---
type: docs
title: "How-To: Install Dapr into a Kubernetes cluster"
linkTitle: "Init Dapr on Kubernetes"
weight: 30
description: "Install Dapr in a Kubernetes cluster"
---

When setting up Kubernetes you can use either the Dapr CLI or Helm.

The following pods will be installed:

- dapr-operator: Manages component updates and Kubernetes services endpoints for Dapr (state stores, pub/subs, etc.)
- dapr-sidecar-injector: Injects Dapr into annotated deployment pods
- dapr-placement: Used for actors only. Creates mapping tables that map actor instances to pods
- dapr-sentry: Manages mTLS between services and acts as a certificate authority

## Setup cluster

You can install Dapr on any Kubernetes cluster. Here are some helpful links:

- [Setup Minikube Cluster]({{< ref setup-minikube.md >}})
- [Setup Azure Kubernetes Service Cluster]({{< ref setup-aks.md >}})
- [Setup Google Cloud Kubernetes Engine](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/quickstart)
- [Setup Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/getting-started.html)

{{% alert title="Note" 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, but most users should not need to. For more information see [Deploying to a hybrid Linux/Windows Kubernetes cluster]({{<ref kubernetes-hybrid-clusters>}}).
{{% /alert %}}


## Install with Dapr CLI

You can install Dapr to a Kubernetes cluster using the [Dapr CLI]({{< ref install-dapr-cli.md >}}).

{{% alert title="Note" color="warning" %}}
This command will download and install Dapr v0.11. To install v1.0-rc.1, the release candidate for the [upcoming v1.0 release](https://blog.dapr.io/posts/2020/10/20/the-path-to-v.1.0-production-ready-dapr/), please visit the [v1.0-rc.1 docs](https://v1-rc1.docs.dapr.io/getting-started/install-dapr-kubernetes).
{{% /alert %}}

### Install Dapr

The `-k` flag will initialize Dapr on the Kuberentes cluster in your current context.

```bash
$ dapr init -k

⌛  Making the jump to hyperspace...
ℹ️  Note: To install Dapr using Helm, see here:  https://github.com/dapr/docs/blob/master/getting-started/environment-setup.md#using-helm-advanced

✅  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 to a custom namespace:

The default namespace when initializeing Dapr is `dapr-system`. You can override this with the `-n` flag.

```
dapr init -k -n mynamespace
```

### Install in highly available mode:

You can run Dapr with 3 replicas of each control plane pod with the exception of the Placement pod in the dapr-system namespace for [production scenarios]({{< ref kubernetes-production.md >}}).

```
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:

```
dapr init -k --enable-mtls=false
```

### Uninstall Dapr on Kubernetes

```bash
$ dapr uninstall --kubernetes
```

## Install with Helm (advanced)

You can install Dapr to Kubernetes cluster using a Helm 3 chart.


{{% alert title="Note" 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 %}}

### Install Dapr on Kubernetes

1. Make sure Helm 3 is installed on your machine
2. Add Helm repo

    ```bash
    helm repo add dapr https://dapr.github.io/helm-charts/
    helm repo update
    ```

3. Create `dapr-system` namespace on your kubernetes cluster

    ```bash
    kubectl create namespace dapr-system
    ```

4. Install the Dapr chart on your cluster in the `dapr-system` namespace.

    ```bash
    helm install dapr dapr/dapr --namespace dapr-system
    ```

### Verify installation

Once the chart installation is complete, verify the dapr-operator, dapr-placement, dapr-sidecar-injector and dapr-sentry pods are running in the `dapr-system` namespace:

```bash
$ kubectl get pods -n dapr-system -w

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
```

### Uninstall Dapr on Kubernetes

```bash
helm uninstall dapr -n dapr-system
```

> **Note:** See [this page](https://github.com/dapr/dapr/blob/master/charts/dapr/README.md) for details on Dapr helm charts.

## Sidecar annotations

To see all the supported annotations for the Dapr sidecar on Kubernetes, visit [this]({{<ref "kubernetes-annotations.md">}}) how to guide.