kubectl-mtv

A kubectl plugin for migrating virtual machines to KubeVirt using Forklift.

Overview

kubectl-mtv helps migrate VMs from vSphere, oVirt, OpenStack, and OVA to Kubernetes/OpenShift using KubeVirt. It's a command-line interface for the Forklift project.

Installation

# Using krew
kubectl krew install mtv

# Or download from releases
# https://github.com/yaacov/kubectl-mtv/releases

See Installation Guide for more options.

MCP support

It is posible to add kubectl-mtv specific MCP server for AI client that support MCP addons, for example cursor IDE and claude desktop.

# Installing the MCP servers
pip install mtv-mcp

# Or download from releases
# https://github.com/yaacov/kubectl-mtv/releases

# MTV read-only server (recommended for most users)
claude mcp add kubectl-mtv-mcp

# MTV write server (USE WITH CAUTION - can modify/delete resources)
claude mcp add kubectl-mtv-write-mcp

See MCP Guid

Quick Start

1. Create Provider

kubectl mtv create provider vsphere-01 --type vsphere \
  --url https://vcenter.example.com \
  -u admin --password secret --cacert @ca.cert

2. Create Mappings (Optional)

# Network mapping
kubectl mtv create mapping network prod-net \
  --source vsphere-01 --target openshift \
  --network-pairs "VM Network:default,Management:openshift-sdn/mgmt"

# Storage mapping with enhanced features
kubectl mtv create mapping storage prod-storage \
  --source vsphere-01 --target openshift \
  --storage-pairs "datastore1:standard;volumeMode=Block;accessMode=ReadWriteOnce,datastore2:fast;volumeMode=Filesystem" \
  --default-offload-plugin vsphere --default-offload-vendor vantara

3. Create Migration Plan

# Using system defaults for best network and storage mapping
kubectl mtv create plan migration-1 \
  --source vsphere-01 \
  --vms vm1,vm2,vm3

# Using existing mappings
kubectl mtv create plan migration-1 \
  --source vsphere-01 \
  --network-mapping prod-net \
  --storage-mapping prod-storage \
  --vms vm1,vm2,vm3

4. Start Migration

kubectl mtv start plan migration-1

5. Monitor Progress

kubectl mtv get plan --watch

For a complete walkthrough, see the Migration Demo Tutorial.

Inventory Management

Query and explore provider resources before migration:

# List VMs
kubectl mtv get inventory vms vsphere-01

# Filter VMs by criteria
kubectl mtv get inventory vms vsphere-01 -q "where memoryMB > 4096"

# List networks and storage
kubectl mtv get inventory networks vsphere-01
kubectl mtv get inventory storage vsphere-01

See Inventory Commands Tutorial for advanced queries and filtering.

VDDK Support

For optimal VMware disk transfer performance, build a VDDK image from VMware's VDDK SDK:

# Build VDDK image
kubectl mtv create vddk-image \
  --tar VMware-vix-disklib-8.0.1.tar.gz \
  --tag quay.io/myorg/vddk:8.0.1

# Use it when creating a provider
kubectl mtv create provider vsphere-01 --type vsphere \
  --url https://vcenter.example.com \
  --vddk-init-image quay.io/myorg/vddk:8.0.1

See VDDK Setup Guide for detailed instructions.

Features

• Multi-Platform Support: Migrate from vSphere, oVirt, OpenStack, and OVA
• Flexible Mapping: Use existing mappings, inline pairs, or automatic defaults
• Advanced Queries: Filter and search inventory with powerful query language
• VDDK Support: Optimized VMware disk transfers
• Real-time Monitoring: Track migration progress live
• Timezone-Aware Display: View timestamps in local time or UTC with --use-utc flag

Documentation

• Installation Guide
• Usage Guide
• Migration Demo
• Migration Hooks
• Inventory Queries
• Mapping Configuration
• Creating Mappings
• Patching Mappings
• Patching Providers
• Patching Plans
• Creating Migration Hosts
• Development Guide

Environment Variables

• MTV_VDDK_INIT_IMAGE: Default VDDK init image for VMware providers
• MTV_INVENTORY_URL: Base URL for inventory service

License

Apache-2.0