, 2026

Deploying localstack-docs with  Cloudflare Pages  Cloudflare Pages

Latest commit: 98a7e0f
Status: ✅  Deploy successful!
Preview URL: https://f3b8b5bc.localstack-docs.pages.dev
Branch Preview URL: https://docs-new-k8-section.localstack-docs.pages.dev

View logs

@quetzalliwrites
Copy link
Collaborator Author

Screenshot 2026-02-04 at 12 08 58 AM

fyi @simonrw @mmaureenliu keep in mind the current manual markup table we added is not responsive (normal behavior for table markup): https://6852d11b.localstack-docs.pages.dev/aws/enterprise/kubernetes/kubernetes-operator/#permissions

We need to incorporate the same table component we're using in aws API Coverage tables, such as this one:
https://docs.localstack.cloud/aws/services/account/#api-coverage

cc @HarshCasper

Copy link
Contributor

@simonrw simonrw left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

In general a great restructuring of the Kubernetes section, thank you! However I have a few comments

Copy link

@mmaureenliu mmaureenliu left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

I really LOVE this new doc!

Made some comments and suggestions and pointed a few questions to @simonrw . All in all this is great work. Thanks everybody involved! Look forward to seeing the final publication. We'll make further improvements based on user feedback but this is an amazing start.


## How the LocalStack pod works

The LocalStack pod runs the LocalStack runtime and acts as the central coordinator for all emulated AWS services within the cluster.

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Not for current iteration, but we'll think about how to generalise the wording for all emulators we offer. I may create a placeholder Linear ticket for this.

Copy link
Collaborator Author

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

@mmaureenliu are you saying this in reference of the phrase "emulated AWS services"?

Currently, my understanding is that we use the following terms for our emulators:

  • LocalStack for AWS
  • LocalStack for Azure
  • LocalStack for Snowflake

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Yes. This guide lives in the AWS space so it's totally ok that it specifically refers to AWS services. However very soon we'll need this for snowflake and azure, where there are expected to be very few differences. We can discuss then what's the best approach to publish the docs.


This execution mode provides stronger isolation, better security, and full integration with Kubernetes scheduling, resource limits, and lifecycle management.

The execution mode is configured using the `CONTAINER_RUNTIME` environment variable.

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Probably more a question for @simonrw:
Better mention what's default - I assume it defaults to (or will default to from a certain version onwards) kubernetes mode?
And can refer to the when to use what mode section below.

Copy link
Contributor

@simonrw simonrw Feb 12, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Yes it defaults to docker so the user has to opt in to using the k8s executor. However only the operator sets this by default. The user has to configure the helm chart to pass it in as an envar, and of course when deploying manually this must be set.

The challenge is: the helm chart is open source so any user could deploy using it, but the executor is part of a specific tier that the user may not have subscribed to. If we set the default in the helm chart, it might send mixed confusing messages where they cannot use the executor because of a licensing mismatch. At least with the docker executor they could investigate alternative methods.

We don't really have a good story about this right now, so inputs are welcomed cc @localstack/unicorn

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Ok let's park it for now. As we state lower down that the k8s mode is the recommended and officially supported mode, hopefully people who follow this guide will set this config as recommended. We can edit the doc if we see problems.

@quetzalliwrites FYI - you can resolve this comment once you've read this.


## Help & Support

LocalStack Pro (with a valid license) is the only version that provides:

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

It reads to me like all pro image license give k8s support, but it could just be me.

Copy link
Collaborator Author

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Got it, what is the correct way to write this then? should it say "enterprise"?

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

According to https://www.localstack.cloud/pricing currently either Enterprise or additional purchase of the kubernetes pack addon would give access to these.

quetzalliwrites and others added 3 commits February 12, 2026 07:38
Co-authored-by: Simon Walker <simon.walker@localstack.cloud>
Co-authored-by: Simon Walker <simon.walker@localstack.cloud>
Updated installation instructions for LocalStack Pro and added note about customizing the chart with a values.yaml file.
quetzalliwrites and others added 3 commits February 12, 2026 12:47
Added a section on certificate issues when spawning child pods, including error details and a solution for configuring NO_PROXY.
Co-authored-by: Simon Walker <simon.walker@localstack.cloud>
Copy link
Collaborator Author

@quetzalliwrites quetzalliwrites left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Ok, ready for your review again @mmaureenliu @simonrw @nik-localstack @localstack/unicorn

Copy link

@mmaureenliu mmaureenliu left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

I'm happy for it to be merges. I've left a couple comments for information only and a couple recommendations, but nothing show stopper.

Thanks everybody for this great job!


## How the LocalStack pod works

The LocalStack pod runs the LocalStack runtime and acts as the central coordinator for all emulated AWS services within the cluster.

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Yes. This guide lives in the AWS space so it's totally ok that it specifically refers to AWS services. However very soon we'll need this for snowflake and azure, where there are expected to be very few differences. We can discuss then what's the best approach to publish the docs.


This execution mode provides stronger isolation, better security, and full integration with Kubernetes scheduling, resource limits, and lifecycle management.

The execution mode is configured using the `CONTAINER_RUNTIME` environment variable.

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Ok let's park it for now. As we state lower down that the k8s mode is the recommended and officially supported mode, hopefully people who follow this guide will set this config as recommended. We can edit the doc if we see problems.

@quetzalliwrites FYI - you can resolve this comment once you've read this.


## Help & Support

LocalStack Pro (with a valid license) is the only version that provides:

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

According to https://www.localstack.cloud/pricing currently either Enterprise or additional purchase of the kubernetes pack addon would give access to these.

| Deployment approach | Pros | Cons |
|---------------------|------|------|
| **DIY (YAML manifests)** | · Full control over Kubernetes configuration and resources | · Time-consuming to set up and maintain<br> · Manual updates and lifecycle management |
| **Operator** | · Declarative, self-managed control plane<br> · Built-in validation, defaulting, and reconciliation logic | · Steeper learning curve compared to Helm |

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

I still don't like the "steeper learning curve" part but I do understand where it comes from, @simonrw can we say sth like "newer technology so might present steeper learning curve for some"?

Copy link
Contributor

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Could we improve a bit the appearance of this diagram ?
This version was supposed to be a "draft" one.
Also I cannot see it in the preview env to understand how it would look like.

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

documentation Improvements or additions to documentation

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

4 participants