Installing Linkerd

    Note that the control plane is typically installed by using Linkerd’s CLI. SeeGetting Started for how to install the CLI onto your localenvironment.

    Note also that, once the control plane is installed, you’ll need to “mesh” anyservices you want Linkerd active for. See for how to add Linkerd’s dataplane to your services.

    Linkerd 2.x requires a functioning Kubernetes cluster on which to run. Thiscluster may be hosted on a cloud provider or may be running locally viaMinikube or Docker for Desktop.

    You can validate that this Kubernetes cluster is configured appropriately forLinkerd by running

    If installing Linkerd on GKE, there are some extra steps required depending onhow your cluster has been configured. If you are using any of these features,check out the additional instructions.

    1. linkerd install | kubectl apply -f -

    See Getting Started for an example.

    NoteMost common configuration options are provided as flags for install. See the for a complete list ofoptions. To do configuration that is not part of the install command, see howyou can create a customized install.

    NoteFor organizations that distinguish cluster privileges by role, jump to the section.

    After installation, you can validate that the installation was successful byrunning:

    See Uninstalling Linkerd.

    The config stage is intended to be run by the cluster owner, the role withmore privileges. It is also the cluster owner’s responsbility to run theinitial pre-install check:

    1. linkerd check --pre

    Once the pre-install check passes, install the config stage with:

    In addition to creating the linkerd namespace, this command installs thefollowing resources onto your Kubernetes cluster:

    • ClusterRole
    • ClusterRoleBinding
    • CustomResourceDefinition
    • MutatingWebhookConfiguration
    • PodSecurityPolicy
    • Role
    • Secret
    • ServiceAccount
    • ValidatingWebhookConfigurationTo validate the config stage succeeded, run:

    Following successful installation of the config stage, the service owner mayinstall the control-plane with:

    This command installs the following resources onto your Kubernetes cluster, allwithin the linkerd namespace:

    • ConfigMap
    • Deployment
    • Secret
    • ServiceTo validate the control-plane stage succeeded, run: