Kong Helm Charts (kong/charts)

Kong Helm Charts

https://github.com/kong/charts
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# Kong Helm Charts

The Kong Helm Charts repository is the official source for deploying Kong on Kubernetes using Helm. It contains four charts: `kong/kong` (a flexible, low-level building block), `kong/ingress` (the recommended opinionated umbrella chart for new installations), `kong/kong-operator` (the current Kubernetes Operator for managing Kong Gateway control and data planes), and the deprecated `kong/gateway-operator` (replaced by `kong/kong-operator`). The charts support Kong Gateway 3.x (both OSS and Enterprise), Kong Ingress Controller 3.x, and the Kong Operator 2.x, covering every deployment topology from simple DB-less setups to hybrid control plane / data plane architectures.

Each chart is independently versioned and released via the chart-releaser GitHub Action. `kong/ingress` is the recommended entry point for most users—it deploys a split KIC + Gateway topology with gateway discovery pre-wired. `kong/kong` remains available for advanced users who require full control over the Helm values, hybrid mode, PostgreSQL-backed deployments, Kong Enterprise features, or standalone admin-API-managed instances. The operator charts (`kong/kong-operator` and the deprecated `kong/gateway-operator`) deploy Kubernetes Operators that manage `ControlPlane`, `DataPlane`, and `GatewayConfiguration` CRDs natively.

---

## Setup

### Add the Helm repository

```bash
helm repo add kong https://charts.konghq.com
helm repo update
```

---

## `kong/ingress` — Recommended Opinionated Install

`kong/ingress` (chart v0.24.0, app v3.9) is an umbrella chart that deploys two instances of `kong/kong`: a `controller` sub-release running only Kong Ingress Controller and a `gateway` sub-release running only Kong Gateway. Gateway discovery is pre-wired: the controller locates all gateway pods automatically through a headless `ClusterIP: None` admin service. All `kong/kong` values are available under the `controller.*` and `gateway.*` keys.

```bash
# Minimal install — creates namespace, deploys KIC + Gateway in split topology
helm install kong kong/ingress -n kong --create-namespace

# Verify
kubectl get pods -n kong
kubectl get svc -n kong
```

```yaml
# values-ingress.yaml — Gateway discovery with mTLS Admin API + Konnect sync
controller:
  ingressController:
    enabled: true
    gatewayDiscovery:
      enabled: true
    adminApi:
      tls:
        client:
          enabled: true
    konnect:
      enabled: true
      controlPlaneID: "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"  # CHANGEME
      tlsClientSecretName: konnect-client-tls
      apiHostname: "us.kic.api.konghq.com"

gateway:
  nameOverride: gateway
  image:
    repository: kong/kong-gateway
  env:
    konnect_mode: "on"
    vitals: "off"
    cluster_mtls: pki
    cluster_telemetry_endpoint: "8c9700866b.us.tp0.konghq.com:443"
    cluster_cert: /etc/secrets/konnect-client-tls/tls.crt
    cluster_cert_key: /etc/secrets/konnect-client-tls/tls.key
    lua_ssl_trusted_certificate: system
  secretVolumes:
    - konnect-client-tls
```

```bash
helm install kong kong/ingress -n kong --create-namespace -f values-ingress.yaml
```

---

## `kong/kong` — Flexible Building Block

`kong/kong` (chart v3.2.0, app v3.9) deploys a Kong Gateway pod and an optional Kong Ingress Controller sidecar deployment. Every Kong configuration option maps to `env.*` values (translated to `KONG_*` environment variables at runtime). A Bitnami PostgreSQL subchart is available for development use. Enterprise features, hybrid mode, cert-manager TLS, HPA, PDB, DaemonSet, Prometheus ServiceMonitor, and Konnect sync are all toggleable via values.

### DB-less with Ingress Controller (default)

```yaml
# values-dbless-kic.yaml
image:
  repository: kong
  tag: "3.9"

env:
  database: "off"

ingressController:
  enabled: true

proxy:
  enabled: true
  type: LoadBalancer
```

```bash
helm install kong kong/kong -n kong --create-namespace -f values-dbless-kic.yaml
```

### Standalone Kong with PostgreSQL (no KIC)

```yaml
# values-standalone.yaml
image:
  repository: kong
  tag: "3.9"

env:
  database: postgres

admin:
  enabled: true
  http:
    enabled: true
    servicePort: 8001
    containerPort: 8001

postgresql:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    username: kong
    database: kong

ingressController:
  enabled: false
```

```bash
helm install kong kong/kong -n kong --create-namespace -f values-standalone.yaml
# Access Admin API
kubectl port-forward deploy/kong-kong 8001:8001 -n kong
curl http://localhost:8001/
```

### Kong Enterprise DB-less

```yaml
# values-enterprise-dbless.yaml
image:
  repository: kong/kong-gateway
  tag: "3.9"

enterprise:
  enabled: true
  license_secret: kong-enterprise-license   # kubectl create secret generic kong-enterprise-license --from-file=license=/path/to/license.json
  vitals:
    enabled: false
  portal:
    enabled: false
  rbac:
    enabled: false

manager:
  enabled: false

portal:
  enabled: false

portalapi:
  enabled: false

env:
  database: "off"

ingressController:
  enabled: true

proxy:
  enabled: true
  type: NodePort
```

```bash
kubectl create secret generic kong-enterprise-license \
  --from-file=license=/path/to/license.json -n kong

helm install kong kong/kong -n kong --create-namespace -f values-enterprise-dbless.yaml
```

### Hybrid Mode — Control Plane

```bash
# Step 1: Generate cluster mTLS certificate
openssl req -new -x509 -nodes -newkey ec:<(openssl ecparam -name secp384r1) \
  -keyout /tmp/cluster.key -out /tmp/cluster.crt \
  -days 1095 -subj "/CN=kong_clustering"
kubectl create secret tls kong-cluster-cert \
  --cert=/tmp/cluster.crt --key=/tmp/cluster.key -n kong
```

```yaml
# values-hybrid-cp.yaml
image:
  repository: kong
  tag: "3.9"

env:
  database: postgres
  role: control_plane
  cluster_cert: /etc/secrets/kong-cluster-cert/tls.crt
  cluster_cert_key: /etc/secrets/kong-cluster-cert/tls.key

admin:
  enabled: true
  http:
    enabled: true
    servicePort: 8001
    containerPort: 8001

cluster:
  enabled: true
  tls:
    enabled: true
    servicePort: 8005
    containerPort: 8005

proxy:
  enabled: false

secretVolumes:
  - kong-cluster-cert

postgresql:
  enabled: true
  auth:
    username: kong
    database: kong

ingressController:
  enabled: false
```

```bash
helm install kong-cp kong/kong -n hybrid --create-namespace -f values-hybrid-cp.yaml
```

### Hybrid Mode — Data Plane

```yaml
# values-hybrid-dp.yaml
image:
  repository: kong
  tag: "3.9"

env:
  database: "off"
  role: data_plane
  cluster_control_plane: kong-cp-kong-cluster.hybrid.svc.cluster.local:8005
  cluster_telemetry_endpoint: kong-cp-kong-clustertelemetry.hybrid.svc.cluster.local:8006
  lua_ssl_trusted_certificate: /etc/secrets/kong-cluster-cert/tls.crt
  cluster_cert: /etc/secrets/kong-cluster-cert/tls.crt
  cluster_cert_key: /etc/secrets/kong-cluster-cert/tls.key

admin:
  enabled: false

secretVolumes:
  - kong-cluster-cert

ingressController:
  enabled: false
```

```bash
helm install kong-dp kong/kong -n hybrid -f values-hybrid-dp.yaml
```

### Hybrid Mode — Control Plane with cert-manager

```yaml
# values-hybrid-cp-certmanager.yaml
env:
  role: control_plane
  database: postgres
  pg_host: postgres-postgresql.db.svc.cluster.local
  pg_user: kong
  pg_password: super_secret

cluster:
  enabled: true
  tls:
    enabled: true

certificates:
  enabled: true
  issuer: my-ca-issuer    # cert-manager ClusterIssuer name
  cluster:
    enabled: true
    commonName: custom.example.com

proxy:
  enabled: false

ingressController:
  env:
    publish_service: kong/kong-cp-kong-proxy
```

```bash
helm install kong-cp kong/kong -n kong --create-namespace -f values-hybrid-cp-certmanager.yaml
```

### Gateway Discovery — Separate Controller and Gateway Releases

```yaml
# values-gd-gateway.yaml  (gateway release, name: gw)
admin:
  enabled: true
  type: ClusterIP
  clusterIP: None
  tls:
    client:
      secretName: "admin-api-ca-cert"

ingressController:
  enabled: false

replicaCount: 3
# autoscaling:
#   enabled: true
```

```yaml
# values-gd-controller.yaml  (controller release)
deployment:
  kong:
    enabled: false     # only run KIC, no Kong pod

proxy:
  nameOverride: gw-kong-proxy   # must match gateway release proxy Service name

ingressController:
  enabled: true
  gatewayDiscovery:
    enabled: true
    adminApiService:
      name: gw-kong-admin    # must match gateway release admin Service name
  adminApi:
    tls:
      client:
        enabled: true
        caSecretName: "admin-api-ca-cert"
  env:
    kong_admin_svc_port_names: "kong-admin-tls"
```

```bash
helm install gw kong/kong -n kong --create-namespace -f values-gd-gateway.yaml
helm install kic kong/kong -n kong -f values-gd-controller.yaml
```

### DB-less Declarative Config via ConfigMap

```bash
kubectl create configmap kong-config --from-file=kong.yaml=/path/to/kong.yaml -n kong
```

```yaml
# values-dbless-config.yaml
env:
  database: "off"

dblessConfig:
  configMap: kong-config

ingressController:
  enabled: false
```

```bash
helm install kong kong/kong -n kong --create-namespace -f values-dbless-config.yaml
```

### Custom Plugins via ConfigMap

```bash
kubectl create configmap kong-plugin-myplugin \
  --from-file=handler.lua --from-file=schema.lua -n kong
```

```yaml
# values-custom-plugin.yaml
plugins:
  configMaps:
    - name: kong-plugin-myplugin
      pluginName: myplugin

env:
  plugins: bundled,myplugin
```

```bash
helm install kong kong/kong -n kong --create-namespace -f values-custom-plugin.yaml
```

### Autoscaling (HPA)

```yaml
# values-hpa.yaml
replicaCount: 2

autoscaling:
  enabled: true
  minReplicas: 2
  maxReplicas: 10
  metrics:
    - type: Resource
      resource:
        name: cpu
        target:
          type: Utilization
          averageUtilization: 80
```

### Prometheus ServiceMonitor

```yaml
# values-prometheus.yaml
serviceMonitor:
  enabled: true
  trustCRDsExist: true    # set true if Prometheus Operator CRDs are already installed
  # labels:               # add labels to select this ServiceMonitor from your Prometheus instance
  #   release: prometheus
```

### OpenShift Deployment

```yaml
# values-openshift.yaml
containerSecurityContext:
  enabled: false    # OpenShift manages SCCs; disable chart-managed securityContext

postgresql:
  primary:
    podSecurityContext:
      enabled: false
    containerSecurityContext:
      enabled: false
```

### PodDisruptionBudget

```yaml
podDisruptionBudget:
  enabled: true
  maxUnavailable: "50%"
  # minAvailable: 1
```

### DaemonSet Deployment

```yaml
deployment:
  daemonset: true
  kong:
    enabled: true
```

### Manual CRD Update (required before chart upgrades)

```bash
# Update CRDs manually before helm upgrade — Helm 3 does not auto-update CRDs
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Kong/charts/kong-3.2.0/charts/kong/crds/custom-resource-definitions.yaml
helm upgrade kong kong/kong -n kong -f values.yaml
```

---

## `kong/kong-operator` — Kong Operator (Current)

`kong/kong-operator` (chart v1.2.4, app v2.1.5) deploys the Kong Operator, a Kubernetes Operator that manages `ControlPlane`, `DataPlane`, and `GatewayConfiguration` CRDs. It bundles Kong Operator CRDs (`ko-crds`), Gateway API standard CRDs, and optional experimental Gateway API CRDs. Validating and conversion webhooks are enabled by default. The `ko-crds` subchart sets `keep: true` so CRDs survive `helm uninstall`. Cert-manager can be used to automate certificate management for webhooks and the CA.

### Basic Install

```bash
helm install ko kong/kong-operator -n kong-system --create-namespace

# Verify operator pod
kubectl get pods -n kong-system
kubectl get crds | grep konghq.com
```

### Install via OCI Registry

```bash
helm install ko oci://docker.io/kong/kong-operator-chart \
  --version 1.2.4 \
  -n kong-system --create-namespace
```

### Custom Values

```yaml
# values-ko.yaml
replicaCount: 1

image:
  repository: docker.io/kong/kong-operator
  tag: "2.1.5"

# Disable experimental Gateway API CRDs (default: off)
gwapi-experimental-crds:
  enabled: false

# Enable cert-manager for webhook certificate management
global:
  webhooks:
    options:
      certManager:
        enabled: true
  certificateAuthority:
    options:
      certManager:
        enabled: true

# Controller feature flags (env vars set on the operator Deployment)
env:
  enable_controller_gateway: "true"
  enable_controller_controlplane: "true"
  enable_controller_dataplane: "true"
  enable_controller_dataplane_bluegreen: "true"
  enable_controller_aigateway: "false"   # experimental

resources:
  limits:
    cpu: 500m
    memory: 256Mi
  requests:
    cpu: 10m
    memory: 128Mi
```

```bash
helm install ko kong/kong-operator -n kong-system --create-namespace -f values-ko.yaml
```

### Multi-Instance Cluster — Disable Duplicate CRDs

```bash
# First install: CRDs included (default)
helm install ko-primary kong/kong-operator -n kong-system --create-namespace

# Additional installs: disable CRDs to avoid conflicts
helm install ko-secondary kong/kong-operator -n other-namespace \
  --set ko-crds.enabled=false \
  --set gwapi-standard-crds.enabled=false
```

### Update CRDs Before Operator Upgrade

```bash
# Update Kong Operator CRDs to a specific version
kustomize build github.com/Kong/kong-operator/config/crd/gateway-operator?ref=v2.0.1 \
  | kubectl apply -f -

# Update Gateway API CRDs
kustomize build github.com/kubernetes-sigs/gateway-api/config/crd?ref=v1.2.0 \
  | kubectl apply -f -

helm upgrade ko kong/kong-operator -n kong-system -f values-ko.yaml
```

### Migrate from `kong/gateway-operator` to `kong/kong-operator`

```bash
# Step 1: Update CRDs (required — schemas changed between KGO and KO)
kustomize build github.com/kong/kong-operator/config/crd/gateway-operator \
  | kubectl apply --server-side -f -

# Step 2: Uninstall old chart (CRDs remain due to keep: true policy in old chart)
helm uninstall kgo -n kong-system

# Step 3: Install new chart
helm install ko kong/kong-operator -n kong-system \
  --set ko-crds.enabled=false   # CRDs already applied above
```

---

## `kong/gateway-operator` — Deprecated Kong Gateway Operator

`kong/gateway-operator` (chart v0.6.1, app v1.6) is the predecessor to `kong/kong-operator`. It has been replaced and should not be used for new installations. It supports Kong Gateway Operator versions 1.2.0 through 1.6.x. The `kube-rbac-proxy` sidecar (deprecated in KGO 1.5+) was used for metrics access control and is superseded by the `--metrics-access-filter` operator flag.

```bash
# Legacy install (not recommended — use kong/kong-operator instead)
helm install kgo kong/gateway-operator -n kong-system --create-namespace

# With explicit operator version pin
helm install kgo kong/gateway-operator -n kong-system --create-namespace \
  --set image.tag="1.6"
```

```yaml
# values-kgo.yaml — minimal deprecated chart values
image:
  repository: docker.io/kong/gateway-operator
  tag: "1.6"

kic-crds:
  enabled: true

gwapi-standard-crds:
  enabled: true

gwapi-experimental-crds:
  enabled: false

env:
  enable_controller_gateway: "true"
  enable_controller_controlplane: "true"
  enable_controller_dataplane: "true"
```

---

## Contributing and Local Development

```bash
# Install tools (mise-based: helm, kube-linter, chartsnap, shellcheck, actionlint)
make tools

# Lint all charts with kube-linter + shellcheck + actionlint
make lint

# Run golden snapshot tests for kong, ingress, gateway-operator charts
make test.golden

# Update golden snapshots after intentional template changes
make test.golden.update

# Lint charts only
make lint.charts

# Update Helm dependencies for ingress chart (which depends on kong/kong)
helm dependencies update charts/ingress
```

---

## Summary

The Kong Helm Charts repository covers the full lifecycle of Kong on Kubernetes: simple DB-less KIC-managed gateways, production-grade PostgreSQL-backed standalone instances, hybrid control plane / data plane topologies, Kong Enterprise deployments with RBAC and Dev Portal, and operator-managed declarative configurations via `ControlPlane` and `DataPlane` CRDs. The `kong/ingress` chart is the recommended starting point for new users, deploying a split gateway-discovery architecture in a single `helm install` command. The `kong/kong` chart is the underlying primitive for users who need precise control over routing, secrets, sidecars, DaemonSets, cert-manager integration, or multi-node hybrid layouts.

For operator-based workflows where Kong resources are managed declaratively as Kubernetes CRDs, `kong/kong-operator` (v1.2.4, app v2.1.5) is the current chart. It supports conversion and validating webhooks, cert-manager CA automation, ValidatingAdmissionPolicies, and controller feature flags toggled via `env.*` values. All charts follow a manual CRD upgrade pattern (applying CRD manifests with `kubectl apply` or `kustomize build` before running `helm upgrade`) because Helm 3 does not automatically update CRDs during upgrades. The repository uses `make lint` + `make test.golden` (chartsnap) for CI validation and the chart-releaser GitHub Action for automated publishing to `https://charts.konghq.com`.