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Alfred Göppel

4 posts by Alfred Göppel

Clustertool v2

Alfred Göppel
Alfred Göppel
Community Development Lead
 Kjeld Schouten
Kjeld Schouten
Ops and R&D Lead

Just one year ago, we were fully dedicated to building TrueNAS SCALE Apps and where forced to move forward to greener pastures. Now, only a year later we’ve moved to being fully compatible with nearly every kubernetes platform out there, while still offering a staggering amount of Helm Charts.

After long consideration, we’ve decided to stop providing forks/mirrors of complicated charts such as Traefik, Prometheus and so forth. With SCALE gone, we simply don’t need to anymore and users are free to directly consume the upstream charts instead!

This has also allowed us to complete reevaluate which software we’re using to back the ClusterTool defaults. And hence, ClusterTool V2 is born!

New Clustertool v2 Launches with NGINX Backend and Major Upgrades

The highly anticipated Clustertool v2 is officially released, bringing a host of improvements and a fundamental architectural shift:

  • a full move to an NGINX backend.
  • Designed for improved performance, cleaner configuration, and upstream alignment,

Clustertool v2 is a significant step forward for Kubernetes-based cluster management.

What’s New in Clustertool v2?

The latest version comes with a comprehensive set of changes aimed at making the system more maintainable and future-ready. Key updates include:

  • ✅ Migration to NGINX as the default ingress controller
  • 📦 Inclusion of kube-prometheus-stack for metrics
  • 📦 Upstream integration of many system charts
  • 🧹 Indentation and formatting cleanups across configuration files
  • 📥 Adoption of OCI Mirrors for chart management, boosting speed and reliability

Changes for Existing Clusters

Clusters upgrading to v2 will need to account for several changes:

  • 📦 Repository Adjustments:

    • Updated Repositories list:

      kustomization.yaml
      apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
      kind: Kustomization
      metadata:
        name: helm-repos
        namespace: flux-system
      resources:
        - bjw-s.yaml
        - cloudnative-pg.yaml
        - home-ops-mirror.yaml
        - jetstack.yaml
        - kustomization.yaml
        - prometheus-community.yaml
        - spegel.yaml
        - truecharts.yaml

    • Added home-operations OCI mirror:

      home-ops-mirror.yaml
      ---
      # yaml-language-server: $schema=https://kubernetes-schemas.pages.dev/source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/helmrepository_v1.json
      apiVersion: source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1
      kind: HelmRepository
      metadata:
        name: home-ops-mirror
        namespace: flux-system
      spec:
        type: oci
        interval: 2h
        url: oci://ghcr.io/home-operations/charts-mirror

    • Please compare your Repositories with this template.

    • Charts such as Cilium, Metrics Server, Node-Feature-Discovery, Longhorn, Metallb, and OpenEBS are now pulled via an OCI mirror

  • 🔥 Traefik Removal:
    • Both Traefik and traefik-crds are no longer included and need to be removed
    • Ingress configurations now require annotation updates to work with NGINX
    • ingressClassName is recommended to be set for all ingresses. Additionally, you will need to disable the traefik integration.
  • 🔄 IngressClass Management:
    • New support for using either internal or external ingress classes
    • Clusterenv now includes:
      • NGINX_INTERNAL_IP has been added
      • NGINX_EXTERNAL_IP has been added
      • TRAEFIK_IP has been removed
  • 🧪 Upstream Chart Migrations:
    • Charts such as CloudNativePG, Cert-Manager, and Kube-Prometheus-Stack are now managed upstream
    • 🧭 Check the Quick Start Guide for integration examples

Clustertool as a CI Platform for Chart Testing

With v2, Clustertool is now also being adopted internally as a replacement for the legacy ChartTool, which was previously used to test and release charts but its code was never released publicly.

Special Thanks

Thank to the home-operations team for providing and maintaining their OCI mirror 🎉

This ensures every one of us, can fully use the power of OCI-backed Helm-charts in our clusters!

Important Notice for SCALE Users

Starting with v2, Clustertool will no longer include any tooling or support for SCALE exports, conversions, or migrations. Users relying on those features should retain v1 or migrate to separate tools.

Ready to update?

Clustertool v2 continues the project’s goal of modular, maintainable cluster management and leans into modern best practices for Kubernetes ecosystem integration. This release sets the foundation for a more streamlined and scalable future.

Ready to upgrade? Check out the full changelog and migration resources to get started.

Recent Changes

Alfred Göppel
Alfred Göppel
Community Development Lead
 Kjeld Schouten
Kjeld Schouten
Ops and R&D Lead

The TrueCharts team has made several major updates to the Helm Project, focusing on improving stability, removing deprecated content, and providing a wealth of new resources for users. Here’s a rundown of the latest changes:

Deprecation & Removal of Mirrored Upstream Charts

As part of an effort to streamline and refine the project, TrueCharts has officially deprecated and removed most mirrored upstream charts. Users are encouraged to read the newly updated Quick-Start Guide for assistance with these changes, ensuring a smooth transition.

Expansion to Stable Charts

In a significant update, TrueCharts has moved 15 charts from the incubator to the stable train, ensuring they are now fully ready-to-use. Additionally, the community has added 5 completely new charts to the stable train, expanding the selection of reliable and robust options available to users.

Documentation Overhaul

TrueCharts has also made significant updates to its documentation. Around 80 guides have been updated to remove references to TrueNAS Scale, thanks to the contributions from the community members Boemeltrein, itconstruct, and gismo2004. This update ensures that the documentation aligns with current best practices and provides users with clear and concise information.

New Guides and Resources

A variety of new guides have been added to the TrueCharts documentation, making it easier for users to get started and troubleshoot issues:

  • Quick-Start Guide: A comprehensive new guide that helps newcomers set up their projects with TrueCharts smoothly.
  • Development Guides: Updates to the guides help developers navigate the TrueCharts environment and contribute more effectively.
  • Clustertool Guide: An updated guide that provides detailed instructions on using Clustertool for managing your clusters.
  • General Guides: Multiple new general-purpose guides have been added, covering essential topics such as:
    • Add-ons: A guide detailing how to use and manage add-ons inside the truecharts charts.
    • FluxCD Webhook: A dedicated guide to setting up and configuring FluxCD webhooks.
    • Troubleshooting: A troubleshooting guide designed to help users resolve common issues.
    • NVIDIA and Intel GPUs: Guides for utilizing NVIDIA and Intel GPUs within the Talos Kubernetes enviroment.

Common 2025 refactors ongoing

Meanwhile we’re hard at work finishing up the major reworks that will be the new breaking common-chart revision, new known as “Common 2025” and ensuring this future update will go smoothly for all our users and charts

Currently, users can expect a complete rework of our Ingress, Traefik and Addon systems. Offering complete compatibility with different ingress providers and a more flexible backend for addons. Allowing both end-user customization and future expansion of both Ingress and Addon systems.

Community Contributions Welcome

As always, the continued growth and success of TrueCharts rely heavily on the support and contributions of the community. The project thrives thanks to the efforts of developers, documenters, and users who collaborate to improve and expand the ecosystem. Whether it’s contributing new Helm charts, enhancing documentation, or providing feedback, your involvement helps shape the future of TrueCharts.

If you’re passionate about Kubernetes and Helm, we encourage you to get involved! Your contributions, no matter how big or small, make a meaningful impact and help ensure that TrueCharts remains a reliable and valuable resource for everyone.

For more information, visit the TrueCharts Quick-Start Guide and explore the new guides and resources today!

Clustertool v1.0.0 Released

Alfred Göppel
Alfred Göppel
Community Development Lead

Clustertool has reached a major milestone with the release of version 1.0.0, moving out of its release candidate (RC) phase. The tool is designed to simplify the process of bootstrapping Talos clusters, offering users a quick and easy way to get started.

It comes pre-configured with essential Kubernetes components, including Cillium, MetalLB, and Longhorn, ensuring clusters are equipped with key functionalities right out of the box. Additionally, all charts required in our Quick Start guide come preinstalled.

Clustertool also includes a fully configured VS Code devcontainer that automatically installs all the necessary tools for managing and maintaining your Talos clusters. This addition is a significant time-saver for people setting up their environments.

Check out the Release Page on github for changelogs and download: Github

The documentation for all the features Clustertool provides can be found here

Clustertool Release Candidate

Alfred Göppel
Alfred Göppel
Community Development Lead
 Kjeld Schouten
Kjeld Schouten
Ops and R&D Lead

ClusterTool Release Candidate Update

We are pleased to announce that ClusterTool has officially entered Release Candidate status. After extensive development and testing, the general configuration format is now considered stable, ensuring greater reliability and consistency moving forward.

In addition, we are excited to confirm that migration from TrueNAS Scale to your own Kubernetes cluster is now fully supported. This capability enables streamlined transitions, empowering users to harness the full potential of Kubernetes while maintaining their existing data and configurations.

At the bottom of this page (Talos Cluster Guide), you’ll find a helpful guide detailing how to create your talos cluster and migrate your SCALE Apps.

We appreciate your continued support as we move toward the final release and look forward to hearing your feedback during this phase.

Here you can Download the RC-Release: Download Link.

ClusterTool is Now Source-Available

We’re excited to announce that ClusterTool is now source-available! This means that the source code is open for review, collaboration, and contributions from the community. We believe this move will enhance transparency and drive innovation as we continue to improve the platform.

New Guides for CSI Installation and Longhorn Integration

We’re excited to announce that we now offer a selection of guides on how to install a Container Storage Interface (CSI) on Kubernetes. Additionally, Longhorn will be shipped by default with ClusterTool, simplifying your storage management and enhancing your Kubernetes experience. Check out the guides to get started!

Changes in Documentation Leadership

We’d like to announce that @bitpushr is stepping down from the role of Documentation Maintainer. We greatly appreciate his contributions and dedication to maintaining high-quality documentation during his tenure.

Moving forward, @alfi0812 will be taking over as the new Doc Maintainer. We’re excited to have him on board and look forward to the fresh insights and improvements he’ll bring to the role.

Future Prospect for Clustertool and our Helm Charts

At the release of Clustertool, we also hope to add code signing to the build process and a (signed) containerized version as well. So everyone can ensure themselves of it running trusted code!

We’re also working hard at adding all sorts of charts to support (Real-)debrid based streaming and downloading. such as: Comet, Riven, Zurg and much more

Guide to Creating a Talos Cluster with ClusterTool and Migrating Your SCALE Apps

Creating your Talos Cluster

Follow the linked Guides to find more details on how to create your own Talos Cluster using Clustertool.

Afterwards you are ready to migrate your SCALE Apps.

SCALE Apps Migration

To migrate all of your existing SCALE Apps to your Talos Cluster, be sure to read our TrueNAS SCALE Migration Guide. (2025 note: Migration is no longer possible or supported)

In short, you will need the following commands from ClusterTool:

To export all your SCALE Apps into a ClusterTool compatible format.

To turn the exported Apps into ClusterTool and Fluxcd compatible Helm-Release Files:

And last, but certianly not least, to install the converted Helm-Release Files onto your cluster:

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