--- stage: Configure group: Configure info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#designated-technical-writers --- # GitLab Kubernetes Agent **(PREMIUM ONLY)** > - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/223061) in [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 13.4. > - It's disabled on GitLab.com. Rolling this feature out to GitLab.com is [planned](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3834). CAUTION: **Warning:** This feature might not be available to you. Check the **version history** note above for details. The [GitLab Kubernetes Agent](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cluster-integration/gitlab-agent) is an active in-cluster component for solving GitLab and Kubernetes integration tasks in a secure and cloud-native way. It enables: - Integrating GitLab with a Kubernetes cluster behind a firewall or NAT (network address translation). - Pull-based GitOps deployments by leveraging the [GitOps Engine](https://github.com/argoproj/gitops-engine). - Real-time access to API endpoints within a cluster. Many more features are planned. Please [review our roadmap](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3329). ## Architecture ### GitLab Agent GitOps workflow ```mermaid sequenceDiagram participant D as Developer participant A as Application code repository participant M as Manifest repository participant K as Kubernetes agent participant C as Agent configuration repository K->C: Grab the configuration D->>+A: Pushing code changes A->>M: Updating manifest loop Regularly K-->>M: Watching changes M-->>K: Pulling and applying changes end ``` Please refer to our [full architecture documentation](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cluster-integration/gitlab-agent/-/blob/master/doc/architecture.md#high-level-architecture) in the Agent project. ## Get started with GitOps and the GitLab Agent There are several components that work in concert for the Agent to accomplish GitOps deployments: - A properly-configured Kubernetes cluster. - A configuration repository that contains a `config.yaml` file, which tells the Agent which repositories to synchronize with. - A manifest repository that contains a `manifest.yaml`, which is tracked by the Agent and can be auto-generated. Any changes to `manifest.yaml` are applied to the cluster. The setup process involves a few steps to enable GitOps deployments: 1. Installing the Agent server. 1. Defining a configuration directory. 1. Creating an Agent record in GitLab. 1. Generating and copying a Secret token used to connect to the Agent. 1. Installing the Agent into the cluster. 1. Creating a `manifest.yaml`. ### Install the Agent server The GitLab Kubernetes Agent can be deployed using [Omnibus GitLab](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/) or the [GitLab chart](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/charts/gitlab). If you don't already have GitLab installed, please refer to our [installation documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/install/README.html). NOTE: **Note:** GitLab plans to include the Agent on [GitLab.com](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/3834). When using the [Omnibus GitLab](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/) package: 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```plaintext gitlab_kas['enable'] = true ``` 1. [Reconfigure GitLab](../../../administration/restart_gitlab.md#omnibus-gitlab-reconfigure). When installing or upgrading the GitLab Helm chart, consider the following Helm 2 example. (If you're using Helm 3, you must modify this example.) You must set `global.kas.enabled=true` for the Agent to be properly installed and configured: ```shell helm repo update helm upgrade --force --install gitlab gitlab/gitlab \ --timeout 600 \ --set global.hosts.domain= \ --set global.hosts.externalIP= \ --set certmanager-issuer.email= \ --set name=gitlab-instance \ --set global.kas.enabled=true ``` ### Define a configuration repository Next, you need a GitLab repository to contain your Agent configuration. The minimal repository layout looks like this: ```plaintext .gitlab/agents//config.yaml ``` The `config.yaml` file contents should look like this: ```yaml gitops: manifest_projects: - id: "path-to/your-awesome-project" ``` ### Create an Agent record in GitLab Next, create an GitLab Rails Agent record so the Agent can associate itself with the configuration repository project. Creating this record also creates a Secret needed to configure the Agent in subsequent steps. You can create an Agent record either: - Through the Rails console, by running `rails c`: ```ruby project = ::Project.find_by_full_path("path-to/your-awesome-project") agent = ::Clusters::Agent.create(name: "", project: project) token = ::Clusters::AgentToken.create(agent: agent) token.token # this will print out the token you need to use on the next step ``` - Through GraphQL: **(PREMIUM ONLY)** ```graphql mutation createAgent { createClusterAgent(input: { projectPath: "path-to/your-awesome-project", name: "" }) { clusterAgent { id name } errors } } mutation createToken { clusterAgentTokenCreate(input: { clusterAgentId: }) { secret # This is the value you need to use on the next step token { createdAt id } errors } } ``` NOTE: **Note:** GraphQL only displays the token once, after creating it. If you are new to using the GitLab GraphQL API, refer to the [Getting started with the GraphQL API page](../../../api/graphql/getting_started.md), or the [GraphQL Explorer](https://gitlab.com/-/graphql-explorer). ### Create the Kubernetes secret After generating the token, you must apply it to the Kubernetes cluster. 1. If you haven't previous defined or created a namespace, run the following command: ```shell kubectl create namespace ``` 1. Run the following command to create your Secret: ```shell kubectl create secret generic -n gitlab-agent-token --from-literal=token='YOUR_AGENT_TOKEN' ``` ### Install the Agent into the cluster Next, install the in-cluster component of the Agent. This example file contains the Kubernetes resources required for the Agent to be installed. You can modify this example [`resources.yml` file](#example-resourcesyml-file) in the following ways: - You can replace `gitlab-agent` with ``. - For the `kas-address` (Kubernetes Agent Server), the agent can use the WebSockets or gRPC protocols to connect to the Agent Server. Depending on your cluster configuration and GitLab architecture, you may need to use one or the other. For the `gitlab-kas` Helm chart, an Ingress is created for the Agent Server using the `/-/kubernetes-agent` endpoint. This can be used for the WebSockets protocol connection. - Specify the `grpc` scheme (such as `grpc://gitlab-kas:5005`) to use gRPC directly. Encrypted gRPC is not supported yet. Follow the [Support TLS for gRPC communication issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cluster-integration/gitlab-agent/-/issues/7) for progress updates. - Specify the `ws` scheme (such as `ws://gitlab-kas-ingress:80/-/kubernetes-agent`) to use an unencrypted WebSockets connection. - Specify the `wss` scheme (such as `wss://gitlab-kas-ingress:443/-/kubernetes-agent`) to use an encrypted WebSockets connection. This is the recommended option if installing the Agent into a separate cluster from your Agent Server. - If you defined your own secret name, replace `gitlab-agent-token` with your secret name. To apply this file, run the following command: ```shell kubectl apply -n gitlab-agent -f ./resources.yml ``` To review your configuration, run the following command: ```shell $ kubectl get pods --all-namespaces NAMESPACE NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE gitlab-agent gitlab-agent-77689f7dcb-5skqk 1/1 Running 0 51s kube-system coredns-f9fd979d6-n6wcw 1/1 Running 0 14m kube-system etcd-minikube 1/1 Running 0 14m kube-system kube-apiserver-minikube 1/1 Running 0 14m kube-system kube-controller-manager-minikube 1/1 Running 0 14m kube-system kube-proxy-j6zdh 1/1 Running 0 14m kube-system kube-scheduler-minikube 1/1 Running 0 14m kube-system storage-provisioner 1/1 Running 0 14m ``` #### Example `resources.yml` file ```yaml apiVersion: v1 kind: ServiceAccount metadata: name: gitlab-agent --- apiVersion: apps/v1 kind: Deployment metadata: name: gitlab-agent spec: replicas: 1 selector: matchLabels: app: gitlab-agent template: metadata: labels: app: gitlab-agent spec: serviceAccountName: gitlab-agent containers: - name: agent image: "registry.gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cluster-integration/gitlab-agent/agentk:latest" args: - --token-file=/config/token - --kas-address - grpc://host.docker.internal:5005 # {"$openapi":"kas-address"} volumeMounts: - name: token-volume mountPath: /config volumes: - name: token-volume secret: secretName: gitlab-agent-token strategy: type: RollingUpdate rollingUpdate: maxSurge: 0 maxUnavailable: 1 --- apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1 kind: ClusterRole metadata: name: gitlab-agent-write rules: - resources: - '*' apiGroups: - '*' verbs: - create - update - delete - patch --- apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1 kind: ClusterRoleBinding metadata: name: gitlab-agent-write-binding roleRef: name: gitlab-agent-write kind: ClusterRole apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io subjects: - name: gitlab-agent kind: ServiceAccount namespace: gitlab-agent --- apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1 kind: ClusterRole metadata: name: gitlab-agent-read rules: - resources: - '*' apiGroups: - '*' verbs: - get - list - watch --- apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1 kind: ClusterRoleBinding metadata: name: gitlab-agent-read-binding roleRef: name: gitlab-agent-read kind: ClusterRole apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io subjects: - name: gitlab-agent kind: ServiceAccount namespace: gitlab-agent ``` ### Create a `manifest.yaml` In a previous step, you configured a `config.yaml` to point to the GitLab projects the Agent should synchronize. In each of those projects, you must create a `manifest.yaml` file for the Agent to monitor. You can auto-generate this `manifest.yaml` with a templating engine or other means. Each time you commit and push a change to this file, the Agent logs the change: ```plaintext 2020-09-15_14:09:04.87946 gitlab-k8s-agent : time="2020-09-15T10:09:04-04:00" level=info msg="Config: new commit" agent_id=1 commit_id=e6a3651f1faa2e928fe6120e254c122451be4eea ``` #### Example `manifest.yaml` file This file creates a simple NGINX deployment. ```yaml apiVersion: apps/v1 kind: Deployment metadata: name: nginx-deployment namespace: gitlab-agent # Can be any namespace managed by you that the agent has access to. spec: selector: matchLabels: app: nginx replicas: 2 template: metadata: labels: app: nginx spec: containers: - name: nginx image: nginx:1.14.2 ports: - containerPort: 80 ``` ## Example projects This basic GitOps example deploys NGINX: - [Configuration repository](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/configure/examples/kubernetes-agent) - [Manifest repository](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/configure/examples/gitops-project)