---
title: Standalone Operator Install [Experimental]
description: Instructions to install Istio in a Kubernetes cluster using the Istio operator.
weight: 25
keywords: [kubernetes, operator]
aliases:
---

{{< boilerplate experimental-feature-warning >}}

This guide installs Istio using the standalone Istio
[operator](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/extend-kubernetes/operator/).
The only dependencies required are a supported Kubernetes cluster and the `kubectl` command.

To install Istio for production use, we recommend [installing with {{< istioctl >}}](/docs/setup/install/istioctl/)
instead.

## Prerequisites

1. Perform any necessary [platform-specific setup](/docs/setup/platform-setup/).

1. Check the [Requirements for Pods and Services](/docs/ops/prep/requirements/).

1. Deploy the Istio operator:

    {{< text bash >}}
    $ kubectl apply -f https://preliminary.istio.io/operator.yaml
    {{< /text >}}

    This command runs the operator by creating the following resources in the `istio-operator` namespace:

    - The operator custom resource definition
    - The operator controller deployment
    - A service to access operator metrics
    - Necessary Istio operator RBAC rules

## Install

To install the Istio `demo` [configuration profile](/docs/setup/additional-setup/config-profiles/)
using the operator, run the following command:

{{< text bash >}}
$ kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: install.istio.io/v1alpha2
kind: IstioControlPlane
metadata:
  namespace: istio-operator
  name: example-istiocontrolplane
spec:
  profile: demo
EOF
{{< /text >}}

The controller will detect the `IstioControlPlane` resource and then install the Istio
components corresponding to the specified (`demo`) configuration.

You can confirm the Istio control plane services have been deployed with the following commands:

{{< text bash >}}
$ kubectl get svc -n istio-system
NAME                     TYPE           CLUSTER-IP       EXTERNAL-IP     PORT(S)                                                                                                                                      AGE
grafana                  ClusterIP      172.21.211.123   <none>          3000/TCP                                                                                                                                     2m
istio-citadel            ClusterIP      172.21.177.222   <none>          8060/TCP,15014/TCP                                                                                                                           2m
istio-egressgateway      ClusterIP      172.21.113.24    <none>          80/TCP,443/TCP,15443/TCP                                                                                                                     2m
istio-galley             ClusterIP      172.21.132.247   <none>          443/TCP,15014/TCP,9901/TCP                                                                                                                   2m
istio-ingressgateway     LoadBalancer   172.21.144.254   52.116.22.242   15020:31831/TCP,80:31380/TCP,443:31390/TCP,31400:31400/TCP,15029:30318/TCP,15030:32645/TCP,15031:31933/TCP,15032:31188/TCP,15443:30838/TCP   2m
istio-pilot              ClusterIP      172.21.105.205   <none>          15010/TCP,15011/TCP,8080/TCP,15014/TCP                                                                                                       2m
istio-policy             ClusterIP      172.21.14.236    <none>          9091/TCP,15004/TCP,15014/TCP                                                                                                                 2m
istio-sidecar-injector   ClusterIP      172.21.155.47    <none>          443/TCP,15014/TCP                                                                                                                            2m
istio-telemetry          ClusterIP      172.21.196.79    <none>          9091/TCP,15004/TCP,15014/TCP,42422/TCP                                                                                                       2m
jaeger-agent             ClusterIP      None             <none>          5775/UDP,6831/UDP,6832/UDP                                                                                                                   2m
jaeger-collector         ClusterIP      172.21.135.51    <none>          14267/TCP,14268/TCP                                                                                                                          2m
jaeger-query             ClusterIP      172.21.26.187    <none>          16686/TCP                                                                                                                                    2m
kiali                    ClusterIP      172.21.155.201   <none>          20001/TCP                                                                                                                                    2m
prometheus               ClusterIP      172.21.63.159    <none>          9090/TCP                                                                                                                                     2m
tracing                  ClusterIP      172.21.2.245     <none>          80/TCP                                                                                                                                       2m
zipkin                   ClusterIP      172.21.182.245   <none>          9411/TCP                                                                                                                                     2m
{{< /text >}}

{{< text bash >}}
$ kubectl get pods -n istio-system
NAME                                                           READY   STATUS      RESTARTS   AGE
grafana-f8467cc6-rbjlg                                         1/1     Running     0          1m
istio-citadel-78df5b548f-g5cpw                                 1/1     Running     0          1m
istio-egressgateway-78569df5c4-zwtb5                           1/1     Running     0          1m
istio-galley-74d5f764fc-q7nrk                                  1/1     Running     0          1m
istio-ingressgateway-7ddcfd665c-dmtqz                          1/1     Running     0          1m
istio-pilot-f479bbf5c-qwr28                                    1/1     Running     0          1m
istio-policy-6fccc5c868-xhblv                                  1/1     Running     2          1m
istio-sidecar-injector-78499d85b8-x44m6                        1/1     Running     0          1m
istio-telemetry-78b96c6cb6-ldm9q                               1/1     Running     2          1m
istio-tracing-69b5f778b7-s2zvw                                 1/1     Running     0          1m
kiali-99f7467dc-6rvwp                                          1/1     Running     0          1m
prometheus-67cdb66cbb-9w2hm                                    1/1     Running     0          1m
{{< /text >}}

## Update

Now, with the controller running, you can change the Istio configuration by editing or replacing
the `IstioControlPlane` resource. The controller will detect the change and respond by updating
the Istio installation correspondingly.

For example, you can switch the installation to the `default`
profile with the following command:

{{< text bash >}}
$ kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: install.istio.io/v1alpha2
kind: IstioControlPlane
metadata:
  namespace: istio-operator
  name: example-istiocontrolplane
spec:
  profile: default
EOF
{{< /text >}}

You can also enable or disable specific features or components.
For example, to disable the telemetry feature:

{{< text bash >}}
$ kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: install.istio.io/v1alpha2
kind: IstioControlPlane
metadata:
  namespace: istio-operator
  name: example-istiocontrolplane
spec:
  profile: default
  telemetry:
    enabled: false
EOF
{{< /text >}}

Refer to the [`IstioControlPlane` API](/docs/reference/config/istio.operator.v1alpha12.pb/)
for the complete set of configuration settings.

## Uninstall

Delete the Istio operator and Istio deployment:

{{< text bash >}}
$ kubectl -n istio-operator get IstioControlPlane example-istiocontrolplane -o=json | jq '.metadata.finalizers = null' | kubectl delete -f -
$ kubectl delete ns istio-operator --grace-period=0 --force
$ kubectl delete ns istio-system --grace-period=0 --force
{{< /text >}}