Kubernetes deployments with Helm

Learn how to deploy a Restate cluster using Helm on a kind Kubernetes cluster.

This tutorial will guide you through deploying a single-node Restate cluster on a local Kubernetes cluster using Helm.

We will use kind to create a local Kubernetes cluster for testing purposes.

1. Prerequisites

   Install the following on your local machine:

   • Docker
   • Helm
   • kubectl
   • Restate
   • kind

   This guide was written with kind v0.30.0, and Restate v1.5.0. Contact us on Discord or Slack if something does not work as expected.

2. Create a kind cluster

   kind create cluster
   

   Set kubectl context to kind-kind:

   kubectl cluster-info --context kind-kind
   

3. Install the single-node Restate Helm chart

   helm install restate oci://ghcr.io/restatedev/restate-helm \
     --namespace restate
     --create-namespace
   

   This will deploy a single-node Restate cluster in the restate namespace.

   Wait until the restate-0 pod is in the Ready state:

   kubectl get pods -n restate -w
   

4. Forward the ports of the Restate ingress and the UI to your local machine

   kubectl port-forward svc/restate -n restate 8080:8080 9070:9070
   

   Now you can access the Restate UI at http://localhost:9070.

5. Build and upload a Restate service Docker image to the kind cluster

   For example, download the TypeScript Hello World service:

   restate example typescript-hello-world &&
   cd typescript-hello-world &&
   npm install
   

   Build a Docker image for the service:

   docker build -t my-restate-service:0.0.1 .
   

   Upload the image to the kind cluster:

   kind load docker-image my-restate-service:0.0.1
   

6. Deploy the Restate service

   Create a RestateDeployment manifest for the service in a file called service-deployment.yaml:

   service-deployment.yaml

   apiVersion: apps/v1
   kind: Deployment
   metadata:
     name: my-app
   spec:
     replicas: 1
     selector:
       matchLabels:
         app: my-app
     template:
       metadata:
         labels:
           app: my-app
       spec:
         containers:
         - name: app
           image: my-restate-service:0.0.1
           ports:
           - name: http
             containerPort: 9080
   ---
   apiVersion: v1
   kind: Service
   metadata:
     name: my-app
   spec:
     selector:
       app: my-app
     ports:
     - name: http
       port: 9080
       targetPort: 9080
   

   Apply the manifest to deploy the service:

   kubectl apply -f service-deployment.yaml -n restate
   

7. Register the service

   In the Restate UI, you can now register the deployment http://my-app.restate.svc.cluster.local:9080/ via the UI at http://localhost:9070.

   Once it is registered, you should see the deployed service listed in the Restate UI:

   
8. Invoke the service

   In the Restate UI playground, you can now invoke the service. In the overview page, click on the greet handler of your service to open the playground. Then send a request:

   
9. 🎉 You did it!

   You have successfully deployed a Restate cluster and a Restate service on a local kind Kubernetes cluster using the Helm chart!

   Check out the Restate Helm deployment docs for more information.

After you are done experimenting, you can delete the kind cluster:

kind delete cluster