How to convert Kubernetes manifests to Docker Compose¶
You have a folder of Kubernetes YAML — Deployments, Services, a ConfigMap — and no cluster to apply it to. kubernetes2simple converts it to a working Docker Compose setup in one command.
This is the direct reverse of Kompose, Compose Bridge, and Move2Kube: they turn Docker Compose into Kubernetes manifests; this turns Kubernetes manifests into Docker Compose. If your source is a Helm chart rather than raw YAML, see how to run a Helm chart without a cluster.
Convert it¶
The script detects that the directory holds raw Kubernetes manifests and converts them directly — no helm template step, no cluster. You get a compose.yml, a Caddyfile, and a dekube.yaml.
New here? Getting started covers install, the post-conversion checklist (hostnames, secrets, volume paths), and re-running — all of which apply here.
What raw manifests map to¶
Each Kubernetes kind becomes its Compose equivalent: a Deployment or StatefulSet becomes a service, a Service becomes network aliases on the compose network, a PersistentVolumeClaim becomes a bind mount under ./data/, an Ingress becomes a reverse-proxy block in the Caddyfile, and ConfigMaps and Secrets become mounted files or env vars. A dekube.yaml is written alongside so you can override any of it without editing the generated files.
Want more control?¶
kubernetes2simple decides everything for you. If you need to pick which extensions to load, exclude services, or embed the conversion in CI, helmfile2compose is the distribution for people who want full control. To see how each Kubernetes kind is handled, read how the conversion works.
"He who translates the celestial rites into common tongue does not simplify — he merely redistributes the suffering across a wider audience."
— Necronomicon, On the Democratization of Forbidden Knowledge (word of mouth)