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What You’ll Learn

In this guide, you will learn how to deploy Flipt to a local Kubernetes cluster (via Kind) using our official Helm chart. You’ll also learn how to override the default Flipt configuration by providing a values.yaml file. By the end of this guide, we will have:
  • 🚢 Created a Kind cluster locally using Docker
  • 📦 Installed Flipt into your cluster via Helm
  • ⚙️ Configured Flipt log level and other settings via a values.yaml file

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Prerequisites

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Deploying Flipt

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1. Create a Local Kubernetes Cluster Using Kind

First, we need to create a local Kubernetes cluster. We’ll use Kind to accomplish this. Open a terminal and run the following command: 
kind create cluster --name flipt
This command will create a new Kubernetes cluster named flipt. Wait for the command to complete and ensure the cluster is correctly set up.

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2. Add the Flipt Helm Repository

Next, we’ll add the Flipt Helm repository which hosts the Flipt Helm charts. Run the following command: 
helm repo add flipt https://helm.flipt.io/
After running this command, Helm will fetch shared information about the new repository.

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3. Update Helm Repositories

To ensure that Helm has the latest information about the charts from the Flipt Helm repository, update the repositories: 
helm repo update

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4. Install Flipt with Custom Configuration

Before installing Flipt, you should create a values.yaml file to customize the deployment according to your preferences. For example, to set a specific configuration value, you could add the following to your values.yaml file: 
flipt:
  config:
    log:
      level: WARN
    cache:
      enabled: true
      backend: memory
This example sets the Flipt server log level to ‘WARN’ and also enables our in-memory cache. You can adjust this file to include any configuration values you need. Once you have your values.yaml file, you can use it when installing Flipt with Helm by using the -f or --values flag: 
helm install flipt flipt/flipt -f values.yaml
This command installs the Flipt Helm chart into your Kubernetes cluster using the configuration options specified in your values.yaml file merged with the default values from Flipt.
The values.yaml file allows you to customize many aspects of the deployment, including resource limits and requests, service types, replica counts, and more. Be sure to consult the Flipt documentation and the default values.yaml in the Flipt Helm chart for more information on what can be configured.

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5. Forward the Port to Access Flipt

After successfully installing Flipt via the Helm chart, you should see instructions on how to access Flipt in your terminal. The instructions will look something like this: 
You have successfully deployed Flipt.

  export POD_NAME=$(kubectl get pods --namespace default -l "app.kubernetes.io/name=flipt,app.kubernetes.io/instance=flipt" -o jsonpath="{.items[0].metadata.name}")
  export CONTAINER_PORT=$(kubectl get pod --namespace default $POD_NAME -o jsonpath="{.spec.containers[0].ports[0].containerPort}")
  kubectl --namespace default port-forward $POD_NAME 8080:$CONTAINER_PORT
Execute the commands in your terminal to forward the port and access Flipt. You should now be able to access Flipt at http://localhost:8080.

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6. Verify the Installation and Configuration

To ensure that Flipt has been correctly deployed to your Kubernetes cluster, you can check the running pods: 
kubectl get pods
You should see the Flipt pod in the list with a status of Running. 
NAME                         READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
flipt-6d64f856d7-4l5qn       1/1     Running   0          32m
To verify that your configuration changes were applied, you can curl Flipt’s /meta/config endpoint: 
curl --silent http://localhost:8080/meta/config | jq
In the output of this command, you should see the configuration values you set in your values.yaml file. 
  "log": {
    "level": "WARN",
    ...
  },
  "cache": {
    "enabled": true,
    "backend": "memory",
    ...
  },

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Next Steps

Congratulations! You’ve successfully deployed Flipt to a local Kubernetes cluster using our Helm chart. You’ve also learned how to override the default Flipt configuration by providing a values.yaml file. You should be able to take the knowledge you’ve gained in this guide and deploy Flipt in to a real Kubernetes cluster. Please refer to the Flipt Helm chart repository for more information on how to configure Flipt using the Helm chart. Additionally, you should checkout our documentation on our native Kubernetes authentication method. This method can be leveraged to automatically authenticate clients, without the need to manually manage credentials, for applications deployed into the same Kubernetes cluster as Flipt.