Prerequisites¶
Before bootstrapping a cluster, ensure the following tools are installed.
Required Tools¶
| Tool | Purpose | Installation |
|---|---|---|
kubectl |
Kubernetes CLI | Install kubectl |
helm |
Helm package manager | Install Helm |
sops |
Encrypted secrets management | Install SOPS |
age |
Encryption tool (used by SOPS) | Install age |
go |
To install/build the CLI tool | Install Go (1.25+) |
Development Tools (optional)¶
Only needed if building from source or contributing:
| Tool | Purpose | Installation |
|---|---|---|
task |
Task runner for development | Install Task |
pre-commit |
Git hooks for code quality | Install pre-commit |
Cluster Access¶
You need a running Kubernetes cluster with kubectl configured to access it. Any conformant cluster works — local (kind, minikube, k3s) or cloud-managed (EKS, GKE, AKS).
Verify access:
SSH Key¶
An SSH key pair with read access to the Git repository is required. ArgoCD uses this key to pull manifests from the repo.
Add the public key (repo-ssh-key.pem.pub) as a deploy key in your repository settings.
Age Key¶
An age key pair is used by SOPS to encrypt environment-specific secrets.
The public key (printed to stdout) is configured in .sops.yaml. Keep age-key.txt safe — it is required for decrypting secrets during bootstrap.
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