--- type: docs title: "Deploy Dapr on a Kubernetes cluster" linkTitle: "Deploy Dapr" weight: 20000 description: "Follow these steps to deploy Dapr on Kubernetes." aliases: - /getting-started/install-dapr-kubernetes/ --- When setting up Kubernetes you can use either the Dapr CLI or Helm. For more information on what is deployed to your Kubernetes cluster read the [Kubernetes overview]({{< ref kubernetes-overview.md >}}) ## Prerequisites - Install [Dapr CLI]({{< ref install-dapr-cli.md >}}) - Install [kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/) - Kubernetes cluster (see below if needed) ### Create cluster You can install Dapr on any Kubernetes cluster. Here are some helpful links: - [Setup KiNd Cluster]({{< ref setup-kind.md >}}) - [Setup Minikube Cluster]({{< ref setup-minikube.md >}}) - [Setup Azure Kubernetes Service Cluster]({{< ref setup-aks.md >}}) - [Setup Google Cloud Kubernetes Engine](https://docs.dapr.io/operations/hosting/kubernetes/cluster/setup-gke/) - [Setup Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/getting-started.html) {{% alert title="Hybrid clusters" color="primary" %}} Both the Dapr CLI and the Dapr Helm chart automatically deploy with affinity for nodes with the label `kubernetes.io/os=linux`. You can deploy Dapr to Windows nodes if your application requires it. For more information see [Deploying to a hybrid Linux/Windows Kubernetes cluster]({{}}). {{% /alert %}} ## Install with Dapr CLI You can install Dapr to a Kubernetes cluster using the [Dapr CLI]({{< ref install-dapr-cli.md >}}). ### Install Dapr (from an official Dapr Helm chart) The `-k` flag initializes Dapr on the Kubernetes cluster in your current context. {{% alert title="Ensure correct cluster is set" color="warning" %}} Make sure the correct "target" cluster is set. Check `kubectl context (kubectl config get-contexts)` to verify. You can set a different context using `kubectl config use-context `. {{% /alert %}} Run the following command on your local machine to init Dapr on your cluster: ```bash dapr init -k ``` ```bash ⌛ Making the jump to hyperspace... ✅ Deploying the Dapr control plane to your cluster... ✅ Success! Dapr has been installed to namespace dapr-system. To verify, run "dapr status -k" in your terminal. To get started, go here: https://aka.ms/dapr-getting-started ``` ### Install Dapr (a private Dapr Helm chart) There are some scenarios where it's necessary to install Dapr from a private Helm chart, such as: - needing more granular control of the Dapr Helm chart - having a custom Dapr deployment - pulling Helm charts from trusted registries that are managed and maintained by your organization export DAPR_HELM_REPO_URL="https://helm.custom-domain.com/dapr/dapr" export DAPR_HELM_REPO_USERNAME="username_xxx" export DAPR_HELM_REPO_PASSWORD="passwd_xxx" Setting the above parameters will allow `dapr init -k` to install Dapr images from the configured Helm repository. ### Install in custom namespace The default namespace when initializing Dapr is `dapr-system`. You can override this with the `-n` flag. ```bash dapr init -k -n mynamespace ``` ### Install in highly available mode You can run Dapr with 3 replicas of each control plane pod in the dapr-system namespace for [production scenarios]({{< ref kubernetes-production.md >}}). ```bash dapr init -k --enable-ha=true ``` ### Disable mTLS Dapr is initialized by default with [mTLS]({{< ref "security-concept.md#sidecar-to-sidecar-communication" >}}). You can disable it with: ```bash dapr init -k --enable-mtls=false ``` ### Wait for the installation to complete You can wait for the installation to complete its deployment with the `--wait` flag. The default timeout is 300s (5 min), but can be customized with the `--timeout` flag. ```bash dapr init -k --wait --timeout 600 ``` ### Uninstall Dapr on Kubernetes with CLI Run the following command on your local machine to uninstall Dapr on your cluster: ```bash dapr uninstall -k ``` ## Install with Helm (advanced) You can install Dapr on Kubernetes using a Helm 3 chart. {{% alert title="Ensure you are on Helm v3" color="primary" %}} The latest Dapr helm chart no longer supports Helm v2. Please migrate from Helm v2 to Helm v3 by following [this guide](https://helm.sh/blog/migrate-from-helm-v2-to-helm-v3/). {{% /alert %}} ### Add and install Dapr Helm chart 1. Make sure [Helm 3](https://github.com/helm/helm/releases) is installed on your machine 2. Add Helm repo and update ```bash // Add the official Dapr Helm chart. helm repo add dapr https://dapr.github.io/helm-charts/ // Or also add a private Dapr Helm chart. helm repo add dapr http://helm.custom-domain.com/dapr/dapr/ \ --username=xxx --password=xxx helm repo update # See which chart versions are available helm search repo dapr --devel --versions ``` 3. Install the Dapr chart on your cluster in the `dapr-system` namespace. ```bash helm upgrade --install dapr dapr/dapr \ --version={{% dapr-latest-version short="true" %}} \ --namespace dapr-system \ --create-namespace \ --wait ``` To install in high availability mode: ```bash helm upgrade --install dapr dapr/dapr \ --version={{% dapr-latest-version short="true" %}} \ --namespace dapr-system \ --create-namespace \ --set global.ha.enabled=true \ --wait ``` See [Guidelines for production ready deployments on Kubernetes]({{}}) for more information on installing and upgrading Dapr using Helm. ### Uninstall Dapr on Kubernetes ```bash helm uninstall dapr --namespace dapr-system ``` ### More information - Read [this guide]({{< ref kubernetes-production.md >}}) for recommended Helm chart values for production setups - See [this page](https://github.com/dapr/dapr/blob/master/charts/dapr/README.md) for details on Dapr Helm charts. ## Verify installation Once the installation is complete, verify that the dapr-operator, dapr-placement, dapr-sidecar-injector and dapr-sentry pods are running in the `dapr-system` namespace: ```bash kubectl get pods --namespace dapr-system ``` ```bash NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE dapr-dashboard-7bd6cbf5bf-xglsr 1/1 Running 0 40s dapr-operator-7bd6cbf5bf-xglsr 1/1 Running 0 40s dapr-placement-7f8f76778f-6vhl2 1/1 Running 0 40s dapr-sidecar-injector-8555576b6f-29cqm 1/1 Running 0 40s dapr-sentry-9435776c7f-8f7yd 1/1 Running 0 40s ``` ## Using Mariner-based images When deploying Dapr, whether on Kubernetes or in Docker self-hosted, the default container images that are pulled are based on [*distroless*](https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/distroless). Alternatively, you can use Dapr container images based on Mariner 2 (minimal distroless). [Mariner](https://github.com/microsoft/CBL-Mariner/), officially known as CBL-Mariner, is a free and open-source Linux distribution and container base image maintained by Microsoft. For some Dapr users, leveraging container images based on Mariner can help you meet compliance requirements. To use Mariner-based images for Dapr, you need to add `-mariner` to your Docker tags. For example, while `ghcr.io/dapr/dapr:latest` is the Docker image based on *distroless*, `ghcr.io/dapr/dapr:latest-mariner` is based on Mariner. Tags pinned to a specific version are also available, such as `{{% dapr-latest-version short="true" %}}-mariner`. With Kubernetes and Helm, you can use Mariner-based images by setting the `global.tag` option and adding `-mariner`. For example: ```sh helm upgrade --install dapr dapr/dapr \ --version={{% dapr-latest-version short="true" %}} \ --namespace dapr-system \ --create-namespace \ --set global.tag={{% dapr-latest-version long="true" %}}-mariner \ --wait ``` ## Next steps - [Configure state store & pubsub message broker]({{< ref "getting-started/tutorials/configure-state-pubsub.md" >}})