install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install kwok

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#kwok

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/kw/kwok/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Windows

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%

winget install --id Kubernetes.kwok -e

Windows Package Manager source index · Kubernetes.kwok · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

overview

Package summary

Kubernetes WithOut Kubelet - Simulates thousands of Nodes and Clusters

Project links

Commands and aliases

kwok
kwokctl

history

Project history and usage

KWOK, short for Kubernetes WithOut Kubelet, is a Kubernetes SIG project for simulating nodes, pods, and cluster behavior without running kubelets on real machines. The package ships the kwok simulator and kwokctl cluster-management CLI.

Project history

KWOK was introduced publicly on the Kubernetes blog on 2023-03-01 by contributors from DaoCloud and Apple. The announcement framed it as a toolkit for creating clusters with thousands of simulated nodes in seconds, aimed at controller development, scale testing, and Kubernetes learning without large infrastructure bills.

The project lives under kubernetes-sigs, which makes it part of the Kubernetes community's SIG-governed tooling rather than a vendor-only simulator. Its release process uses Kubernetes-style release issues, staging images, GitHub releases, and registry.k8s.io promotion.

Adoption history

KWOK's adoption is strongest in test and simulation workflows. The official site emphasizes compatibility with Kubernetes API clients such as kubectl and Helm, and the docs show fake nodes and pods represented as ordinary API objects that kwok keeps in plausible states.

How it is used

Users install kwok to maintain fake node and pod status, and kwokctl to create or delete local simulated clusters. Package-manager users care about having both binaries available for fast CI jobs, controller load tests, scheduler experiments, and demos that need Kubernetes API behavior without worker-node cost.

Why package nerds care

KWOK is interesting because it packages a fake kubelet world as normal CLI tooling. It turns what used to require heavyweight test clusters or bespoke mocks into a reproducible binary install, making it a neat inhabitant of the Kubernetes testing toolbox.

Timeline

2022-09-27: The v0.0.1 release issue was opened in the kubernetes-sigs/kwok repository.
2023-03-01: The Kubernetes blog published the public KWOK introduction.
2023-08-15: The node and pod management guide was updated with examples for keeping fake nodes ready and running fake pods.

Related projects

KWOK relates to Kubernetes, kubelet, kubemark, controller testing, scheduler testing, kubectl, Helm, and registry.k8s.io image promotion workflows.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: orange

infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.

Risk classifier

orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure

Why

infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal

Signals

text:kubernetes,cluster

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`kwok`	cli	global executable
`kwokctl`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version0.8.0

manager updated2026-06-23

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv0.8.0

https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kwok

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:kwok
Version	0.8.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/kwok
Homepage	https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io
Repository	https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kwok
Upstream docs	https://kwok.sigs.k8s.io/docs
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kwok/archive/refs/tags/v0.8.0.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-23T10:35:17Z
Pulse	updated
Build dependencies	go
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	kwok
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

kwok

nix profile install nixpkgs#kwok

normalized package name match
Matched by: Kwok

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/kw/kwok/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

winget95%

Kubernetes.kwok

winget install --id Kubernetes.kwok -e

normalized package name match
Matched by: Kwok

Windows Package Manager source index · cdn.winget.microsoft.com · Windows Package Manager source index: Kubernetes.kwok from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

winget92%

Kubernetes.kwokctl

winget install --id Kubernetes.kwokctl -e

installed executable or alias match
Matched by: Kwokctl

Windows Package Manager source index · cdn.winget.microsoft.com · Windows Package Manager source index: Kubernetes.kwokctl from https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache/source.msix

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/kwok.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install kwok with Homebrew, Nix, winget