---
title: "Hello World - Kotlin"
linkTitle: "Kotlin"
weight: 1
type: "docs"
---

A simple web app written in Kotlin using [Ktor](https://ktor.io/) that you can
use for testing. It reads in an env variable `TARGET` and prints "Hello
\${TARGET}". If TARGET is not specified, it will use "World" as the TARGET.

Follow the steps below to create the sample code and then deploy the app to your
cluster. You can also download a working copy of the sample, by running the
following commands:

```shell
git clone -b "{{< branch >}}" https://github.com/knative/docs knative-docs
cd knative-docs/docs/serving/samples/hello-world/helloworld-kotlin
```

## Before you begin

- A Kubernetes cluster with Knative installed and DNS configured. Follow the
  [installation instructions](../../../../install/README.md) if you need to
  create one.
- [Docker](https://www.docker.com) installed and running on your local machine,
  and a Docker Hub account configured (we'll use it for a container registry).

## Recreating the sample code

1. Create a new directory and cd into it:

   ```shell
   mkdir hello
   cd hello
   ```

2. Create a file named `Main.kt` at `src/main/kotlin/com/example/hello` and copy
   the code block below into it:

   ```shell
   mkdir -p src/main/kotlin/com/example/hello
   ```

   ```kotlin
   package com.example.hello

   import io.ktor.application.*
   import io.ktor.http.*
   import io.ktor.response.*
   import io.ktor.routing.*
   import io.ktor.server.engine.*
   import io.ktor.server.netty.*

   fun main(args: Array<String>) {
      val target = System.getenv("TARGET") ?: "World"
      val port = System.getenv("PORT") ?: "8080"
      embeddedServer(Netty, port.toInt()) {
          routing {
              get("/") {
                  call.respondText("Hello $target!", ContentType.Text.Html)
              }
          }
      }.start(wait = true)
   }
   ```

3. Switch back to `hello` directory

4. Create a new file, `build.gradle` and copy the following setting

   ```groovy
   buildscript {
       ext.kotlin_version = '1.2.61'
       ext.ktor_version = '0.9.4'

       repositories {
           mavenCentral()
       }
       dependencies {
           classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:$kotlin_version"
       }
   }

   apply plugin: 'java'
   apply plugin: 'kotlin'
   apply plugin: 'application'

   sourceCompatibility = 1.8
   compileKotlin {
       kotlinOptions.jvmTarget = "1.8"
   }

   compileTestKotlin {
       kotlinOptions.jvmTarget = "1.8"
   }

   repositories {
       jcenter()
       maven { url "https://dl.bintray.com/kotlin/ktor" }
   }

   mainClassName = 'com.example.hello.MainKt'

   jar {
       manifest {
           attributes 'Main-Class': mainClassName
       }
      from { configurations.compile.collect { it.isDirectory() ? it : zipTree(it) } }
   }

   dependencies {
       compile "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-stdlib-jdk8:$kotlin_version"
       compile "io.ktor:ktor-server-netty:$ktor_version"
       testCompile group: 'junit', name: 'junit', version: '4.12'
   }
   ```

5. Create a file named `Dockerfile` and copy the code block below into it.

   ```docker
   # Use the official gradle image to create a build artifact.
   # https://hub.docker.com/_/gradle
   FROM gradle:4.10 as builder

   # Copy local code to the container image.
   COPY build.gradle .
   COPY src ./src

   # Build a release artifact.
   RUN gradle clean build --no-daemon

   # Use AdoptOpenJDK for base image.
   # It's important to use OpenJDK 8u191 or above that has container support enabled.
   # https://hub.docker.com/r/adoptopenjdk/openjdk8
   # https://docs.docker.com/develop/develop-images/multistage-build/#use-multi-stage-builds
   FROM adoptopenjdk/openjdk8:jdk8u202-b08-alpine-slim

   # Copy the jar to the production image from the builder stage.
   COPY --from=builder /home/gradle/build/libs/gradle.jar /helloworld.jar

   # Run the web service on container startup.
   CMD [ "java", "-jar", "-Djava.security.egd=file:/dev/./urandom", "/helloworld.jar" ]
   ```

6. Create a new file, `service.yaml` and copy the following service definition
   into the file. Make sure to replace `{username}` with your Docker Hub
   username.

   ```yaml
   apiVersion: serving.knative.dev/v1
   kind: Service
   metadata:
     name: helloworld-kotlin
     namespace: default
   spec:
     template:
       spec:
         containers:
           - image: docker.io/{username}/helloworld-kotlin
             env:
               - name: TARGET
                 value: "Kotlin Sample v1"
   ```

## Build and deploy this sample

Once you have recreated the sample code files (or used the files in the sample
folder) you're ready to build and deploy the sample app.

1. Use Docker to build the sample code into a container. To build and push with
   Docker Hub, run these commands replacing `{username}` with your Docker Hub
   username:

   ```shell
   # Build the container on your local machine
   docker build -t {username}/helloworld-kotlin .

   # Push the container to docker registry
   docker push {username}/helloworld-kotlin
   ```

1. After the build has completed and the container is pushed to docker hub, you
   can deploy the app into your cluster. Ensure that the container image value
   in `service.yaml` matches the container you built in the previous step. Apply
   the configuration using `kubectl`:

   ```shell
   kubectl apply --filename service.yaml
   ```

1. Now that your service is created, Knative will perform the following steps:

   - Create a new immutable revision for this version of the app.
   - Network programming to create a route, ingress, service, and load balance
     for your app.
   - Automatically scale your pods up and down (including to zero active pods).

1. To find the URL for your service, use

   ```shell
   kubectl get ksvc helloworld-kotlin  --output=custom-columns=NAME:.metadata.name,URL:.status.url

   NAME                URL
   helloworld-kotlin   http://helloworld-kotlin.default.1.2.3.4.xip.io
   ```

1. Now you can make a request to your app and see the result. Replace
   the URL below with the URL returned in the previous command.

   ```shell
   curl http://helloworld-kotlin.default.1.2.3.4.xip.io
   Hello Kotlin Sample v1!
   ```

## Remove the sample app deployment

To remove the sample app from your cluster, delete the service record:

```shell
kubectl delete --filename service.yaml
```
