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Version: 1.5

DigitalOcean Kubernetes (DOKS)

This guide will show you how to install Okteto onto DigitalOcean Kubernetes. We'll be focusing exclusively on DigitalOcean Kubernetes in order to keep it as simple as possible.

Requirements​

In order to fully install Okteto, you'll need the following:

  • A subdomain to which you can add a wildcard DNS record
  • A Kubernetes cluster
  • A working installation of kubectl
  • A working installation of Helm v3 (v3.8 or higher)
  • A GitLab OAuth application
  • A DigitalOcean personal access token
  • A DigitalOcean space and access key
  • An Okteto License (optional)

Subdomain​

You'll need access to a subdomain to which you can add a wildcard DNS record, such as dev.example.com.

This guide will assume that your domain is registered in DigitalOcean. Other DNS services can be used, but aren't covered here.

In the rest of this guide, we will refer to this subdomain as DOMAIN.

Deploy a Kubernetes cluster​

If you are not familiar with this step, we recommend that you follow DigitalOcean's cluster creation guide. Okteto supports Kubernetes versions 1.21 through 1.23.

To get started with Okteto, follow these specs:

  • v1.23
  • A pool with at least 2 nodes (4CPUs and 16GBs each) without autoscalability
  • 250 GB per disk

You'll be using the cluster's API server endpoint when configuring Okteto. Run the following command to obtain your cluster's API server endpoint:

kubectl config view --minify | grep server

Our installation guides assume Okteto will be running in a dedicated cluster. We recommend contacting our team if you plan on installing Okteto in a cluster with other workloads.

Installing kubectl​

Follow the official documentation for installing kubectl. Once installed, configure kubectl to talk to your new cluster.

Installing Helm v3 (v3.8 or higher)​

Follow the official documentation for installing the latest release of Helm v3 (v3.8 or higher).

Creating the GitLab OAuth application​

Okteto supports OAuth providers like Google, Bitbucket, GitHub, or OpenID Connect to handle user authentication. All the supported configuration settings are described here.

For this guide, we will focus on using GitLab OpenID Connect.

Follow GitLab's official documentation on how to create an OAuth Client.

When creating the OAuth Application, you will need to provide the following values:

Redirect URIs:

https://okteto.DOMAIN
https://okteto.DOMAIN/auth/callback

Scopes:

openid
profile
email

You'll use the Application ID and Secret of your OAuth Application when installing Okteto.

Creating a DigitalOcean Space and Access Key​

Okteto uses DigitalOcean spaces to store your private images. Follow DigitalOcean's guide on how to create a space and api key. Create the space in the same region as your Kubernetes cluster and restrict file listing.

Getting your Okteto License​

Okteto is free for up to 3 users without a license. You can also sign on for the free trial to give access up to 100 users for a month.

Installing Okteto​

Create the Okteto Namespace​

Run the following command to create a namespace to install Okteto in:

$ kubectl create namespace okteto

Configuring your Okteto instance​

Create a Kubernetes secret with the DigitalOcean space access key secret ($SECRET) you created before:

$ kubectl create secret generic okteto-cloud-secret --namespace=okteto --from-literal=key=$SECRET

Using these values:

  • Your email: $EMAIL
  • Your license (optional): $LICENSE
  • Your subdomain: $SUBDOMAIN
  • Your cluster's API server endpoint
  • The URL of your GitLab instance: $GITLAB_URL. Use https://gitlab.com if your are using GitLab SaaS
  • Application ID: $OAUTH_APPLICATION_ID and Secret: $OAUTH_APPLICATION_SECRET of the OAuth 2.0 Client you created
  • The ID of the DigitalOcean region of your Kubernetes cluster: $REGION
  • Your space name: $SPACE_NAME and access key ID : $SPACE_ACCESS_KEY_ID

create the following config.yml file to configure the Okteto Helm chart:

email: "$EMAIL"
license: "$LICENSE"
subdomain: "$SUBDOMAIN"

cluster:
  endpoint: "$KUBERNETES_ENDPOINT"

auth:
  openid:
    enabled: true
    endpoints:
       issuer: "$GITLAB_URL"
       authorization: "$GITLAB_URL/oauth/authorize"
    clientId: "$OAUTH_APPLICATION_ID"
    clientSecret: "$OAUTH_APPLICATION_SECRET"

cloud:
  provider:
    digitalocean:
      enabled: true
      region: "$REGION"
      space:
        name: "$SPACE_NAME"
        accessKeyID: "$SPACE_ACCESS_KEY_ID"

buildkit:
  ingress:
    enabled: false
  service:
    type: LoadBalancer

Adding the Okteto Helm repository​

You'll need to add the Okteto repository in order to be able to install Okteto:

helm repo add okteto https://charts.okteto.com
helm repo update

Installing your Okteto instance​

Install the latest version of Okteto by running:

helm install okteto okteto/okteto -f config.yaml --namespace=okteto

After a few seconds, all the resources will be created. The output will look something like this:

Release "okteto" has been installed. Happy Helming!
NAME: okteto
LAST DEPLOYED: Thu Mar 26 18:07:55 2020
NAMESPACE: okteto
STATUS: deployed
REVISION: 1
TEST SUITE: None
NOTES:
1. Create the following DNS record, pointing it to the NGINX controller service External-IP:
- "*.dev.example.com"

You can retrieve the External IP by running:
    kubectl get service -l=app.kubernetes.io/name=ingress-nginx,app.kubernetes.io/component=controller --namespace=okteto

2. Create the following DNS record, pointing it to the Buildkit service External-IP:
- "buildkit.dev.example.com"

You can retrieve the External IP by running:
    kubectl get service -l=app.kubernetes.io/instance=okteto,app.kubernetes.io/component=buildkit --namespace=okteto

3. Once you create both DNS entries you can access your Okteto instance at this URL:
https://okteto.dev.example.com

Retrieve the Ingress Controller IP address​

You can use kubectl to fetch the address that has been dynamically allocated by DigitalOcean to the NGINX Ingress you've just installed and configured as a part of Okteto:

kubectl get service -l=app.kubernetes.io/name=ingress-nginx,app.kubernetes.io/component=controller --namespace=okteto

The output will look something like this:

NAME                             TYPE           CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP     PORT(S)                                     AGE
okteto-ingress-nginx-controller  LoadBalancer   10.245.147.23  64.225.83.163   80:30087/TCP,443:31799/TCP,1234:31412/TC    2m

You'll need to take the EXTERNAL-IP address, and add it to your DNS for the domain you have chosen to use. This is done by creating an A record with the name *.

Retrieve the Buildkit IP address​

You can use kubectl to fetch the address that has been dynamically allocated by DigitalOcean to the Buildkit instance you've just installed and configured as a part of Okteto:

kubectl get service -l=app.kubernetes.io/instance=okteto,app.kubernetes.io/component=buildkit --namespace=okteto

The output will look something like this:

NAME                TYPE           CLUSTER-IP      EXTERNAL-IP     PORT(S)          AGE
okteto-buildkit     LoadBalancer   10.245.142.73   64.225.83.88    1234:32449/TCP   5m

You'll need to take the EXTERNAL-IP address, and add it to your DNS for the domain you have chosen to use. This is done by creating an A record with the name buildkit.

Sign in to your Okteto instance​

Important: The default installation uses self-signed certificates. We strongly recommend that you configure Okteto to bring your own certificates before giving your team access to your instance.

You can access your Okteto instance at https://okteto.SUBDOMAIN. Your account will be automatically created as part of the login process. The first user to successfully log into the instance will be automatically assigned the administrator role.