Cilium Helm Chart
Cilium is an eBPF-based networking, observability, and security solution for Linux container management platforms like Docker and Kubernetes. The Cilium Helm chart automates deployment and configuration of Cilium in Kubernetes clusters using the Minimus Cilium images.
Prerequisites
- A subscription to the Minimus images included in the chart
- A running Kubernetes cluster (v1.21 or higher is recommended)
kubectl installed and configured- Helm v3.8 or higher for OCI support (Installation instructions)
- Cluster Admin privileges
Note: Cilium installs CRDs (CiliumNetworkPolicy, CiliumClusterwideNetworkPolicy, CiliumEndpoint, and others) required for its operation. The chart installs these automatically.
Try It Out
In this example we will deploy Cilium on a Kubernetes cluster using the Minimus Cilium Helm chart. Cilium will provide eBPF-based networking, security policies, and observability for your cluster.
Step 1: Start Cluster
If you have a cluster to work with, skip this step. Otherwise, start a Minikube cluster. Deployment instructions
Step 2: Create Namespace
Create a namespace:
Step 3: Deploy the Helm Chart
Deploy the Minimus Helm chart:
helm install my-cilium oci://helm.mini.dev/cilium \
--version 1.19.5 \
-n cilium \
--wait
If you want to override the chart's defaults, go to the Values tab, save a copy locally with your changes. Deploy the chart with your overrides using -f values.yaml:
helm install my-cilium oci://helm.mini.dev/cilium \
--version 1.19.5 \
-f values.yaml \
-n cilium \
--wait
Step 4: Verify Cilium is Running
Confirm the chart deployed successfully and Cilium started:
kubectl get pods -n cilium -l app.kubernetes.io/name=cilium
You should see output similar to:
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE
my-cilium-agent-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 2m
my-cilium-envoy-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 2m
my-cilium-operator-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 2m
Step 5: Test Cilium Connectivity
Verify Cilium agent is healthy by checking its status:
kubectl exec -n cilium $(kubectl get pods -n cilium -l app.kubernetes.io/name=cilium,app.kubernetes.io/component=agent -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}') -- cilium-dbg status --brief
Verify CiliumNetworkPolicy CRD is available:
kubectl get crd ciliumnetworkpolicies.cilium.io
Create a test CiliumNetworkPolicy to verify policy enforcement:
cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
apiVersion: cilium.io/v2
kind: CiliumNetworkPolicy
metadata:
name: test-policy
namespace: cilium
spec:
endpointSelector: {}
ingress:
- fromEndpoints:
- matchLabels:
io.kubernetes.pod.namespace: cilium
EOF
Verify the policy is applied:
kubectl get ciliumnetworkpolicy -n cilium test-policy
Clean up the test policy:
kubectl delete ciliumnetworkpolicy -n cilium test-policy
Step 6: Clean Up
Uninstall the chart and delete the namespace to remove all resources:
helm uninstall my-cilium -n cilium
kubectl delete namespace cilium
Terms & Info
Trademark
This catalog is published by Minimus. All product names, logos, and marks, other than those belonging to Minimus, shown are owned by their respective rights holders and appear here only to identify the open source software each image contains. Minimus claims no ownership of those marks and implies no affiliation with, endorsement by, certification by, or sponsorship by any rights holder.
Disclaimer
Images are provided "as-is" without warranty of any kind. "Hardened" refers to the security configuration applied at the time of build and does not constitute a guarantee of ongoing security or absence of vulnerabilities. The free tier is provided without support, SLA, or guaranteed patching timelines. Security updates may be applied to paid subscriptions before or instead of free tier images. By pulling or using any image you agree to our Terms of Use.
cilium-agent 1.19.5
cilium-envoy 1.19.5
cilium-hubble-relay 1.19.5
cilium-hubble-ui v0.13.5
cilium-hubble-ui-backend v0.13.5
cilium-operator-generic 1.19.5