Job Setup Kubectl

In this guide, we’ll walk through adding a dev-deploy stage to your existing GitLab CI pipeline. This stage installs the kubectl CLI on an Alpine runner and deploys Kubernetes manifest files to your cluster.

1. Define Pipeline Stages

First, extend your .gitlab-ci.yml to include the new deploy stage alongside test and containerization:

stages:
  - test
  - containerization
  - dev-deploy

variables:
  DOCKER_USERNAME: siddharth67
  IMAGE_VERSION: $CI_PIPELINE_ID

Stage	Purpose	Example Job
`test`	Run unit tests and code coverage	`unit_tests`
`containerization`	Build and push Docker images	`build_image`
`dev-deploy`	Install `kubectl` and deploy manifests to Kubernetes	`k8s_dev_deploy`

Make sure the DOCKER_USERNAME and IMAGE_VERSION variables align with your project settings.

2. Create the `k8s_dev_deploy` Job

Add a job in the dev-deploy stage that uses Alpine 3.7, installs kubectl, and avoids pulling artifacts from earlier stages:

k8s_dev_deploy:
  stage: dev-deploy
  image:
    name: alpine:3.7
  dependencies: []
  before_script:
    # Download and install the latest stable kubectl binary
    - wget -qO- "https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/$(wget -qO- https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl" -O kubectl
    - chmod +x kubectl
    - mv kubectl /usr/bin/kubectl
  script:
    - kubectl version -o yaml

3. Visualize the Pipeline

Once committed, your pipeline will include three stages—test, containerization, and dev-deploy. The diagram below shows how the new dev-deploy stage sits at the end of the workflow:

The image shows a GitLab Pipeline Editor interface with a visual representation of a CI/CD pipeline, including stages like testing, containerization, and deployment. The pipeline includes steps such as unit testing, code coverage, docker build, and Kubernetes deployment.

Speed Up Iterations

Since this deployment job doesn’t depend on artifacts from earlier stages, you can temporarily comment out other jobs (e.g., using Ctrl+/). This lets you focus solely on dev-deploy during development.

The image shows a GitLab CI/CD pipeline interface for a project named "Solar System NodeJS Pipeline," indicating a failed job in the "dev-deploy" stage. The sidebar displays various project management options like issues, merge requests, and pipelines.

4. Troubleshoot the `kubectl version` Error

In the job logs, you’ll see the kubectl binary download successfully, but the version command fails to retrieve the server version:

$ wget -qO- https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/$(wget -qO- https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl -O kubectl
$ chmod +x kubectl
$ mv kubectl /usr/bin/kubectl
$ kubectl version -o yaml
clientVersion:
  buildDate: "2024-01-17T15:51:03Z"
  compiler: gc
  gitCommit: bc40b19f2782041b3fb39fcaf3a995c4de90d2
  gitTreeState: Clean
  gitVersion: v1.29.1
  major: "1"
  minor: "29"
  platform: linux/amd64
kustomizeVersion: v5.4.0-2023601165947-6ce0bf390ce3
ERROR: Job failed: exit code 1

This error indicates that kubectl cannot connect to a Kubernetes API server without a valid kubeconfig file. You must configure the kubeconfig before running any cluster operations.

5. Next Steps

Add your cluster credentials to a GitLab CI/CD variable (e.g., KUBE_CONFIG).
Write the kubeconfig file in a before_script step.
Re-run the pipeline to confirm that kubectl version returns both client and server information.

Introduction

Architecture & Core Concepts

Continuous Integration with GitLab

Continuous Deployment with GitLab

Optimization, Security and Monitoring

Self-Managed Runners

Auto DevOps

1. Define Pipeline Stages

2. Create the `k8s_dev_deploy` Job

3. Visualize the Pipeline

Speed Up Iterations

4. Troubleshoot the `kubectl version` Error

5. Next Steps

References

Watch Video

​1. Define Pipeline Stages

​2. Create the k8s_dev_deploy Job

​3. Visualize the Pipeline

​Speed Up Iterations

​4. Troubleshoot the kubectl version Error

​5. Next Steps

​References

Watch Video

1. Define Pipeline Stages

2. Create the `k8s_dev_deploy` Job

3. Visualize the Pipeline

Speed Up Iterations

4. Troubleshoot the `kubectl version` Error

5. Next Steps

References