external-dns

ExternalDNS synchronizes exposed Kubernetes Services and Ingresses with DNS providers. The ExternalDNS Helm chart automates deployment and configuration of ExternalDNS in Kubernetes clusters using the Minimus ExternalDNS image.

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: ExternalDNS requires access to a DNS provider (AWS Route53, Google Cloud DNS, Azure DNS, Cloudflare, etc.) to manage DNS records. For testing without a real DNS provider, you can use the inmemory provider by overriding the chart defaults (see Step 3).

Try It Out

In this example we will deploy ExternalDNS on a Kubernetes cluster using the Minimus ExternalDNS Helm chart. ExternalDNS will automatically create and manage DNS records for your Kubernetes Services and Ingresses.

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:

kubectl create ns external-dns

Step 3: Deploy the Helm Chart

Deploy the Minimus Helm chart:

helm install my-external-dns oci://helm.mini.dev/external-dns \
  --version 1.21.1 \
  -n external-dns \
  --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-external-dns oci://helm.mini.dev/external-dns \
  --version 1.21.1 \
  -f values.yaml \
  -n external-dns \
  --wait

For testing with the inmemory provider (no real DNS provider required), create a values.yaml with:

external-dns:
  provider:
    name: inmemory
  txtOwnerId: external-dns-test
  interval: 5s
  domainFilters:
    - internal.example.org

Step 4: Verify ExternalDNS is Running

Confirm the chart deployed successfully and ExternalDNS started:

kubectl get pods -n external-dns

You should see output similar to:

NAME                                    READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
my-external-dns-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxx        1/1     Running   0          2m

Step 5: Test Health Endpoint

Port-forward to the ExternalDNS service and verify the health endpoint responds:

kubectl port-forward svc/my-external-dns -n external-dns 7979:7979

In a separate terminal, test the health endpoint:

curl -sf http://localhost:7979/healthz && echo "ExternalDNS is healthy"

You should see:

ExternalDNS is healthy

Step 6: Clean Up

Uninstall the chart and delete the namespace to remove all resources:

helm uninstall my-external-dns -n external-dns
kubectl delete namespace external-dns

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