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Talos Linux

A modern OS for Kubernetes

Secure, immutable, and minimal. All system management is done via an API—no shell or interactive console. Production-ready and supported by Sidero Labs.

Get StartedLearn More
$talosctl cluster create
$talosctl bootstrap
$kubectl get nodes
NAME STATUS ROLE
talos-cp-0 Ready control-plane
talos-worker-0 Ready worker

Quick start

Get a Talos Kubernetes cluster running in minutes

1

Install talosctl

Download and install the Talos CLI tool for your platform:
macOS
brew install siderolabs/tap/talosctl
Linux
curl -sL https://talos.dev/install | sh
Windows
choco install talosctl
2

Create a local cluster

Use Docker to create a local Talos cluster for testing:
talosctl cluster create
This creates a single control plane node and a worker node running in Docker containers.
You need Docker installed and running to create a local cluster.
3

Bootstrap the cluster

Initialize etcd on the control plane node:
talosctl bootstrap --nodes 10.5.0.2
Wait for the cluster to be ready (this takes 2-3 minutes).
4

Get kubeconfig

Retrieve the kubeconfig to access your cluster with kubectl:
talosctl kubeconfig .
Verify the cluster is running:
kubectl get nodes

NAME                     STATUS   ROLES           AGE   VERSION
talos-default-cp-1       Ready    control-plane   2m    v1.35.2
talos-default-worker-1   Ready    worker          2m    v1.35.2

Why Talos?

Built from the ground up for Kubernetes

Secure by default

Minimal attack surface with no SSH, no shell, and immutable infrastructure. All API access secured with mutual TLS.

API-driven

Everything is managed via gRPC API. Declarative configuration with version control and GitOps-ready.

Cloud-native

Runs anywhere—bare metal, AWS, GCP, Azure, or your laptop. Same image, same experience everywhere.

Immutable

No package managers, no configuration drift. Atomic updates with instant rollback capability.

Minimal footprint

Boots in seconds with a tiny memory footprint. Built on musl libc with only essential components.

Production-ready

Battle-tested in production. Automated upgrades, backup/restore, and comprehensive observability.

Explore the documentation

Comprehensive guides for deployment, configuration, and operations

Architecture

Understand how Talos works under the hood, from boot to cluster orchestration.

Learn more

Platform deployment

Deploy on bare metal, AWS, GCP, Azure, or run locally with Docker.

View platforms

Configuration

Configure machine settings, networking, storage, and cluster parameters.

Read guide

CLI reference

Complete reference for all talosctl commands and options.

Explore CLI

Community & support

Join the Talos community

GitHub Discussions

Ask questions, share feedback, and connect with other Talos users.

Slack Community

Join our Slack workspace for real-time discussions and support.

Ready to get started?

Deploy your first Talos Kubernetes cluster in minutes.

Start building