| name | k8s-launch-kit-shared |
| version | 1.0.2 |
| description | k8s-launch-kit (l8k) CLI: Shared patterns for binary location, global flags, output formatting, exit codes, and error handling. Read this before using any other k8s-launch-kit skill. |
l8k — Shared Reference
Installation
make build && sudo scripts/install.sh
make build && scripts/install.sh --dev-env
Install Paths
| Path | Contents |
|---|
/usr/local/bin/l8k | CLI binary (on PATH) |
/usr/local/share/l8k/profiles/ | Go template profiles |
/usr/local/share/l8k/presets/ | Topology presets (per (machineType, gpuType) directories) |
/usr/local/share/l8k/l8k-config.yaml | Default config |
After installation, l8k is available system-wide.
Binary Discovery (for AI agents)
CRITICAL — follow these steps exactly:
- Run
which l8k in a single Bash call. If it returns a path, use it. Done.
- If
which l8k fails (exit code 1), tell the user l8k is not installed. Point them to: make build && sudo scripts/install.sh. Stop — do not proceed.
- NEVER do any of the following to find l8k:
find or ls commands- Spawn a subagent to locate the binary
- Check multiple paths or directories
- Explore the repo contents
Available Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|
l8k discover | Discover cluster hardware and produce cluster-config.yaml |
l8k generate | Generate Kubernetes YAML manifests from config + profile (use --for <preset> to skip cluster discovery for known SKUs) |
l8k deploy | Apply generated manifests and install or upgrade the Network Operator Helm release |
l8k clean | Delete Network Operator custom resources and optionally uninstall its Helm release |
l8k validate | Verify the Helm release, manifests, component versions, and connectivity |
l8k preset list | List bundled topology presets (directory + machineType + gpuType) |
l8k preset update | Download latest topology presets from GitHub |
l8k sosreport | Collect diagnostic dump from cluster |
l8k schema | List all capabilities as JSON (profiles, flags, exit codes) |
l8k version | Print version information |
The root command l8k --discover-cluster-config ... still works for backward-compatible full-pipeline usage.
Target selection
discover, generate, deploy, validate, and the root pipeline default to
the host target. Existing invocations must omit --target unless the user
explicitly requests it; --target host is an equivalent explicit form.
The dpf target name is reserved but its phases are not implemented in this
build. Do not attempt DPF provisioning. Use l8k schema and inspect
targets[].phases before selecting any non-host target. Host-only flags such as
--fabric, --kubeconfig, and the Network Operator/Spectrum-X flags are
rejected when explicitly combined with another target.
Internally, each lifecycle command snapshots the explicitly supplied Host
arguments, binds a phase-specific adapter through the target registry, and
runs the resulting operation exactly once with the command context. Do not
bypass this route when extending or automating a lifecycle phase. The
canonical component and data-flow diagrams live in
docs/architecture/overview.md; update them with any change to lifecycle,
package ownership, artifacts, or external integration boundaries.
Global Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|
--target <NAME> | Lifecycle target: host (default); dpf is currently unavailable |
--kubeconfig <PATH> | Path to kubeconfig file (optional — falls back to $KUBECONFIG env var) |
--user-config <PATH> | Path to user-supplied l8k-config.yaml |
--output <FORMAT> | Output format: text (default), json |
--yes / -y | Auto-confirm all prompts (root command only — not available on subcommands; --output json auto-confirms) |
--quiet / -q | Suppress informational output (errors still shown) |
--log-level <LEVEL> | Enable logs at trace, debug, info, warn, or error. Debug shows structured progress; trace also shows bounded command output. |
--network-operator-namespace <NS> | Override network operator namespace (default: nvidia-network-operator). No-op for l8k discover — discover always bootstraps into nvidia-k8s-launch-kit; the flag still applies to l8k generate / l8k deploy / l8k clean / l8k validate. |
--network-namespaces <NS,...> | Comma-separated namespaces for the secondary-network CRs + example test DaemonSets; one copy rendered per namespace (shared resources like IPPools/NodePolicies are NOT duplicated). Default: default |
--node-selector <LABELS> | Restrict to nodes matching labels (comma-separated, ANDed) |
--image-pull-secrets <NAMES> | Image pull secret names for Network Operator components and authenticated Helm chart downloads (comma-separated) |
l8k discover and l8k generate both accept the profile flags --fabric,
--deployment-type, --multirail, --spectrum-x, --multiplane-mode, and
--number-of-planes. Discovery persists the resolved values; later generation
reuses them unless another explicit CLI override is supplied.
Agent / JSON Mode
RULE: AI agents MUST always use --output json 2>/dev/null when calling any l8k subcommand. Never use text mode — it produces unstructured output with spinners and ANSI codes that is hard to parse.
Do NOT use --yes with subcommands — it only exists on the root command and will cause "unknown flag" errors. --output json already auto-confirms all prompts (no interactive input needed).
l8k discover --output json 2>/dev/null
l8k generate --output json 2>/dev/null
l8k discover --output json --yes 2>/dev/null
- stdout: Exactly one JSON object (
JSONResult) at completion
- stderr: Human-readable log lines
- Pipe with
jq for downstream processing: l8k discover ... --output json 2>/dev/null | jq .success
Exit Codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|
0 | Success |
1 | General/unknown error |
2 | Validation error — bad flags, missing required arguments, or invalid config |
3 | Cluster error — kubeconfig invalid, API unreachable, missing CRDs, no NVIDIA NICs |
4 | Deployment error — apply failed |
5 | Partial success — discovery ok but deploy failed |
Structured Error Output (JSON mode)
{
"success": false,
"phase": "discover",
"deployed": false,
"error": {
"code": "CLUSTER_ERROR",
"message": "cluster discovery failed",
"category": "cluster",
"transient": true,
"suggestion": "Check that kubeconfig is valid and the cluster is reachable"
},
"messages": [...]
}
Error categories: validation, cluster, deployment. The transient field
hints whether retrying might help.
Schema Discovery
l8k schema
Use l8k schema to programmatically discover available profiles, fabrics,
deployment types, flags, exit codes, and output formats.
Security Rules
- Confirm with the user before executing
--deploy on a production cluster
- Prefer
--dry-run for destructive operations
- Never expose kubeconfig contents in output
Network Operator Namespace Resolution
Applies to l8k generate / l8k deploy / l8k validate only. l8k discover
manages its own private namespace (nvidia-k8s-launch-kit) and ignores this flag.
Both nvidia-network-operator and network-operator are common default namespaces
for an existing Network Operator install. If l8k generate / l8k deploy /
l8k validate can't find Network Operator resources, retry with
--network-operator-namespace <correct-namespace>.
