Downpatch k3s Deployment

This repository contains the Kubernetes (k3s) configuration for running downpatch.com.

The goal of this repo is:

• Keep infrastructure public and reproducible
• Keep everything simple
• Make deployment easy to manage
• Stay aligned with the open source nature of the app

Why k3s?

I chose k3s because:

• It is lightweight
• It is simple to install on a single VPS
• It gives proper Kubernetes features without full complexity
• It makes long-term management easier

Instead of manually running Docker containers and restarting them, k3s allows:

• Controlled deployments
• Rolling updates
• Health checks
• Automatic restarts
• TLS management with cert-manager
• Clean separation between app and infrastructure

It keeps things organised and reproducible.

What This Repo Does

This repo contains:

• Deployment configuration for downpatch/downpatch-web
• Service definition
• Ingress configuration
• TLS via Let's Encrypt (cert-manager)
• Redirect from www.downpatch.com to downpatch.com

Everything here can be recreated on a fresh server.

How It Works

1. Docker image is built and pushed to Docker Hub.
2. k3s runs the Deployment using that image.
3. Ingress exposes the app on port 80/443.
4. cert-manager automatically requests TLS certificates.

Deployment

The main deployment:

• Runs downpatch/downpatch-web
• Pulls image from Docker Hub
• Uses imagePullPolicy: Always
• Has readiness + liveness probes
• Sets required environment variables

Updating the pod is simple: kubectl -n downpatch rollout restart deployment/downpatch-web

TLS

TLS is handled by:

• cert-manager
• HTTP-01 challenge
• ClusterIssuer letsencrypt-http01

Why Public Infrastructure?

The application is open source. The infrastructure should also be transparent and reproducible.

Anyone can:

• Inspect how it is deployed
• Recreate the setup
• Suggest improvements