TestKube 🚀 Getting Started with TestKube - Kubernetes-Native Testing Framework

Recently, I explored TestKube for a project involving service mesh provisioning verification in Kubernetes clusters. As I’ll be using TestKube extensively, I’m creating this guide for both myself and my blog readers.

Below is a structured overview of the TestKube hands-on lab, divided into four sessions:

Installing Testkube and Running Tests
Setting Up Alerts with Webhooks
Creating Various Tests
Integrating CI/CD with ArgoCD, GitHub, and GitLab

For this project, we are utilizing these github repositories:

DEMO TESTKUBE

🤔 What is TestKube?

TestKube is a free, open-source tool designed to simplify and automate the testing of Kubernetes-native applications. It provides a unified platform for managing and running tests, ensuring that applications perform reliably within Kubernetes clusters.

🛠️ Setup

Before installing TestKube, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

Helm
kubectl
A Kubernetes cluster (using tools like Minikube, Kind, or K3s)

1. Create a Testkube Account

Visit Testkube to create an account and set up your environment.

2. Create a cluster

minikube start --cpus=3 --memory=5200mb --driver=hyperkit

3. Install testkube CLI

Next, we should install the TestKube CLI, which can be easily done using Homebrew.

brew install testkube
testkube

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                                           /tɛst kjub/ by Kubeshop


Usage:
  testkube [flags]
  testkube [command]

...

4. Install Testkube in Your Cluster

Deploy Testkube using the Helm chart.

export NAMESPACE=testkube
export TK_ORG_ID="tkcorg_xxx"
export TK_ENV_ID="tkcenv_xxx"
export TK_KEY="tkcagnt_xxx"

kubectl create namespace ${NAMESPACE}
helm repo add kubeshop https://kubeshop.github.io/helm-charts
helm repo update

# deactivate minio, mongodb, dashboard
helm install testkube kubeshop/testkube \
  --set testkube-api.cloud.key=${TK_KEY} \
  --set testkube-api.cloud.orgId=${TK_ORG_ID} \
  --set testkube-api.cloud.envId=${TK_ENV_ID} \
  --set testkube-api.minio.enabled=false \
  --set mongodb.enabled=false \
  --set testkube-dashboard.enabled=false \
  --set testkube-api.cloud.url=agent.testkube.io:443 \
  --namespace ${NAMESPACE}

Components:

MinIO: Object storage solution with an S3-compatible API.
MongoDB: Stores TestKube test results and configuration.
Dashboard: Web-based UI for monitoring TestKube results.

Testkube API (testkube-api-server) and Agent API (operator-controller-manager) are successfully deployed:

kubectl get deployment -n ${NAMESPACE}

NAME                                   READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   AGE
testkube-api-server                    1/1     1            1           39m
testkube-operator-controller-manager   1/1     1            1           39m

🚨 Open Dashboard

Gateway graph

The URL to access the Testkube Pro Dashboard is: https://app.testkube.io/organization/YOUR-ORGANIZATION/environment/YOUR-ENVIRONMENT/dashboard/home

🚀 Deploy Test Target

Deploy a basic Nginx application in your Kubernetes cluster and verify its functionality.

1. Deploy the Nginx Application

NAMESPACE=default
kubectl apply -f app/depl.yaml

2. Verify the Deployment

Create a temporary pod to test the Nginx application:

kubectl run mycurlpod --image=curlimages/curl -i --tty -- sh

Within the mycurlpod shell, execute:

curl http://nginx.default.svc.cluster.local:8888

3. Clean Up

Exit the mycurlpod shell and delete the pod:

exit
kubectl delete pod mycurlpod

⚡️ Run Simple Tests

# create a test
export MY_CURL_TEST=curl-app-test
export MY_BASH_TEST=bash-app-test
export MY_K6_TEST=k6-app-test

testkube create testworkflow -f tests/curl-test.yaml # = k apply -f tests/curl-test.yaml 
testkube create testworkflow -f tests/bash-test.yaml # = k apply -f tests/bash-test.yaml 
testkube create testworkflow -f tests/k6-test.yaml # = k apply -f tests/bash-test.yaml 

# check test
testkube get testworkflow # = k get testworkflow.testworkflows.testkube.io -n testkube

# check details
testkube get testworkflow $MY_CURL_TEST

# run test
testkube run testworkflow $MY_CURL_TEST
testkube run testworkflow $MY_BASH_TEST
testkube run testworkflow $MY_K6_TEST


# see the test result
execID=66ace5f50f0acae353039a6e
kubectl testkube get twe $execID

# delete test
testkube delete testworkflow $MY_CURL_TEST
testkube delete testworkflow $MY_BASH_TEST
testkube delete testworkflow $MY_K6_TEST

🧹 Clean up

helm 
minikube delete --purge

ℹ️ Summary

TestKube is an efficient tool for integrating with various CI/CD pipelines. By using Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs), TestKube offers a cloud-native method for managing and running tests. This article highlighted TestKube’s core features and demonstrated a basic test setup. With its support for complex testing scenarios and custom executors, TestKube provides extensive flexibility. In the next session, we’ll explore how to integrate alerting with webhooks. Stay tuned!