diff --git a/kind-cluster/Dockerfile b/kind-cluster/Dockerfile
index 37cb4aa..1d17c1f 100644
--- a/kind-cluster/Dockerfile
+++ b/kind-cluster/Dockerfile
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ COPY scripts/ /usr/local/bin/
 #make scripts executable
 RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/env-setup
 RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/env-cleanup
+RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/k3d-install.sh
 
 ENV KIND_DEFAULT_VERSION=v1.32.3
 
diff --git a/kind-cluster/entrypoint.sh b/kind-cluster/entrypoint.sh
index ba1eaa7..89fb563 100644
--- a/kind-cluster/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/kind-cluster/entrypoint.sh
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ adduser -S -D -H -s /sbin/nologin -G sshd sshd
 /usr/sbin/sshd -D &
 
 #install k3d
-wget -q -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/k3d-io/k3d/main/install.sh | TAG=v5.8.3 bash
+echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') | [INFO] Installing k3d"
+TAG=v5.8.3 bash /usr/local/bin/k3d-install.sh
 
 sleep 10
 touch /ready
diff --git a/kind-cluster/scripts/env-setup b/kind-cluster/scripts/env-setup
index 64ac2ce..75bc6f1 100755
--- a/kind-cluster/scripts/env-setup
+++ b/kind-cluster/scripts/env-setup
@@ -9,6 +9,37 @@ exec >> /proc/1/fd/1 2>&1
 NUM_WORKERS=${1:-0}  # Default to 1 worker if not provided
 CLUSTER_NAME=${2:-cluster}
 
+# Check if k3d is installed, if not install it
+if ! command -v k3d &> /dev/null; then
+    echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') | k3d not found. Attempting installation..."
+    
+    # Retry k3d installation up to 5 times
+    INSTALL_ATTEMPTS=0
+    while [ $INSTALL_ATTEMPTS -lt 5 ]; do
+        INSTALL_ATTEMPTS=$((INSTALL_ATTEMPTS+1))
+        echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') | Installation attempt $INSTALL_ATTEMPTS"
+        
+        # Use the same installation method as in entrypoint.sh
+        TAG=v5.8.3 bash /usr/local/bin/k3d-install.sh
+        
+        # Check if installation was successful
+        if command -v k3d &> /dev/null; then
+            echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') | k3d successfully installed"
+            break
+        else
+            echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') | k3d installation failed. Retrying in 5 seconds..."
+            sleep 5
+        fi
+    done
+    
+    # If k3d still not installed after 5 attempts, exit with error
+    if ! command -v k3d &> /dev/null; then
+        echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') | ERROR: Failed to install k3d after 5 attempts"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+fi
+
+
 # Delete cluster config if exists
 if [ -f "k3d-config.yaml" ]; then  
     echo "k3d-config.yaml already exists, deleting it"
diff --git a/kind-cluster/scripts/k3d-install.sh b/kind-cluster/scripts/k3d-install.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a28404
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kind-cluster/scripts/k3d-install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+APP_NAME="k3d"
+REPO_URL="https://github.com/k3d-io/k3d"
+
+: ${USE_SUDO:="true"}
+: ${K3D_INSTALL_DIR:="/usr/local/bin"}
+
+# initArch discovers the architecture for this system.
+initArch() {
+  ARCH=$(uname -m)
+  case $ARCH in
+    armv5*) ARCH="armv5";;
+    armv6*) ARCH="armv6";;
+    armv7*) ARCH="arm";;
+    aarch64) ARCH="arm64";;
+    x86) ARCH="386";;
+    x86_64) ARCH="amd64";;
+    i686) ARCH="386";;
+    i386) ARCH="386";;
+  esac
+}
+
+# initOS discovers the operating system for this system.
+initOS() {
+  OS=$(uname|tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
+
+  case "$OS" in
+    # Minimalist GNU for Windows
+    mingw*) 
+      OS="windows"
+      USE_SUDO="false"
+      if [[ ! -d "$K3D_INSTALL_DIR" ]]; then
+        # mingw bash that ships with Git for Windows doesn't have /usr/local/bin but ~/bin is first entry in the path
+        mkdir -p ~/bin
+        K3D_INSTALL_DIR=~/bin
+      fi
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+# runs the given command as root (detects if we are root already)
+runAsRoot() {
+  local CMD="$*"
+
+  if [ $EUID -ne 0 -a $USE_SUDO = "true" ]; then
+    CMD="sudo $CMD"
+  fi
+
+  $CMD
+}
+
+# scurl invokes `curl` with secure defaults
+scurl() {
+  # - `--proto =https` requires that all URLs use HTTPS. Attempts to call http://
+  #   URLs will fail.
+  # - `--tlsv1.2` ensures that at least TLS v1.2 is used, disabling less secure
+  #   prior TLS versions.
+  # - `--fail` ensures that the command fails if HTTP response is not 2xx.
+  # - `--show-error` causes curl to output error messages when it fails (when
+  #   also invoked with -s|--silent).
+  if [[ "$DEBUG" == "true" ]]; then
+    echo "Executing: curl --proto \"=https\" --tlsv1.2 --fail --show-error $*" >&2
+  fi
+  curl --proto "=https" --tlsv1.2 --fail --show-error "$@"
+}
+
+# verifySupported checks that the os/arch combination is supported for
+# binary builds.
+verifySupported() {
+  local supported="darwin-386\ndarwin-amd64\ndarwin-arm64\nlinux-386\nlinux-amd64\nlinux-arm\nlinux-arm64\nwindows-386\nwindows-amd64"
+  if ! echo "${supported}" | grep -q "${OS}-${ARCH}"; then
+    echo "No prebuilt binary for ${OS}-${ARCH}."
+    echo "To build from source, go to $REPO_URL"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  if ! type "curl" > /dev/null && ! type "wget" > /dev/null; then
+    echo "Either curl or wget is required"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+# checkK3dInstalledVersion checks which version of k3d is installed and
+# if it needs to be changed.
+checkK3dInstalledVersion() {
+  if [[ -f "${K3D_INSTALL_DIR}/${APP_NAME}" ]]; then
+    local version=$(k3d version | grep 'k3d version' | cut -d " " -f3)
+    if [[ "$version" == "$TAG" ]]; then
+      echo "k3d ${version} is already ${DESIRED_VERSION:-latest}"
+      return 0
+    else
+      echo "k3d ${TAG} is available. Changing from version ${version}."
+      return 1
+    fi
+  else
+    return 1
+  fi
+}
+
+# checkTagProvided checks whether TAG has provided as an environment variable so we can skip checkLatestVersion.
+checkTagProvided() {
+  [[ ! -z "$TAG" ]]
+}
+
+# checkLatestVersion grabs the latest version string from the releases
+checkLatestVersion() {
+  local latest_release_url="$REPO_URL/releases/latest"
+  if type "curl" > /dev/null; then
+    TAG=$(scurl -Ls -o /dev/null -w %{url_effective} $latest_release_url | grep -oE "[^/]+$" )
+  elif type "wget" > /dev/null; then
+    TAG=$(wget $latest_release_url --server-response -O /dev/null 2>&1 | awk '/^\s*Location: /{DEST=$2} END{ print DEST}' | grep -oE "[^/]+$")
+  fi
+  if [[ "$DEBUG" == "true" ]]; then
+    echo "Resolved latest tag: <$TAG>" >&2
+  fi
+  if [[ "$TAG" == "latest" ]]; then
+    echo "Failed to get the latest version for $REPO_URL"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+# downloadFile downloads the latest binary package and also the checksum
+# for that binary.
+downloadFile() {
+  K3D_DIST="k3d-$OS-$ARCH"
+  DOWNLOAD_URL="$REPO_URL/releases/download/$TAG/$K3D_DIST"
+  if [[ "$OS" == "windows" ]]; then
+    DOWNLOAD_URL=${DOWNLOAD_URL}.exe
+  fi
+  K3D_TMP_ROOT="$(mktemp -dt k3d-binary-XXXXXX)"
+  K3D_TMP_FILE="$K3D_TMP_ROOT/$K3D_DIST"
+  if type "curl" > /dev/null; then
+    scurl -sL "$DOWNLOAD_URL" -o "$K3D_TMP_FILE"
+  elif type "wget" > /dev/null; then
+    wget -q -O "$K3D_TMP_FILE" "$DOWNLOAD_URL"
+  fi
+}
+
+# installFile verifies the SHA256 for the file, then unpacks and
+# installs it.
+installFile() {
+  echo "Preparing to install $APP_NAME into ${K3D_INSTALL_DIR}"
+  runAsRoot chmod +x "$K3D_TMP_FILE"
+  runAsRoot cp "$K3D_TMP_FILE" "$K3D_INSTALL_DIR/$APP_NAME"
+  echo "$APP_NAME installed into $K3D_INSTALL_DIR/$APP_NAME"
+}
+
+# fail_trap is executed if an error occurs.
+fail_trap() {
+  result=$?
+  if [ "$result" != "0" ]; then
+    if [[ -n "$INPUT_ARGUMENTS" ]]; then
+      echo "Failed to install $APP_NAME with the arguments provided: $INPUT_ARGUMENTS"
+      help
+    else
+      echo "Failed to install $APP_NAME"
+    fi
+    echo -e "\tFor support, go to $REPO_URL."
+  fi
+  cleanup
+  exit $result
+}
+
+# testVersion tests the installed client to make sure it is working.
+testVersion() {
+  if ! command -v $APP_NAME &> /dev/null; then
+    echo "$APP_NAME not found. Is $K3D_INSTALL_DIR on your "'$PATH?'
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  echo "Run '$APP_NAME --help' to see what you can do with it."
+}
+
+# help provides possible cli installation arguments
+help () {
+  echo "Accepted cli arguments are:"
+  echo -e "\t[--help|-h ] ->> prints this help"
+  echo -e "\t[--no-sudo]  ->> install without sudo"
+}
+
+# cleanup temporary files
+cleanup() {
+  if [[ -d "${K3D_TMP_ROOT:-}" ]]; then
+    rm -rf "$K3D_TMP_ROOT"
+  fi
+}
+
+# Execution
+
+#Stop execution on any error
+trap "fail_trap" EXIT
+set -e
+
+# Parsing input arguments (if any)
+export INPUT_ARGUMENTS="${@}"
+set -u
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case $1 in
+    '--no-sudo')
+       USE_SUDO="false"
+       ;;
+    '--help'|-h)
+       help
+       exit 0
+       ;;
+    *) exit 1
+       ;;
+  esac
+  shift
+done
+set +u
+
+initArch
+initOS
+verifySupported
+checkTagProvided || checkLatestVersion
+if ! checkK3dInstalledVersion; then
+  downloadFile
+  installFile
+fi
+testVersion
+cleanup
\ No newline at end of file